How did our laws evolve to allow corporate spending on elections and who were the players driving the effort to deregulate campaign finance? In this episode, we are joined by Ann Southworth, professor of law at UC Irvine School of Law and co-director of the Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession. Her latest book, Big Money Unleashed: The Campaign to Deregulate Election Spending, unpacks the legal, political, and social forces behind the deregulation of campaign finance. Through the lens of her book, we explore how legal scholars, advocacy groups, lawyers, judges, and political leaders orchestrated a decades-long effort to reframe money as speech and dismantle regulations on campaign spending. We discuss the key players and role of conservative legal networks in the political landscape and examine the impact of landmark cases like Citizens United on the electoral system. Join us for an expert perspective on the machinery that redefined campaign finance and the broader implications for society with Professor Ann Southworth.

Key Points From This Episode:

Research on conservative legal movements that inspired Big Money Unleashed.
The influence of scholars and advocacy groups in shaping American legal doctrine.
How money was framed as speech under the First Amendment.
Professor Southworth’s data on some differences between challengers and reformers.
Mitch McConnell’s leadership in challenging campaign finance laws.
How deregulation advocacy groups modeled their strategies on NAACP litigation tactics.
Liberal allies in the campaign against regulating election spending.
Shifts in Supreme Court doctrine with Citizens United and other cases.
The rise of dark money and its impact on election transparency and public trust.
Insights on whether certain campaign finance deregulation methods are being used to push other legal agendas.
Why public opinion on campaign finance remains a rare point of bipartisan agreement.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Professor Ann Southworth

Big Money Unleashed: The Campaign to Deregulate Election Spending

Lawyers of the Right: Professionalizing the Conservative Coalition

Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession (CERLP)

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Buckley v. Valeo

Citizens United v. FEC

Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center

CSIS Podcasts

Dictatorship and Information

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