As a consequence, the Court ruled that the limits on campaign spending violated the First Amendment, but it accepted the $1,000 limit on individual contributions on the ground that the need to avoid the appearance of corruption justified this limited constraint on speech. James L. Buckley Read Quote
I had hoped that the current presidential campaign debates might educate the public as to what is really involved in the ongoing controversy over campaign financing. James L. Buckley Read Quote
Given the difficulty of resisting such temptations over the longer run, a proper concern for the welfare of congressional souls may well be the ultimate argument in favor of term limitations. James L. Buckley Read Quote
What people fail to appreciate is that the currency of corruption in elective office is, not money, but votes. James L. Buckley Read Quote
I am persuaded that in the case of elected officials, the overwhelming temptation is to conclude that it is more important for your constituents that you be reelected than that you deal honestly with them. James L. Buckley Read Quote
It would seem, therefore, that this constitutional safeguard may no longer serve its original purpose, especially when, as we learned last year, some acts of perjury may now be acceptable – in this world, at least, if not the next. James L. Buckley Read Quote
Moreover, we are showing a dismaying tendency to recast God in Man’s image. James L. Buckley Read Quote
In rendering its decision in our case, the Supreme Court equated money with speech because these days it takes the first to make yourself heard. James L. Buckley Read Quote
In the last analysis, of course, an oath will encourage fidelity in office only to the degree that officeholders continue to believe that they cannot escape ultimate accountability for a breach of faith. James L. Buckley Read Quote