For 2301 as we dig into elections this week:
From the Washington Post:
The Supreme Court on Monday turned down the Republican National Committee’s latest attempt to knock out long-standing campaign finance restrictions.
Without comment, the justices rejected a challenge from the RNC and former Louisiana congressman Anh “Joseph” Cao that sought to end federal restrictions on how much a political party can spend in direct coordination with a candidate. Cao lost a reelection bid in 2010.
The RNC said the restrictions violate the party’s First Amendment rights, a claim that was turned aside by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
It was one of two challenges the GOP filed after the 2008 elections. The court did not accept either of them.
In June, the justices let stand a lower court’s decision that upheld the constitutionality of the “soft-money ban” in the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act. That law bars national political parties from accepting or spending unregulated campaign cash.
- The National Journal.
- The FEC website.
- ScotusBlog.
- Campaign Legal Center.
- Roll Call.
