What is Happening to our Rights?...

FEC Moves to Further Gag Political Groups
The Federal Election Commission yesterday enacted new regulations that will make it more difficult for independent political groups to continue to raise and spend millions of dollars in contributions after the 2004 election. In “The Reform Regime: What's next for campaign finance?” John Samples, director of Cato’s Center for Representative Government, writes: “The groups that want to further restrict campaign finance still have a lot of money at their disposal, no shortage of political skill, and a limitless desire to limit the rights of Americans to spend money on politics. If conservatives expect to stop future restrictions, they have to fight this battle all the time and not just in the courts and Congress. Unless conservatives invest in the struggle to defend the First Amendment, McCain-Feingold will be only the first of many laws that punish criticism of government.”