In contrast, mavericks need deeper support from their narrower base. Without the very generous support of a few very wealthy individuals, Eugene McCarthy never would have been able to mount his 1968 challenge to President Lyndon Johnson. The next primary was scheduled for April 2 in Wisconsin. Two days before the Wisconsin primary, President Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection. History was changed because McCarthy could raise scads from millionaires in order to take on the establishment's candidate.
Political speech is the core of the twin liberties of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
But campaign-finance laws directly limit political speech, either by preventing an individual from choosing how much of his own money to give to support political speech he likes, or by limiting the total amount a candidate may spend to get his message out. There is a better, simpler path to election reform. Colorado's 1876 Constitutional Convention, reacting to the common practice of railroad companies extracting huge subsidies from municipalities, totally outlawed corporate welfare, in five separate provisions of the state constitution. Many other states have similar bans on corporate welfare. Besides upholding the fundamental principle that private interests should not receive public subsidies, the Colorado provision also protects the political process from corruption.