Suggested Reading

I've already linked to it, but let me do it again. Here's Citizens United v. Federal Election Comissions, the Supreme Court case that struck down much of our campaign finance laws. As you already know, I agree with the result.

The main opinion by Kennedy does a fine job explaining the reasoning, but the other opinions are well worth reading.

There's the dissent by Stevens, of course. Long-winded, and angry, but certainly a detailed argument for the opposition. It seems to have been the impetus for two of the concurrences. First there's Roberts' somewhat piqued response to the dissent's claim that the majority doesn't respect judicial restraint and stare decisis. Then there's Scalia's questioning of Stevens' historical understanding of corporations, the First Amendment and the Founding Fathers.

Finally, we have Thomas's concurrence, in which he claims the majority didn't go far enough. He doesn't believe in disclosure requirements, since it can make targets for retaliation, and there's a long history of anonymous speech in our nation.