Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Taking A Step Back: An Analysis Of The Unresolved Core Issue Of Constitutional Validity In The Campaign Finance Reform Debate, Scot A. Ginther

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Thesis Statement

Congressional attempts to enact reform in the financing of political campaigns may unavoidably violate the First Amendment2 to the United States Constitution and its guarantees of freedom of speech and association. As a result, the core issue that must be resolved in the campaign finance reform debate is whether campaign finance reform is unavoidably unconstitutional. and opponents (anti-reformists)4 of campaign finance reform have been engaging in an extended ad hoc debate over reform measures without adequately confronting the critical core issue that continues to prevent key reform measures from being adopted: does the First Amendment prohibit campaign finance …