Author

Ultimately, the court is heading to a doctrine of 'separation of campaign and state.' This doctrine, like separation of church and state or separation of military and civilian authority, is not explicit in the Constitution but flows naturally from its structure and commitment to freedom and democracy.

From Bradley A. Smith

Elections are a competition with only one winner. Giving more money to the opponent every time one speaks on behalf of a favored candidate discourages the speech that triggers the matching funds.

From Bradley A. Smith

Few developments in campaigning have been as vilified and misunderstood as independent expenditure PACs, or, as they are colloquially known, super PACs.

From Bradley A. Smith

There is no evidence that super PACs have led to a greater percentage of negative ads.

From Bradley A. Smith

Incumbents don't like it, but political competition is a good thing. Incumbents usually outspend challengers by better than 3 to 1. Super PACs, which tend to support challengers, have nullified some of this advantage.

From Bradley A. Smith

With super PACs, we've seen voter turnout go up; interest in elections rise; and the number of competitive races increase. The campaigns of 2010 and 2012 have been more issue-oriented than their predecessors, not less.

From Bradley A. Smith

Every major federal campaign-finance-reform effort since 1943 has attempted to treat corporations and unions equally. If a limit applied to corporations, it applied to unions; if unions could form PACs, corporations could too; and so on. DISCLOSE is the first major campaign-finance bill that has not taken this approach.

From Bradley A. Smith

The DISCLOSE Act is a testament to the wisdom of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. The First Amendment sought to place political speech beyond the government's control, and we can be glad that it did.

From Bradley A. Smith

Bradley A. Smith

Notable Quotes

Authors with Similar Views

Stephen Pagliuca

Virgil Goode

Corey Lewandowski

John Sarbanes

Bill Scott

Authors with Opposing Views

Caleb Cushing

Dan Severson

Gary Bauer

Markwayne Mullin

Maurice Saatchi