The McCain Feingold Mischief

In his dissent on the constitutionality of the McCain-Feingold bill to gag free speech prior to elections, Scalia reminds us that our "electeds" really dislike dissent.

Here is what Scalia wrote (citations removed):

[L]et us not be deceived. While the Government's briefs and arguments before this Court focused on the horrible "appearance of corruption," the most passionate floor statements during the debates on this legislation pertained to so-called attack ads, which the Constitution surely protects, but which Members of Congress analogized to

• "crack cocaine," (remarks of Sen. Daschle),
• "drive-by shooting[s]," ... (remarks of Sen. Durbin),
• "air pollution," ... (remarks of Sen. Dorgan).

There is good reason to believe that the ending of negative campaign ads was the principal attraction of the legislation. A Senate sponsor said, "I hope that we will not allow our attention to be distracted from the real issues at hand-how to raise the tenor of the debate in our elections and give people real choices. No one benefits from negative ads.

• They don't aid our Nation's political dialog." ... (remarks of Sen. McCain). He assured the body that "[y]ou cut off the soft money, you are going to see a lot less of that [attack ads]. Prohibit unions and corporations, and you will see a lot less of that.
• If you demand full disclosure for those who pay for those ads, you are going to see a lot less of that . . . ." ... (remarks of Sen. McCain). ...
• Remarks of Sen. Cantwell: "This bill is about slowing the ad war. . . . It is about slowing political advertising and making sure the flow of negative ads by outside interest groups does not continue to permeate the airwaves"
• Remarks of Sen. Boxer: "These so-called issues ads are not regulated at all and mention candidates by name. They directly attack candidates without any accountability. It is brutal . . . . We have an opportunity in the McCain-Feingold bill to stop that . . ."
• Remarks of Sen. Wellstone: "I think these issue advocacy ads are a nightmare. I think all of us should hate them . . . . [By passing the legislation], [w]e could get some of this poison politics off television").

It's was not to get the "dirty money" out of politics that these latter day book burners passed McCain-Feingold; it was the desire to shut up the opposition. To silence the critics. To make it easier to get re-elected.