Free Speech and Free Elections

At a special Dinner Forumsponsored by Minnesota’s anti–collectivist fearless foursomeBrad Smith spoke about the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Citizens United that struck down bans on political expenditures by both for–profit and non-profit corporations.

A response to the Federal Election Commission’s prohibition of the airing of “Hillary: The Movie” and other corporate political speech near an election, Citizens United is a landmark case in which the majority cited Professor Smith’s pivotal scholarship on more than one or two occasions.

A 2010 recipient of a Bradley Prizeone of the highest honors in American conservatismProfessor Smith received his law degree from Harvard and holds an endowed professorship at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He is also chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics in Arlington, Virginia, and of no small consequence, a former chairman of the FEC.