U.S. Supreme Court eases Campaign spending

The Supreme Court Thursday defeated a movement to place long standing limits on corporate spending in American political campaigns.

The 5-4 ruling from a conservative majority is a defeat for the Obama administration and the campaign finance law supporters. The ruling would allow corporate money into the political system which could help determine who wins or loses in presidential and congressional elections. Justice Anthony Kennedy told Reuters that the limits violated constitutional free-speech rights. He wrote, "We find no basis for the proposition that, in the context of political speech, the government may impose restrictions on certain disfavored speakers." The justices overturned Supreme Court precedents from 2003 and 1990 that would put federal and state limits on independent expenditures by corporations to either support or oppose candidates. This comes after new spending records after each political cycle. Reuters reports, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, "The court's ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation."