That’s the way I feel about it. It think donations, cash or otherwise, should be disclosed, but limiting or other restrictions on political donations are a restriction of the first amendment. If the electorate is informed and we have a vibrant free and dogged press (both assertions are arguable, I admit), then all the money in the world isn’t as powerful as an informed voter.

“Obviously, there is an inordinate imbalance,” said Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. “That’s the field. That’s the way it’s played. Money talks. Constituents talk. Ultimately, constituents – the ones who cast votes – speak as loudly as corporations with lots of money.”