National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Comm’n · ¶77

On that last point, it is worth briefly focusing on the term “disproportionate” from McCutcheon. In this campaign finance context, determining how much regulation is enough to serve the Government’s asserted interest is not a scientific exercise. But in light of the First Amendment free-speech rights at stake, courts must be particularly vigilant. Courts cannot simply say, “what’s the harm in allowing just one more regulation” when that regulation would limit freedom of speech. On the contrary, courts must preserve and protect the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Framers. Necessary, narrowly tailored, and disproportionate may be technical legal terms, but they help ensure that courts appropriately respect the bedrock First Amendment principles at stake.

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