Supreme Court Disappoints Feingold

Russ Feingold is disappointed in yesterday's Supreme Court decision in favor of Wisconsin Right to Life.

Read his statement here.

“While I am disappointed in today’s ruling in the Wisconsin Right to Life case, it does not affect the Court’s decision four years ago in McConnell v. FEC that banning unlimited "soft money" contributions to the political parties is fully constitutional. The new decision also does not overturn the McConnell ruling that the issue ad provision of the McCain-Feingold law is constitutional. Unfortunately, the test that the Court sets out for challenges to the law by those who wish to run specific ads -- whether the ads in question are the “functional equivalent of express advocacy” and are “susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate” -- seems susceptible to easy manipulation by groups intent on spending corporate and union money to influence elections.

“It remains to be seen whether this new test will prove as hollow as the old “magic words” test, which the McConnell court called “functionally meaningless.” The FEC should not allow today’s decision to open the door for a return to the pre-McCain-Feingold days of phony issue ads and unlimited corporate and union spending on campaigns. If that is the result, the Court will have done the country a great disservice.”

Personally, I think the Court does the country a great disservice when it rules to infringe on our civil liberties.

Chief Justice Roberts said it best, "Where the First Amendment is implicated, the tie goes to the speaker, not the censor."

Feingold can be disappointed that the Court refused to dismiss the First Amendment.

He and John McCain can cry on each other's shoulders.

Eventually, Feingold will have to suck it up and get over his disappointment.

Maybe setting a new deadline for America's withdrawal of troops from Iraq will cheer him up. That always seems to give him a boost.

His current deadline for troop withdrawal is March 31, 2008.

How about February 29, 2008?

That would be extra special!