January 22, 2010

First Amendment Upheld!

The Washington Post has the story. It all started with David Bossie, "a veteran Republican campaign operative who was investigating the Clintons, as a conservative answer to Michael Moore’s. His Group 'Citizens United' released 'Celsius 41.11'

When Hillary Rodham Clinton ran for president, Citizens United released another flick: 'Hillary: The Movie.' Featuring a who’s-who cast of right-wing commentators. It takes viewers on a savaging journey through Clinton’s scandals.

The Federal Election Commission restricted Citizens United’s ability to advertise the film during the 2008 primary season, a decision that conservative activists saw as a threat to freedom of speech. So Bossie sued -- Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

The Citizens united Lawer transformed the case from a narrow one about McCain-Feingold to an assault on the law's constitutionality.

When the Supreme Court first heard the case in March, Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm L. Stewart, representing the FEC was pulled into a discussion of an issue that took him down a slippery slope: If the movie were a book, would the government ban publishing the book if it mentioned a candidate for office within the election time frame?" The FEC said yes, the government would ban the book, and the justices jumped to clairfy 'It's a 500-page book, and at the end it says, 'And so vote for X,' the government could ban that?' Justices asked. "The government lawyer said yes. If they are going to ban a movie, they have to be consistant.

So this is a victory for the constitution and free speech. The decrying of this by those on the left speaks to me quite loudly...

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