The New American – by Jack Kenny
A proposed constitutional amendment to abridge the freedom of speech received the endorsement of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 10-8 vote Thursday in an effort to overturn U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission and McCutcheon v. FEC.
The 2010 Citizens United ruling rejected on First Amendment grounds restrictions in the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act of 2002 on spending for political advertising. In this year’s McCutcheon decision, the high court ruled that limits on how much a donor may contribute in aggregate to candidates for federal office, political parties, and political action committees are also violations of the First Amendment. Both decisions were by 5-4 votes of the justices, with the more conservative Republican appointees voting to strike down the restrictions and the liberal justices, appointed by Democratic presidents, voting to uphold them. Similarly, Thursday’s Judiciary Committee vote was strictly along party lines, with all 10 of the committee’s Democrats voting for the amendment and all eight of its Republican members voting against. Continue reading “Sen. Judiciary Committee Endorses Amendment to Abridge Free Speech”