Prominent Conservative Defends George Soros' Right to Speak

Rich Lowry of the National Review defends free speech:

Even George Soros has a right to participate freely and fully in American politics. Republicans apparently have a hard time grasping that concept.


And so in the House they have passed new, onerous regulations on the so-called 527 organizations that liberal groups used to pour massive resources into the 2004 elections, with left-wing billionaire Soros alone donating millions of dollars.

The Left uses the phrase “driving while black” to describe what it considers a systematic campaign by police to stop motorists for the noncrime of being black. Republicans have created their own category of nonoffense, “organizing while Democratic.”

Four years ago, Republicans railed against the McCain-Feingold bill to ban large “soft money” contributions to the political parties and prohibit broadcast ads that named a candidate within 60 days of an election. Back then, they professed ardent love for the First Amendment and worried that the legislation would tamp down on — by limiting spending on — entirely legitimate political activity. We now know they meant none of it.

Few politicians are for the free market in speech.It might hurt their chances of reelection.