Parties: Nixon v. Shrink Mo. Gov't Pac
Date: 2000-01-24
Identifiers:
Opinions:
Segment Sets:
Paragraph: 72 - N10* In the end, Buckley 's claim that contribution limits "d[o] not in any way infringe the contributor's freedom to discuss candidates and issues," 424 U. S., at 21 (quoted ante , at 6), ignores the distinct role of candidate organizations as a means of individual participation in the Nation's civic dialogue. The result is simply the suppression of political speech.By depriving donors of their right to speak through the candidate, contribution limits relegate donors' points of view to less effective modes of communication. Additionally, limiting contributions curtails individual participation.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: s freedom to discuss candidates and
Search time: 2017-05-08 13:46:36 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: tcs9pk Segmenter: tcs9pk
Paragraph: 73 - The Court did not even attempt to claim that contribution limits do not suppress the speech of political candidates. See 424 U. S., at 18 ("[C]ontribution ... limitations impose direct quantity restrictions on political communication and association by ... candidates"); id ., at 33 ("[T]he [contribution] limitations may have a significant effect on particular challengers or incumbents"). It could not have, given the reality that donations "mak[e] a significant contribution to freedom of expression by enhancing the ability of candidates to present, and the public to receive, information necessary for the effective operation of the democratic process."
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: to freedom of expression by enhancing
Search time: 2017-10-13 13:47:37 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 63 - I begin with a proposition that ought to be unassailable: Political speech is the primary object of First Amendment protection.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: unassailable: Political speech is the primary
Search time: 2017-11-10 14:59:38 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 86 - The limits directly suppress the political speech of both contributors and candidates, and only clumsily further the governmental interests that they allegedly serve. They are crudely tailored because they are massively overinclusive, prohibiting all donors who wish to contribute in excess of the cap from doing so and restricting donations without regard to whether the donors pose any real corruption risk.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: the political speech of both contributors
Search time: 2017-11-10 14:59:38 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 40 - say what one pleasesThe right to use one's own money to hire gladiators, or to fund "speech by proxy," certainly merits significant constitutional protection. These property rights, however, are not entitled to the same protection as the right to say what one pleases.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: The right to use one's
Search time: 2018-01-12 14:48:12 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 63 - Political speech is the primary object of First Amendment protection. See, e.g. , Mills v. Alabama, 384 U. S. 214, 218 (1966); Whitney v. California , 274 U. S. 357, 375 (1927) (Brandeis, J., concurring); T. Cooley, Constitutional Limitations *422; Z. Chafee, Free Speech in the United States 28 (1954); Bork, Neutral Principles and Some First Amendment Problems, 47 Ind. L. J. 1, 20 (1971); Sunstein, Free Speech Now, in The Bill of Rights in the Modern State 304-307 (G. Stone, R. Epstein, & C. Sunstein eds. 1992). The Founders sought to protect the rights of individuals to engage in political speech because a self-governing people depends upon the free exchange of political information. And that free exchange should receive the most protection when it matters the most--during campaigns for elective office.N266* "The value and efficacy of [the right to elect the members of government] depends on the knowledge of the comparative merits and demerits of the candidates for public trust, and on the equal freedom, consequently, of examining and discussing these merits and demerits of the candidates respectively."
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: the right to elect the members
Search time: 2018-01-12 14:48:12 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 72 - donations to political organizationsIn the end, Buckley 's claim that contribution limits "d[o] not in any way infringe the contributor's freedom to discuss candidates and issues," 424 U. S., at 21 (quoted ante , at 6), ignores the distinct role of candidate organizations as a means of individual participation in the Nation's civic dialogue. The result is simply the suppression of political speech. By depriving donors of their right to speak through the candidate, contribution limits relegate donors' points of view to less effective modes of communication. Additionally, limiting contributions curtails individual participation. "Even for the affluent, the added costs in money or time of taking out a newspaper advertisement, handing out leaflets on the street, or standing in front of one's house with a hand-held sign may make the difference between participating and not participating in some public debate."
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: their right to speak through the
Search time: 2018-01-12 14:48:12 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 40 - The right to use one's own money to hire gladiators, or to fund "speech by proxy," certainly merits significant constitutional protection. These property rights, however, are not entitled to the same protection as the right to say what one pleases.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: to fund "speech by proxy," certainly
Search time: 2017-11-10 14:59:38 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 43 - On the one hand, a decision to contribute money to a campaign is a matter of First Amendment concern--not because money is speech (it is not); but because it enables speech. Through contributions the contributor associates himself with the candidate's cause, helps the candidate communicate a political message with which the contributor agrees, and helps the candidate win by attracting the votes of similarly minded voters.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: money is speech (it is not
Search time: 2017-11-10 14:59:38 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 70 - >Without the assistance of the speech-by-proxy argument, the remainder of Buckley 's rationales founder. Those rationales--that the N97* "quantity of communication by the contributor does not increase perceptibly with the size of his contribution," Buckley v. Valeo, supra , at 21 (quoted ante , at 6), that N98* "the size of the contribution provides a very rough index of the intensity of the contributor's support for the candidate," 424 U. S., at 21 (quoted ante , at 6), and that N99* "[a] contribution serves as a general expression of support for the candidate and his views, but does not communicate the underlying basis for the support," 424 U. S., at 21 (quoted ante , at 6)--still rest on the proposition that speech by proxy is not fully protected. These contentions simply ignore that a contribution, by amplifying the voice of the candidate, helps to ensure the dissemination of the messages that the contributor wishes to convey. Absent the ability to rest on the denigration of contributions as mere "proxy speech," the arguments fall apart.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match:
Search time: 2018-04-26 09:34:45 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 69 - And, inasmuch as the speech-by-proxy argument was disconnected from the realities of political speech to begin with, it is not surprising that we have firmly rejected it since Buckley . In Federal Election Comm'n v. National Conservative Political Action Comm., 470 U. S. 480 (1985), we cast aside the argument that a contribution does not represent the constitutionally protected speech of a contributor, recognizing N244* "that the contributors obviously like the message they are hearing from these organizations and want to add their voices to that message; otherwise they would not part with their money." Id. , at 495.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match:
Search time: 2018-04-12 08:37:53 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 70 - Those rationales--that the "quantity of communication by the contributor does not increase perceptibly with the size of his contribution," Buckley v. Valeo, supra , at 21 (quoted ante , at 6), that N246* N247* "the size of the contribution provides a very rough index of the intensity of the contributor's support for the candidate," 424 U. S., at 21 (quoted ante , at 6), and thatN248* "[a] contribution serves as a general expression of support for the candidate and his views, but does not communicate the underlying basis for the support," 424 U. S., at 21 (quoted ante , at 6)--still rest on the proposition that speech by proxy is not fully protected. These contentions simply ignore that a contribution, by amplifying the voice of the candidate, helps to ensure the dissemination of the messages that the contributor wishes to convey. Absent the ability to rest on the denigration of contributions as mere "proxy speech," the arguments fall apart.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match:
Search time: 2018-04-12 08:37:53 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 87 - In the end, contribution limitations find support only in the proposition that other means will not be as effective at rooting out corruption. But when it comes to a significant infringement on our fundamental liberties, that some undesirable conduct may not be deterred is an insufficient justification to sweep in vast amounts of protected political speech.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match:
Search time: 2018-04-12 08:37:53 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 46 - Under these circumstances, a presumption against constitutionality is out of place. I recognize that Buckley used language that could be interpreted to the contrary. It said, for example, that it rejected N249* N250* "the concept that government may restrict the speech of some elements of our society in order to enhance the relative voice of others." 424 U. S., at 48 -49. But those words cannot be taken literally. The Constitution often permits restrictions on the speech of some in order to prevent a few from drowning out the many--in Congress, for example, where constitutionally protected debate, Art. I, 6, is limited to provide every Member an equal opportunity to express his or her views.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match:
Search time: 2018-04-12 08:37:53 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk