The Supreme Court dealt another blow yesterday to the landmark 2002 campaign finance law crafted by Sens. John McCain and Russell Feingold, declaring unconstitutional a provision that eased fundraising restrictions for political candidates running against wealthy opponents who were bankrolling their own bids for federal office.

In a 5 to 4 decision, the court said the “Millionaire’s Amendment” to the law imposes an “unprecedented penalty” on candidates who sought to underwrite their own campaigns.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote in the majority opinion that Jack Davis, the wealthy New York industrialist who brought the lawsuit, was forced “to choose between the right to engage in unfettered political speech and subjection to discriminatory fundraising limitations” and that “the resulting drag on First Amendment rights is not constitutional.”

Campaign finance lawyers pored over the decision yesterday, and they concluded that while the Millionaire’s Amendment represents only a small and discrete component of the McCain-Feingold law, the justices’ opinion could have lasting significance.

“What’s most significant here is what this means for the future,” said Rick Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School. “It tells us that the long-standing limits on corporate and union campaign spending are in grave danger.”

James Bopp Jr., an Indiana lawyer who has brought several court challenges against the legislation, known formally as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, said that yesterday’s ruling was the fourth in a series that has steadily chipped away at the foundations of the law.

“What we’re seeing is the court wants to limit the ability of the government to regulate political speech,” he said. “I think there are few restrictions on political speech that will survive this court’s analysis.”

Bopp said he thinks the ruling could doom public financing programs in states, including North Carolina and Maine, where candidates can receive more public funding if their opponents or independent groups opposing them spend more than a certain amount.

Several of those who were involved in crafting the McCain-Feingold provisions said yesterday that while they are disappointed by the decision, it leaves the central portion of the law intact — a prohibition on individuals making unlimited contributions to political parties for use in federal campaigns.

“The Supreme Court decision today on the millionaire’s amendment has no impact on the central component of McCain-Feingold, which is the soft money ban,” Feingold (D-Wis.) said in an e-mailed statement. “That soft money ban, which the Supreme Court has upheld . . . has revolutionized political fundraising in this country.”

He also noted that the Millionaire’s Amendment was not part of the initial legislation but was added on the floor. He said he “never believed it was a core component of campaign finance reform.”

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062601414_pf.html