In Republican Race, a New Breed of Superdonor

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/us/politics/in-republican-race-a-new-breed-of-superdonor.html

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: barry levine 
Date: Wed, Feb 22, 2012 at 7:27 AM
Subject: re: In Republican Race, a New Breed of Superdonor
To: letters@nytimes.com


To the Editor:

    Our Supreme Court has established that political donations are "symbolic speech" and as such are constitutionally protected. The right to Free Speech itself however is not absolute. There are speech acts (e.g. "fighting words" and "incitement to riot") that have been found to not be protected. What then would we say of a donor who gave indiscriminately to all nominees in a single race? Is the message only that she/he wants the eventual winner to feel indebted to her/him? Is that a case in which the "symbolic speech" of the donation is not constitutionally protected?

   There are a few in this country who would be happy to see our public servants responsive to their donors, rather than to their constituents. If they have their way in this one, they'll have their way in everything, and government "for the People" will have perished from this earth.

Barry Haskell Levine