Institute For Free Speech

First Amendment and Campaigns: More Campaign Speech Benefits Voters
January 1, 2018  •  By IFS Staff  •    •  

At the heart of the First Amendment is the assumption that Americans are best served by a full and free discussion of whom to elect. The American system of government sits atop the bedrock of the First Amendment. From the pamphleteering of the founding era to the Facebook ads of today, political campaigns have been premised upon free and open…

Who’s Buying Campaign Finance ‘Reform’?
January 1, 2001   •  By IFS staff   •  , ,

The campaign finance reform ‘campaign’ is controlled and financed by liberal Democrats: wealthy soft money donors to the Democratic party and candidates, liberal foundations and Democratic ...

Campaign Finance in U.S. House Primary and General Elections
January 1, 2001   •  By IFS staff   •  , ,

This chapter explores the relationship between U.S. House primary and general elections, focusing specifically on campaign finance. In the chapter, we assess how competitiveness in primaries ...

A Simple Explanation for Why Campaign Expenditures are Increasing: the Government is Getting Bigger
October 1, 2000   •  By Luke Wachob   •  ,

Federal campaign spending for all candidates running for the House and the Senate has risen by 180 in real terms from 1976 to 1994, ...

Do Campaign Donations Alter How a Politician Votes? Or, Do Donors Support Candidtes Who Value the Same Things that they Do?
October 1, 1997   •  By IFS staff   •  , , ,

Do special interest campaign contributions significantly alter how politicians vote on legislative issues? Can these political action committee (PAC) contributions ‘‘buy’’ votes within the Congress? Despite ...

Campaign Finance “Reform” Proposals: A First Amendment Analysis
September 4, 1997   •  By IFS staff   •  , ,

In the wake of recent reports of questionable campaign finance practices have come ever more draconian proposals to "reform" the campaign finance system. Those proposals ...

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