Supreme Court Blocks McCain-Feingold Provisions
The Supreme Court handed down their decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission today, a not unexpected 5-4 decision that overturns two earlier cases and allows for considerably more spending on political campaigns by corporations, unions, and other organizations. This decision has potentially huge repercussions for the future of campaign finance reform. You can read the complete decision here (pdf), which includes Justice Kennedy’s opinion for the court, concurring opinions from Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Scalia, and Justice Thomas (Thomas dissented from the majority to explain that he would overturn the donor disclosure requirements as well – something the rest of the majority was unwilling to do), and an extensive dissent from Justice Stevens (joined by Sotomayor, Ginsburg, and Breyer).