Be Careful What You Wish For

So, the Supreme Court has decided that the First Amendment has some teeth still left in it when it comes to political speech (the whole reason it mentions the “press” in the first place).  It may come as a surprise to some who know me, but I actually agree with the majority view, which bears a resemblence to my “marketplace of ideas” philosophy.  The provisions struck down in the campaign finance law were, at their core, bad law. 

We do ourselves a disservice as a society when we start to carve up the media into the “haves” and “have-nots,” especially when it comes to political speech.  More speech and openness should be our goal in a democracy, such as we have.  My personal hope is that now with restrictions on corporate political giving wiped away, people will start paying more attention to the various sources of campaign money and be able to make their own judgments as to whether or not that’s a problem.  I’m additionally hopeful that our lapcat major media outlets will also finally start paying more attention to the substance of our political arena and give less attention to the “games” that politicians play.

Then again, there is the age-old law of unintended consequences.  Many folks have been predicting what’s going to happen now, with many taking a Chicken Little approach.  I’m not sure anyone can predict accurately what will transpire over the next few months and years in the wake of this decision.  But it sure will be interesting to watch…