[EL] Reason.com: Stephen Colbert Lampoons the First Amendment

[Patch]

Listers,

Since Rick has embarked on a biking trip over the holiday weekend, I'm
taking the liberty of posting my piece in Reason.com on the least important
advisory opinion that the FEC considered today:

"Stephen Colbert Lampoons the First
Amendment<http://reason.com/archives/2011/06/30/stephen-colbert-lampoons-the-f>
"
http://reason.com/archives/2011/06/30/stephen-colbert-lampoons-the-f

A brief snippet:

Almost 20 years later, the FEC granted a media exemption to the conservative
advocacy group Citizens United, which meant the Republican-leaning group no
longer had to disclose its spending on certain production expenses. Citizens
United was the plaintiff in the blockbuster 2010 Supreme Court case holding
that the government may not restrict the independent speech of companies and
advocacy groups. If Citizens United need not disclose its spending on
documentaries and certain ads as a press entity, why should Viacom and
Colbert have to?

“Commentary is a slippery concept, and I’m having trouble being the one who
decides what is commentary and what is not commentary. We’re in an
interesting era now, post-*Citizens United*,” McGahn said, citing bloggers
and other non-traditional journalists. McGahn also rejected the notion that
corporations gained First Amendment rights in *Citizens United*, arguing
that media corporations have long enjoyed the unfettered ability to engage
in political advocacy through editorial boards and TV talking heads.
For the three of you interested in my commentary on the Senate-steered
Majority PAC and the minority-led House Majority PAC, you'll just have to
wait until after we celebrate 'Merica Day.
--------------------------------------
Jeff Patch
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