Positive Liberty

Just in case you’re getting too depressed about the Supreme Court’s rulings on Monday, I should note that they did get one right in FEC v Wisconsin Right to Life (full ruling here). It was another 5-4 ruling with the same breakdown - Alito, Roberts, Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy in the majority, Souter, Stevens, Breyer and Ginsburg in dissent. But on this one the conservative majority got it right. The ruling strikes down a provision of the McCain-Feingold law that bans all advocacy groups from airing commercials about issues within 2 months of an election. This is an absurd law and a clear violation of the first amendment. I’m disappointed that it was only 5-4, it should be a 9-0 no-brainer ruling. And I have the same reaction to the liberal minority here that I had to the liberal majority in Kelo: I do not understand who anyone who considers themselves a liberal can justify such a ruling. How can a liberal make case that for two months of the year, no advocacy organization can try and convince their fellow citizens to agree with them by airing commercials advocating their position (just as I wondered how on earth the liberal justices could justify upholding the right of big corporations to take property, primarily from lower income people, and use it for their own profit in Kelo). I have a hard time imagining ideas less liberal than those.

Trackback URI |