(American Spectator) — By a 5-4 vote along the usual “conservative versus liberal” fault line, the Supreme Court has struck down aggregate limits on political contributions. Currently, the federal government restricts the amount of money a person may contribute to a political candidate, party, or PAC — these are called “base limits.” Base limits were not the subject of this case, McCutcheon et al vs FEC; instead the issue was the total amount a person may contribute, complying with base limits, across multiple candidates, parties, and committees. The effect of aggregate limits was to limit the number of candidates, parties, or PACs a donor could contribute to (without having to reduce contribution amounts to comply with the aggregate limit).
As the Court’s opinion, written by Chief Justice John (“Obamacare is really a tax”) Roberts, lays out,
