McCain-Feingold Under Fire at SCOTUS

(Washington) In a special session, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments regarding the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.

The question of whether corporations and unions should be allowed to spend money to help federal candidates was the focus of contentious oral arguments, as the court took the unusual step of cutting into its recess to take up the politically charged case. [...]

Election-law experts had predicted the case could bring a dramatic change to campaign finance rules, and undercut a central piece of the 2002 McCain-Feingold law. Twice before, the court under Chief Justice John Roberts had picked off small portions of the McCain-Feingold law and declared them invalid, and going into Wednesday's arguments, many viewed the case as an uphill battle for the nation's new solicitor general, Elena Kagan.

Ms. Kagan's burden became clear early on when she found herself conceding that she was being asked by Chief Justice Roberts to argue less about why the FEC should win the case, and more "about the [least painful] way in which to lose."

Sen. McCain left the court in a huff, calling the justices' arguments "very disturbing."

Heh.