John Bolton at AEI:

The Court consumed over four hours for oral argument, an entire day on its calendar, thus an unprecedented amount.  Ralph led off the argument, attacking the constitutionality of the contribution and expenditure limitations, and his adversary was Archibald Cox, former Watergate Special Prosecutor and former Solicitor General.  Cox, a Harvard law professor, was also a Harvard and Harvard Law grad. Ralph, by contrast, was a Yale and Yale Law alumnus, and a Yale law professor.  He was also an avid football fan, so just before he rose to take the podium, I slipped him a note which read simply, “Go Yale, Beat Harvard.”

Although our plaintiffs’ final victory was only partial, they established beyond cavil the First Amendment’s applicability to campaign-finance issues.  And the long series of decisions that has flowed from Buckley, with some up and downs along the way, has shredded much of what remained of the FECA.  The surreal structure of today’s statute is something no sane person would propose as original legislation, and the inherent unfairness and discriminatory effects of efforts to regulate free speech have only been exacerbated by the passage of time.

Undoubtedly, the struggle to preserve a free political system will continue for as long as the republic lasts, but Ralph Winter  —  and AEI  —  will deserve a full measure of credit for protecting the First Amendment.  Ralph took an unpopular stand at a time of high emotion, argued it vigorously and well, and history has vindicated his analysis.  Forty years after Buckley, his constitutional theory that “money is speech” looks better than ever.