Yesterday the Supreme Court abolished the McCain-Feingold campaign finance act as well as other federal laws dating to 1947 that limited corporate political expenditures. This basically means that now corporations and private labor unions can spend as much money as they want on political campaigns all the way up until election day. Is that a good thing? In short, I think the answer is ‘yes’.

The President decried the ruling by saying it gave “a green light to a new stampede of special-interest money in our politics,” particularly “big oil, Wall Street banks, health-insurance companies and the other powerful interests” that “drown out the voices of everyday Americans.” First off, I have a hard time listening to Obama lecture ANYONE about the evils of special interests. But assessing his statement objectively I would say that in some ways he is correct. This will open the door to a whole new world of big spending by people with particular political interests. And while that carries with it some potential for abuse, I think that it is the lesser of two evils.

The primary issue at stake, as the 5-4 majority of the Court saw it, is the issue of free speech, guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. The campaign finance laws struck down yesterday allowed the Government to suppress political speech on the basis of the speaker’s corporate identity. In my estimation, upholding the Constitution and the rights it protects is ALWAYS the greater good. The influence of special interests will always exist, and allowing them to open up their checkbooks may become obnoxious. But that is the lesser evil compared to ignoring the First Amendment.

This ruling also levels the playing field among corporations. The ban on corporate spending made a distinction among corporations. In the end, the media ended up with an unfair advantage. It was allowed unrestricted freedom to say anything it wanted about an election, while all other corporations were not. Perhaps this is the real reason Obama and other leftists are upset with the Court’s ruling. Despite how they claim to fight for “the little guy” and against “evil corporations” (which is nothing more than their usual class warfare), the left has the media in their pocket. In reality, this ruling actually helps the little guy. As Carissa Mulder puts it:

Surely the little guy has an interest in hearing election messages from corporations. The government gets its message out, and the media gets its message out. Why shouldn’t ordinary, private-sector corporations be able to speak as well? Unless he is a member of the Civil Service or a public-employees’ union, the little guy’s livelihood is usually dependent on a corporation — not the government or the media.

In the end, no matter how much money is spent by whom, voters are ultimately responsible to check the facts and know the candidates, something practiced by all too few back in 2008.