[EL] Informational benefit outweighed by cost?

[Paul Lehto]

Arguing that the disclosure of speaker identities is "too  high a cost on
speech rights" is just like arguing that the CEO of a company has no right
to know who is speaking to them because such knowledge might pose "too high
a cost on speech rights for too little" information.

"We the People" are the "CEO" of this country, specifically in connection
with elections and voting.  It's absurd to think that a sovereign king, CEO
or electorate has no right to know who it is that is speaking to them.  All
sovereigns do (or else they are not really sovereigns).  No one can claim a
right to use the sovereign's own courts to compel some right to anonymously
talk into the ear of the sovereign.  (If they succeed, then the People are
not really sovereign in connection with elections).

The so-called right of anonymity is not so absurd, and becomes far more
arguable, outside the context of elections where sovereignty isn't in
play.  The right of anonymity in elections is a *de facto coup
d'etat*attempt against democracy because it defeats obvious rights of
sovereignty.

With anonymity, political-funding fat cats get to talk, but nobody can
"talk back" to them, because We don't know who they are.  One can infer the
existence of strings, but isn't allowed to see the puppeteer. No CEO or
king would stand for that, so why should We the People have to put up with
it?

Paul Lehto, J.D.

On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 2:45 PM, Steve Hoersting <hoersting at gmail.com>wrote:

> Kim Strassel has another piece in today's *WSJ* intimating that
> the compelled disclosure of independent, non-corrupting speech poses too
> high a cost on speech rights for too little benefit in voter information --
> especially absent a meaningful exemption available not just to Vandersloot,
> for whom it is too late, but to other would-be funders noticing this
> treatment, and eager to seek an exemption as John Doe or Jane Doe.
>
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070304577396412560038208.html
>
> --
> Stephen M. Hoersting
>
>
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>



-- 
Paul R Lehto, J.D.
P.O. Box 1
Ishpeming, MI  49849
lehto.paul at gmail.com
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