Overview
- Reason highlights Hasen’s Slate essay as a counterpoint to its Buckley v. Valeo at 50 symposium.
- Hasen contends Buckley, more than Citizens United, laid the groundwork for today’s donor dominance by shielding independent expenditures.
- He cites 2024 data showing six top donors gave at least $100 million, including Elon Musk at $291.5 million, largely backing Republicans, while Michael Bloomberg gave $64.3 million on the Democratic side.
- He acknowledges parts of the 1974 FECA were overly restrictive, pointing to a $2,368.80 anti-Ford ad that exceeded the law’s $1,000 limit and to incumbency advantages that complicate reform.
- He argues the Court was wrong to deem independent spending noncorrupting and says meaningful change would likely require a constitutional amendment or Supreme Court reform, which he warns could be unlikely and that the current Court could further entrench.