Individuals are capped at giving maximum support to 18 campaigns. Congress has yet to pass a law placing newspapers or the media under a similar limit. They can give an editorial endorsement – certainly worth much more than $2,600 – to as many candidates as they want. There is nothing special about being a newspaper publisher or editor that entitles a person to more influence than a doctor, a small business owner or a successful architect. Indeed, the principle ultimately threatens freedom of the press. If Congress can set an arbitrary limit on the influence of individuals, what would prevent it from also being able to set a limit on the influence of newspaper owners, publishers and editors? The First Amendment says “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” If the Court upholds this anti-speech law, that ruling endangers freedom of the press too.
