Article Title
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission: The Problem of Eradicating Campaign Finance Corruption
Abstract
Immediately after the BCRA became law, its constitutionality was Supreme Court of the United States upheld all of the Act's major provisions. This Article will examine four main empirical claims the Court makes in McConnell: (1) wealthy campaign donors are able to buy greater access to politicians with campaign contributions, (2) limits on freedom to associate within party committees are necessary in order to prevent campaign finance abuses, (3) reductions in campaign funding will not inhibit political campaigns, and (4) those who purchase campaign advertisements must be identified so voters are not misled by the advertisements' messages. The first two claims are diagnostic; they identify problems with the pre-BCRA political system. The final two claims are predictive; they examine the BCRA's potential to reform campaign finance. Analyzing these four claims will provide insight into the Court's beliefs about money's corruptive effect on politics and the BCRA's role in remedying that corruption. challenged in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, in which the
Recommended Citation
Michelle C. Gabriel,
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission: The Problem of Eradicating Campaign Finance Corruption,
12
Rich. J.L. & Pub. Int.
1
(2008).
Available at:
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/jolpi/vol12/iss1/3