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Render Unto Caesar, Inc., Allison Hayward

Allison Hayward

The Supreme Court’s FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life decision fits comfortably into a legacy of decisions in which the Supreme Court has toyed with Congress’s ability to restrict the political speech of “outside groups.” In these cases, the Court offers a schizophrenic vision of political regulation. It seems unable to conclude whether the independent opinions of certain social actors, spread among the public via the “expenditure” of their funds, poses a corrupting danger to campaigns or elections that justified deference to Congress’s regulatory choices. If it does, Congress should be able to step in and restrict such pernicious activity. …