Justice Scalia spelled it out with his usual verve: "... the present legislation targets for prohibition certain categories of campaign speech that are particularly harmful to incumbents. Is it accidental, do you think, that incumbents raise about three times as much ‘hard money' -- the sort of funding generally not restricted by this legislation -- as do their challengers? Or that lobbyists (who seek the favor of incumbents) give 92 percent of their money in ‘hard' contributions? Is it an oversight, do you suppose, that the so-called ‘millionaire provisions' raise the contribution limit for a candidate running against an individual who devotes to the campaign (as challengers often do) great personal wealth, but do not raise the limit for a candidate running against an individual who devotes to the campaign (as incumbents often do) a massive election ‘war chest'"?
Oh yes, this law will be a boon to incumbents and, at least in the short run, to Republicans. But at no less a price than undermining our liberties. In the land of the free, groups like the Sierra Club and Citizens Against Government Waste will no longer be able to buy advertising within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election that mentions any candidate by name. This is an outrage and a disgrace. What is the First Amendment for if not to permit me, and any group I associate with, to express political views?
No doubt Robert Bartley would have had severe words for this judicial fiasco. I knew him only slightly, so my sense of loss is not personal. But like millions of others over the past 30 years, I have come to revere the editor who made The Wall Street Journal editorial page a font of inspiration. It wasn't just crystalline writing and superb timing. It was also the weight of data Bartley always heaved into our national debates. And very often you would find new and important information on The Wall Street Journal editorial page. About no other paper would you see the phrase "as The Wall Street Journal editorial page reported," but this was commonplace for the Journal.
Though his page was forceful and emphatic, Bartley's personal style was low-key and understated. He wasn't a celebrity, and he wasn't celebrated. He was something better -- important. The Wall Street Journal stood firm for freedom, both economic and political. It launched an intellectual crusade for supply-side economics whose effects are even now improving all of our lives. And it unapologetically asserted that the United States of America was a power for good on the world stage. RIP.