National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Comm’n · ¶103

History also matters. For nearly 200 years after the ratification of the First Amendment, parties could spend on campaigns in coordination with candidates. Parties and candidates could work cooperatively toward their common goal of advancing policies and winning elections to implement those policies. Again, no one suggests “that these elections were not functional or that they were marred by corruption.” Federal Election Comm’n v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Comm., 533 U. S. 431, 473 (2001) (Colorado II) (THOMAS, J., dissenting) (quotation marks and citation omitted).

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