Supreme Court upholds First Amendment
January 22, 2010 | By Amanda J. Reinecker
On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment and appropriately struck down government prohibitions on many sorts of privately-funded political advertising. In doing so, Heritage Foundation legal scholar Hans von Spakovsky argues, the court "upheld some of the most important principles: the right to engage in free speech, particularly political speech, and the right to freely associate."
The case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, originated as a question about campaign finance laws and whether they apply to an unflattering film about then-Senator Hillary Clinton. After the government argued that campaign finance laws could even lead to bans on books, the Court ordered a rare re-argument to address the broader constitutionality of limiting corporations' independent spending during federal election campaigns.
It was a question of "ancient First Amendment principles," the Court stated in its majority opinion. It is no coincidence that the rights to free speech and assembly are among the first mentioned in our Bill of Rights -- our Founders recognized that these rights are essential to the preservation of a free government.
"Speech is an essential mechanism of democracy and the means to hold officials accountable to the people," Spakovsky argues. But the right to free speech is not limited to individual persons, he argues. For-profit and non-profit organizations are greatly "affected, damaged, or even lost" by the laws Congress passes, so there is "no rational reason why they should not be able to engage in independent political activity."
Those who criticize the Court's 5-4 decision fail to recognize a key component about this critical First Principle: free speech "is written in terms of 'speech,' not speakers," as Justice Scalia explained in a concurring opinion. It is a right that applies to all. To deny it to would be an obfuscation of the written law and a violation of a fundamental right.
Charles Krauthammer on Obama's first year
President Obama's first year in office represents a "downward trajectory from divinity to mortality," conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer told an audience of Heritage President Club members this week.
» Watch Krauthammer's entire Heritage address online at Heritage.org
Focusing his remarks primarily on the President's foreign policy, Krauthammer reviewed a year of failed soft-diplomacy initiatives, including the "apology tours" and concessions to unfriendly powers.
Continuing this "illusory foreign policy" poses grave consequences to our nation, Krauthammer explains:
It would constitute a gradual, American retreat. It will have inexorable consequences easily and succinctly stated when erstwhile allies begin to see the America umbrella beginning to be withdrawn, they will begin to accommodate themselves to those countries that we were protecting them from…[This approach to foreign policy will bring about ] the weakening of alliances; the strengthening of centers of adversarial power in Moscow, Beijing, Caracas, Tehran and elsewhere will continue at pace until some cataclysm wakes us up. Such are the wages of living in a virtual world. I pray we leave it soon."
Considered by Heritage Vice President Kim Holmes to be the "maker of 'Aha!' moments," Krauthammer has been a voice of reason about many of the administration's domestic and foreign policies.
Other Heritage Work of Note
- "Yesterday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) admitted that the House does not have the votes to pass the Senate version of Obamacare," writes Heritage's Rory Cooper. Some on the left are suggesting removing popular provisions in Obamacare and attempting to pass those separately. "This is not reform," argues Cooper.
Instead of rushing to put in place a piecemeal version of bad legislation, the left should consider alternatives. Though they have received little attention, Republicans in Congress have presented sound substitutes that would offer real reform, such as: the Patients Choice Act of 2009; the Improving Health Care for All Americans Act; and the the Empower Patients First Act.
As Cooper states, "It is high time both sides of the aisle have a voice in reforming the health care system that affects every single living American."
- Tens of thousands of Americans are marching in Washington, D.C. today to protest the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. Many of these protesters, Heritage scholar Chuck Donovan writes, are individuals "who have been helped by or volunteered in one of the nation's 2,300 pregnancy resource centers," which operate almost entirely without public funding.
- Over the past year, the Obama administration has missed many opportunities to strengthen our national security in an increasingly dangerous world, writes Heritage expert Mackenzie Eaglen. Though the President appropriately stated that the war in Afghanistan is not optional, his plan falls short of success. In addition, the President's policies of engagement have sacrificed important foreign policy and military advantages, which down the line may have real national security consequences.
In Other News
- President Obama is calling for the largest regulatory overhaul of the financial sector since the 1930s. The President's plan, which would impose restrictions on many of the largest financial institutions, tries to use government power to fix a problem government helped create.
- The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has retracted its 2007 claim that the Himalayan glaciers are likely to disappear by 2035. The IPCC now says there is little scientific evidence to back up their claim.
- Liberal radio network Air America has folded. The company blames declining ad revenues and other market challenges for its collapse.
- According to the AP, "the number of newly laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, as the economy recovers at a slow and uneven pace."
- Unemployment rose in 43 states last month.
Amanda Reinecker is a writer for MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation. Nathaniel Ward, the Editor of MyHeritage.org, contributed to this report.
