Charley Reese
Friday, June 29, 2001

Yes, I know some blockhead judges have spread it over such actions as dancing naked and burning flags, but James Madison was no blockhead. He and his compadres were concerned about the free flow of ideas, especially those relating to government and politics, neither with sexual titillation nor infantile acting out.

It is for this reason that you should take pen in hand or keyboard to fingers and let your congressman know that you disapprove of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform bill. Unfortunately, the millionaires in the Senate already have passed it. Let's hope it dies in the House or at least is seriously amended.

This bill would be better labeled the Politician Protection Act. Before the general elections and primaries, it would prohibit all kinds of political speech by all kinds of people -- except, of course, politicians.

Neither unions nor corporations nor non-profit groups could speak under certain circumstances, and, in other cases, non-profit groups that did engage in "political speech" would have to disclose their membership.

It seems pretty basic to me that Congress shall pass no law that infringes on, much less prohibits, American citizens, as individuals or as members of groups, from voicing their opinions on political issues and on the members of the herd of mediocrity who run for public office. As for which groups we belong to, that's none of the government's business.

In better days, one could count on any federal judicial officer who could read and write to strike down such a flagrant violation of the First Amendment. These days, however, how federal judges will rule on any issue is less certain than playing the slots in Las Vegas. Years of ideological patronage have taken their toll.

McCain may be a hero, but he's thin-skinned and apparently resents bitterly those peasants who criticize politicians while they are actively engaged in keeping their plush jobs. Incumbency is one of the curses of American politics. We ought to clean the stables on a far more regular basis than we do.

Years ago, a California senator wrote a funny book called What Makes You Think We Read the Bills. One of the points he makes is that once a fellow gets a seat at the trough and discovers all those lobbyists with their campaign contributions, he realizes that he doesn't need the folks back home. He can raise his whole campaign kitty right where he legislates.

Nothing irritates an incumbent more than for someone to expose his record while he's out spreading the carefully crafted campaign blarney his hired experts have provided him. Telling the truth about an incumbent politician is usually labeled "negative campaigning."

But if the democratic process isn't free, it isn't democratic. To silence people 30 to 60 days before an election is such an outrageous slap at freedom, I'm surprised the whole country isn't in an uproar. But, methinks most Americans care little about freedom these days, as long as they are comfortable.

At any rate, the remnant that does value freedom better raise Cain about McCain-Feingold's assault on the Bill of Rights.

Erik S. Jaffee, in a pamphlet written for the Center for Individual Freedom on this bill, raises another good point. These yo-yos seem to confuse influence with corruption.

The whole purpose of the political process in a free society is for the people to influence their elected officials. That's the purpose of the game. For example, I try to influence them not to mess with the Second Amendment and others try to influence them to abolish it. Unlike a totalitarian society, in a free society, no issue is ever really settled. A free society involves an ongoing process of interaction between the people and the government. Free speech is the cornerstone of a free society.

That's not to say it can't be abused. It often is these days, but, in the end, it boils down to this. Belief in God is ultimately a matter of faith. So, too, is belief in freedom. In this case, you have to have faith that no matter how much apathy, lies, corruption and propaganda there are that ultimately Americans will find the pony in the manure pile and do the right thing.

They cannot, however, if the government shuts their mouths, which is what the McCain-Feingold bill hopes to do.

We need more speech, not less. We need more folks joining together to accomplish their political goals, not fewer.

If McCain has grown too thin-skinned, let him retire. He married a rich girl with an even richer poppa, and McCain can easily live out his days in an environment where everybody will kowtow to him.

But let's keep our political arena wide open and as free and as rough as a barroom brawl. That at least will weed out the pantywaists.

Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel