The NY Times offers this front-page report. I found this snippet going a bit too far in characterizing WRTL as “striking down” the BCRA “ban:” “First, in June, the Supreme Court struck down a ban in the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance laws on political advertisements by corporations, including nonprofit groups, within 30 days of a primary and 60 days of a general election. In its decision, Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life Inc., the Supreme Court ruled that the right to free speech protected any such advertisements except those that could only be interpreted as appeals to vote for or against certain candidates.” My own view of the effect of WRTL on campaigns is here.
See also Democrats Launch Big 527 in Roll Call ($). This is at odds with another statement in the Times article: “Second, the Federal Election Commission has made it increasingly difficult for outside advocacy groups to operate as many did in 2004, acting as so-called 527 groups, named for a section of the tax code that allows them to try to influence elections as long as they disclose their donors and expenses.”
Bob Bauer also comments (addressing my recent Findlaw column on the Colbert candidacy as well).