Free Speech for All | John Samples and Ilya Shapiro | Cato Institute: Commentary

Free Speech for All | John Samples and Ilya Shapiro | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Equality of speech is inherently contrary to protecting speech from government restraint, which is ultimately the heart of American conceptions of free speech."

"Under the new ruling, will businesses (and labor unions) dominate talk about candidates and elections? Well, for two decades before McCain-Feingold, both could spend freely on advertising about candidates for federal office. Such spending made up a relatively small part of election-related speech and no one group dominated said the political arena.

Still, yesterday's ruling might lead to more election spending by both corporations and unions. It is important to remember, however, that none of this money will go directly to candidates for office. It will go instead to broadcasting or otherwise communicating speech about candidates and issues. Such increases in spending should be welcome because studies have shown that more spending—more political communication—leads to better-informed voters."