Demonstrators gather outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, as the court heard arguments on campaign finance. The Supreme Court is tackling a challenge to limits on contributions by the biggest individual donors to political campaigns. The case being argued at the high court Tuesday is a test of the Roberts court's readiness to take its most aggressive swipe at campaign finance laws since its Citizens United decision in 2010 took the lid off independent spending by corporations and labor unions.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In January 2010, the Supreme Court handed down their landmark Citizens United ruling, dramatically altering campaign finance in America. The decision allowed corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited money directly on politics and it created an explosion in so-called 501(c)(4)s, nonprofits named for where they fall in the tax code. As these organizations have become some of the biggest spenders in politics today, new questions are arising in D.C. and around the country about how -- and whether -- money in politics should be reined in. Four years after Citizens United: how we pay for politics and the state of campaign finance reform.
Guests
Lawrence Lessig
professor, Harvard Law School and director, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. He is leading "The New Hampshire Rebellion" in support of campaign finance reform.
Matea Gold
reporter covering money and politics, The Washington Post.
Bradley Smith
chairman and founder, Center for Competitive Politics. He is a professor at the West Virginia University College of Law.
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