[EL] Free speech just got more expensive

[Larry Levine]

What about redress? Is there any greater need for speech or press than to
accomplish redress?

Larry

 

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Jon
Roland
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 10:17 AM
To: law-election at department-lists.uci.edu; Jusus Baird
Subject: Re: [EL] Free speech just got more expensive

 

comment on a commentary
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/commentary-free-speech-just
-got-more-expensive/2014/04/08/3522733c-bf54-11e3-9ee7-02c1e10a03f0_story.ht
ml>  of Jusus Baird of Religion News Service:

The source of the confusion is that once the Supreme Court created a
precedent protecting "speech", everyone started arguing in terms of speech,
when, for campaign contributions, they should have argued in terms of
"press", the publication of speech. When someone donates money to a campaign
what he is doing is contracting with the recipient to use the money to
publish messages the donor wants published. He is willing to leave it to the
recipient to compose the message, trusting him to do it as the donor wishes.

 
Money can pay for people to produce speech, but most of this is about
publishing, and that is press. It is time to re-frame the issue.

That leaves the issue of the ways money buys influence. Of course one gets
influence if one becomes an investor-partner in publishing a message, but
that is mainly to get influence on the recipients of the message, and only
secondarily on the managing partner, or on his success in continuing to play
on the field. The First amendment right of press is the right to influence
the public, and that right may not be abridged because it might also have an
influence on the managing partner or on who becomes or remains the managing
partner.



-- Jon
 
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