At 8:26 PM -0800 11/4/97, Tim May wrote:
This is why "campaign spending limits" are thought by many constitutional scholars and all libertarians to be unconstitutional. If Bill Gates wants to spend his money talking about how great gun control is, no one can stop him.
You might be able to define campaign spending limits in terms of qualifications for the job. (I think it would take a constitutional amendment for federal office holders). Then you might see the amusing sight of, e.g. the anti-Clinton people spending heavily on pro-Clinton TV spots to force Clinton to be disqualified from the job. Another way which should appeal to the property owner's rights crowd would be to say that since the 1034 Communications Act says that the airways belong to the people (i.e. the government), they may not be used for political advertising more than 6 weeks before an election. The spread of private systems such as cable will frustrate this direction. Please note, I don't advocate either of these "solutions". I am just amused to think about them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Frantz | Internal surveillance | Periwinkle -- Consulting (408)356-8506 | helped make the USSR the | 16345 Englewood Ave. frantz@netcom.com | nation it is today. | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA