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November 9, 2009

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Editorial: Curbing campaign cash gets a blessing

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

The U.S. Supreme Court sensibly ruled this week that states can impose limits on political contributions. A candidate for state auditor challenged Missouri's state law, which placed a limit on contributions, as an unconstitutional infringement on political speech.

The Supreme Court ruled, however, that reasonable caps don't infringe on speech. In the majority opinion, Justice David Souter noted that the court previously had held government could place limits on campaign contributions to prevent corruption -- or the appearance of it -- from large donations. "Leave the perception of impropriety unanswered, and the cynical assumption that large donors call the tune could jeopardize the willingness of voters to take part in democratic governance," Souter wrote.

It is reassuring that the Supreme Court opted to let the states decide for themselves whether they should impose limits on contributions which, if left unchecked, can have a pernicious influence on politics.

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