(One of his arguments was that its restriction on campaigning at the polls violated freedom of speech).
Among those to make that point was the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has made opposition to restrictions on campaign financing one of the signature priorities of his career in Congress.
Although some details of its structure were still being worked out, the committee would be set up independently of Mr. Lazio, and would be exempt from most restrictions on campaign contributions, one official said.
Ginsburg said she is optimistic that "sensible restrictions" on campaign financing will one day be in place, quoting her late husband Martin Ginsburg to explain why: "The true symbol of the United States is not the eagle, it's the pendulum – when it swings too far in one direction, it will swing back".
As a Supreme Court Justice, Gorsuch is likely to vote to further loosen remaining restrictions on campaign donations by billionaires and corporations, restrict voting rights, allow partisan gerrymandering, close the courthouse door to workers and consumers, overturn environmental and financial regulations, and make it more difficult for women to control their bodies and their health.
The right, for example, has hailed the evisceration of the estate tax and the lifting of restrictions on campaign contributions, despite evidence that such policies work to restrict competition — by further concentrating wealth in the case of the estate tax, and by further empowering corporate America to control political decisions in the case of campaign finance.
Representative Dick Armey of Texas, the Republican majority leader who opposes any restrictions on campaign donations, proposed amendments that would have been far more restrictive than what the Democrats and their small band of Republican allies were proposing.
Even before negotiations begin during the next legislative session, moreover, Mr. Spitzer will need to act on outstanding issues from the last one, like renewing the state's horse-racing franchise, imposing new restrictions on campaign financing and approving capital spending.
There's also nothing wrong in principle with initiating greater restrictions on campaign spending and donations.
The battle of the dueling studios prompted calls for restrictions on campaign expenses.
