The Demos report is curious in a wide variety of ways, but mostly, it shows the extremism of Demos and the anti-speech zealots behind the move to regulate political speech.

Demos’s methodology is crude and unsophisticated. Most importantly, there is no effort to examine what Samuel Issacharoff & Pamela Karlan famously dubbed the “hydraulic effect” – the fact that blocking one form of political communication simply diverts political activity and spending to another form of communication. For example, when Congress first prohibited labor unions from spending on campaigns, the unions simply established the first Political Action Committees, or PACs. When spending on campaigns was limited, it simply diverted to discussing issues that influenced campaigns; when that was prohibited within 60 days of an election, it simply diverted to being spent earlier, and so on. In other words, it’s very hard to tell Americans that they have to stop trying to discuss politics or influence political races. Indeed, on the progressive left, it is probably fair to say that any effort to limit their spending to defeat Trump, turn voters against him, or stop his administration’s agenda would be considered “fascist.”

Nor does Demos consider ways in which Supreme Court decisions have reduced the amount of money in politics. For example, Demos doesn’t consider that Davis v. FEC limited the amount of money in politics by striking down the “millionaire’s amendment,” which allowed for larger contributions to politicians in some circumstances? Shouldn’t that be subtracted back out of the spending that allegedly results from Supreme Court decisions?

Of course, the unspoken assumption throughout the report is that more spending is inherently bad. In fact, political communication is at the core of mass democracy, and spending has been shown to increase political knowledge in the electorate. Again, how many anti-Trump progressives really want to reduce the amount spent to “resist” the Trump administration?

Nor does Demos consider if the Supreme Court decisions were correct as a matter of constitutional law. The Constitution, of course, prohibits the government from regulating political speech.* Knowing what people in power will sometimes do to silence criticism and critics, or to keep themselves in power, this is a good thing. Indeed, by permitting constitutionally-suspect restrictions on political contributions and regulation of independent spending – thus deterring much spending – one could argue that that the court has dramatically decreased political spending from where it would otherwise be. And, as we’ve noted many times, all this constitutionally-suspect regulation permitted by the Court has done nothing to improve American political discussion, and quite a bit to harm it.

Which brings us to the extremism of Demos and its allies. This report makes clear that the regulatory lobby has in its sights not just Citizens United and other decisions of the Roberts’ Court, but also Buckley v. Valeo. Buckley is a 41 year old decision in which liberal Justices – notably Justices Brennan and Marshall – were, with conservatives, in the majority, defending free speech rights. Although not specifically stated in the report, it is also clear that Massachusetts Citizens for Life v. FEC – a decision written by Brennan and joined by Marshall – would have to go for Demos to realize its goals. (“MCFL” upheld the right of a small group to publish a newsletter urging voters to “vote pro-life.”). Remember that the provisions struck down in Buckley would, among other things, have limited all spending by groups of citizens to $1000 for anything even remotely connected to politics. (Thus undercutting Demos’ own statement, quoted above, that citizens should be allowed to pool limited contributions to make independent expenditures.) Do members of the Sierra Club really think that the Club should be limited to spending $1000 for anything with “the purpose of influencing an election”? What about Demos itself, which almost certainly spent over $1000 preparing this report, which they clearly intend to influence public thinking on an important issue, and hence to influence electoral results, at least indirectly? In short, Demos is urging that the Justices overrule Buckley – a per curiam opinion in which only Justice White dissented from those portions defending free speech rights, and which is one of the pillars of modern First Amendment law protecting political speech.

Now there, dare we say it, is your extremism. This report was rushed out, it appears, to provide fodder for attacks on Judge Gorsuch this week, but it really shows the radical position of Gorsuch’s critics.**

We should be thankful that the Constitution protects our rights to free speech, and should judge harshly those who would restrict those rights.