In my many years in Washington, the most alarming development has been advertised under the

soothing title of campaign finance reform.

We Americans are disposed to think that the word reform is a synonym for improvement.

But what is called campaign finance reform is nothing less than a frontal assault on

the first, the most fundamental of our freedoms, the freedom to speak our minds and to participate

in politics.

This assault is always conducted stealthily by people who pretend that they only want

to regulate money, not speech.

They say they are only concerned about the quantity of money in politics.

After the 2012 Romney and Obama campaign spent combined $2 billion, the usual cry was

heard from reformers.

They said there is too much money in politics.

Forget the fact that Americans spend $2 billion every spring just on Easter candy, but

you must remember this.

People who say there is too much money in politics are necessarily saying three very sinister

things.

First, they are saying there is too much political speech.

Second, they are saying that they know just the right amount of political speech.

And third, they are saying that government should enforce the limits they want on the

amount of political speech.

That is, the government should regulate speech about the government.

Over the last few decades reformers have chipped away at the First Amendment guarantee of free

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