Campaign finance laws, put in place painstakingly over time by generations of reformers, are designed to allow the electoral process to function fairly. Because large sums of money can affect an election and undermine the point of a democratic process, campaign finance laws are able to regulate the amount of money an individual can donate.
By this point James Bopp has basically wrecked all the laws everywhere. Through countless courts from numerous districts in states across the country, James Bopp has argued against limitations on spending in elections, fought against donors' names being public, and ushered in two of the most transformative Supreme Court decisions of our time, Citizens United vs. FEC and McCutcheon vs. FEC. Between those two cases alone, Bopp has used the founders vision of free speech as the rationalization for large corporations and wealthy individuals to flood the election process with unprecedented cash.
This didn't happen by itself. Behold James Bopp's ingenious interpretations of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, ponder his unique definition of "corporation," marvel at his belligerent response to a direct question from Derek Cressman about his connection to the Koch Brothers at a law symposium at San Francisco State University.
Told in the nostalgic style of The Paper Chase, which earned John Houseman an Oscar, this performance from James Bopp -- as vice chair of the RNC concerned about people of average means participating in elections -- this, too, may be an Oscar-worthy turn. [Generate buzz now]
John Wellington Ennis has been documenting the campaign reform movement for his upcoming film PAY 2 PLAY: Democracy's High Stakes.