Picture This: Campaign Finance Law and the Question of Values

A campaign is not an election. No matter how well-financed its advertising, a campaign’s success depends entirely on whether voters “buy” what is being “sold” on Election Day. Campaign finance law sets standards for how candidates and others finance their efforts to persuade (or dissuade) voters in an election. The effort to limit the role of money in federal elections is reflected in laws that date back over a century. In the 2012 federal elections, the state of campaign finance law reflected the failure of legislation to achieve a comprehensive set of limitations. The laws on the books have been superseded by judicially imposed barriers to limitations. As a result, complex regulations enforce arguably vestigial limits. This campaign finance regime is overseen by a partisan mindset in Congress and at the Federal Election Commission, which also serves to block legislative or regulatory innovation. The judicial decision most vilified and celebrated in this area is,