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Article: Political parties and spending limits.
- Article from:
- Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
- Article date:
- September 22, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Harvard Society for Law and Public Policy, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Supreme Court is ambivalent about political parties. At times, it is wary of them,(1) but on other occasions, the Court rhapsodizes about sacred rights of association and speech.(2) Each time a case regarding political parties comes before the Court, the parties cringe like battered children, uncertain whether they will be struck or embraced. This jurisprudential ambivalence reflects the public's own mixed sentiments. Party identification is still the leading cue sought by voters in deciding how to vote,(3) yet parties are objects of public suspicion and occasional scorn.(4)
I. THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF CONTEMPORARY PARTIES
The confusion results in ...