Fifty Years Ago, the Supreme Court Said Money Is Speech

Fifty Years Ago, the Supreme Court Said Money Is Speech

Last week was the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision enshrining the idea that money in politics is not corruption, but constitutionally protected speech. States and cities across the US are battling the rotten legacy of that decision.

It’s The Money, Stupid

Last week marked the 50-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision enshrining the absurd idea that money in politics is not corruption, but constitutionally protected speech. As The Lever unearthed in our recent audio series and book Master Plan, that once-radical concept was pioneered by soon-to-be federal judge Ralph Winter and a young John Bolton in a booklet for the American Enterprise Institute — and the ill-fated Buckley v. Valeo …