Free Speech to the Highest Bidders

Over at Millennial, Nathaniel Romano, SJ looks at the recent Supreme Court decision on campaign contributions and poses exactly the right questions about the relationship between money and political participation. The money quote:

Participation thus becomes a commodity enjoyed by those who can afford it.  The Chief Justice opens his opinion with a paean to the basic and fundamental right to participate.  Yet, in allowing near-unlimited sums of money into the political system, he narrows the pool of participants dramatically.