It’s always interesting to see which cause will spur politicians to sacrifice our freedoms. In our day, free speech has been gutted on the altar of campaign reform.

I refer, of course, to the McCain-Feingold law. Known officially as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, under this enormity individuals and organizations not officially affiliated with a campaign have been prohibited from speaking in certain kinds of political advertisements mentioning a candidate within 60 of an election.

Lots of groups and individuals have objected. A few have filed suit. In 2004, an organization called Wiscsonsin Right to Life, wanted to run three ads late in a senate campaign. The ads instructed viewers to contact their senators. At no point was the group’s real target, Senator Feingold of McCain-Feingold fame, even named. Still, a judge refused to let the group air its commercials.

Censored.

In America.

In late June, the Supreme Court decided, by one vote, that the McCain-Feingold law couldn’t apply in this case Why? The ads were not, in their words, “the functional equivalent” of express campaign speech, urging the election or defeat of a candidate. The judges even offered this standard allowing all participants to know where to draw the line. This is really good news.

It’ll be a long road back to the First Amendment, but perhaps this is a small first step.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.