Rick Hasen has thoughtful advice for progressives on campaign finance reform, and it can be summed up as an exhortation to live to fight another day. He counsels against misguided gestures (constitutional amendments), empty gestures (“lip service” to reform without action) and giving up altogether and moving on to other issues. Richard L. Hasen, Three Wrong Progressive Approaches (and One Right One) to Campaign Finance Reform, UC Irvine School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series No. 2013-117 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2293979 (Forthcoming in Harvard Law & Policy Review)
There is much Hasen has offered for reflection and discussion, but there are two issues—one of diagnosis and the other of prescription—that his analysis quickly raises.
He concludes:
Then, in its prescription of steps for a resurgently progressive jurisprudence, Rick’s presentation raises a vital question of emphasis. While insisting that regulation should be reasonable and “only reasonable,” Id. at 15, Rick seems largely concerned with establishing a foundation for limits. In practice this has meant that campaign finance regulation begins with the construction of limits and restrictions and then identifies exemptions and accommodates constitutional requirements, such as protecting independent expenditures. In the resulting “jumble of rules” the “delicate balance” Rick calls for has proven elusive. Perhaps the time has come to reverse the order of emphasis and consider what is required for the next-generation model of political engagement and participation, and then build into it appropriate, carefully fashioned limitations and disclosure requirements. What comes first in the progressive rebuilding project may make considerable difference.
Stated another way: progressive campaign finance reform should be developed within, and not apart from, a conception of vigorous political action. Rick Hasen sets as progressive goals “protecting robust free speech to deterring corruption and promoting equality.” Id. Included in the list should be the goal of effectively “doing politics,” and it should not be tacked on to the end.