The Bulwark Podcast

Snapshot · The Bulwark Podcast

David French: The Birthright Citizenship Ruling Should've Been 9-0

Explore episode Jun 30, 2026

Where this was said

Campaign Finance Ruling: Citizens United Continues

At 33:30 · chapter starts 26:40

The newest ruling, dropping just before recording, gets less analytical polish because of the timing but prompts one of the episode's sharper exchanges on first principles. Miller is skeptical — campaign committees having to pay higher ad rates doesn't feel like a First Amendment violation to him, and he questions whether campaign committees have First Amendment rights at all. French zooms out to first principles: the First Amendment exists precisely to protect political participation, and the labyrinth of campaign finance regulations is really a subsidy for the wealthy, because only well-funded actors can afford the lawyers to navigate it legally. He actually likes the idea of more coordination between parties and candidates — the weird prohibition on that coordination had empowered super PACs to a massive and distorting degree. Both agree the whole system is incoherent whack-a-mole: every fix for the last problem creates a new one, and the current structure — unlimited super PAC money alongside a $7,000 candidate limit — makes no sense. Miller jokes he might sue over his own First Amendment rights.

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