Citizens Disunited: McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission

Abstract

We have a separate but unequal Constitution. The wealthy are democracy’s darlings, the middle class are its stepchildren, and the poor are its orphans. And the Constitution’s written and unwritten rights are alive for the wealthy, merely evolving for the middle class, and dead for the poor. When wealth leads to “special access and influence,” the ballot box becomes a symbolic, not meaningful, gesture — except for those cast by individuals working in skyscrapers on Fifth Avenue and living in Beverly Hills’ mansions. It is also a recipe for actual and apparent corruption, and it does just as much, if not more, damage to democracy than an outright bribe.

Keywords: constitutional law, McCutcheon v. FEC, Supreme Court, campaign finance reform, First Amendment, judges

JEL Classification: K40, K23