From an Institute for Free Speech symposium on the 50th anniversary of Buckley, which I've been cross-posting; this is by Allen J. Dickerson is a partner at BakerHostetler and a former commissioner and chairman of the Federal Election Commission:
Buckley v. Valeo ranks among the most consequential articulations of American liberty, and yet almost no one reads it in full. It is a famously long decision, written on an emergency timeline, addressing technical material. It lacks the gripping rhetoric of, say, Justice Robert Jackson's great First Amendment opinions—you will find no paeans to the "fixed stars in our constitutional constellation" here.
But, for all its complexity and compromise, Buckley stood fast on a key point: the Constitution protects effective political organization. The First Amendment exists "to assure unfettered interchange of ideas for the bringing about of political and social changes desired by the people."
Free speech is central to individual dignity. But it is also the foundation of democratic self-government. We have Buckley to thank for the enduring influence of that idea.
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For speech to be considered effective, it must be able to change government policy and affect election outcomes. Effective speech is inconvenient to those in power because it can make them adjust their plans or risk being fired. Even in the aftermath of Watergate, the Court recognized that campaign finance laws could easily be used to limit speech, handicap civil society, and entrench government power.
The Buckley litigation showed, first and foremost, that Congress's proposed remedies were shockingly beneficial to incumbent members of Congress and their entrenched allies. A central claim in the litigation was, in essence, that Congress had used the Watergate crisis as an opportunity to pass amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) that insulated elected officials from criticism and opposition.
