In a unanimous ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has stricken as unconstitutional, on First Amendment grounds, contribution limits to “independent political advocacy groups that want to spend money directly to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress.”
A separate ruling by a three-judge federal panel rejected a challenge from the Republican National Committee to the 2002 McCain-Feingold limits on contributions to political parties.
Full story at the Washington Post.
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Green Parties in TX, AR, AZ, HI need your help to get on the ballot
March 24th, 2010 by Dave Schwab · 3 Comments
Several state Green Parties are collecting signatures to win ballot access for 2010 elections – and beyond! No matter where you are, there is some way to help fellow Greens win the recognition they need from their state governments. Please help any of the following states, and stay tuned for further news from other state parties.
http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2010/03/24/green-parties-in-tx-ar-az-hi-need-your-help-to-get-on-the-ballot/
The opinion striking down contribution limits to groups that make independent expenditures was in front of all 9 full-time judges of the US Court of Appeals, D.C. So that is very significant.
The 3-judge court, from US District Court, upholding limits on contributions to political parties is less meaningful, because the 3 judges didn’t really defend the limits very much; they mostly just said the law was already upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2003 and their hands are tied. That Republican Party case will surely go straight up to the US Supreme Court quite soon. They don’t any intermediate court.