Taking First Amendment battle online

The Boston Globe ^ | 12/15/2003 | Hiawatha Bray

[Radix]

Despite the best efforts of Congress and the US Supreme Court, the First Amendment survives -- online.

Last Wednesday, the US Supreme Court upheld the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform bill, which deliberately trims citizens' First Amendment rights. Among other things, the law limits the ability of groups like the National Rifle Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the like to broadcast radio and TV ads in the run-up to a federal election.

[El Gato]

I hope McCain-Feingold will be tested and that it is shown that the SCOTUS were wrong to not deem it unconstitutional.

The only place to test it will, in the end, be the SCOTUS. Think they'll reverse themsleves? Not next year, maybe after 3 replacements are put in. But even having a Republican President and Republican Senate is no guarantee that the replacements will be able to read the Constitution any better. After all, 7 of of the 9 Justices are Republican appointees as it is, and 2 of 3 likely to step down in the near future are as well. For this case 3 of the 5 who voted against the first amendment's plain "Congress shall make no law" language are Republican appointees. (But two of the 5 are on the likely replacee list, O'Connor and Ginsberg).