Court Opinion

ID: 9471800
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 03:41:26.924245+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:42:35.151051
License: Public Domain

STARR, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
Western philosophers, theologians, and statesmen of widely varying viewpoints have affirmed for over two thousand years that charity — the feeding of the hungry, the healing of the sick, and the educating of the ignorant — has a claim on the human conscience that transcends political differences. In response to this ancient claim, the federal government conducts an annual charitable drive among federal employees known as the Combined Federal Campaign. Like those private employers which conduct similar drives, the federal government has a legitimate interest both in minimizing the time devoted by its employees to the charitable campaign and in preventing the campaign from disrupting the workplace. As a provider or financier of welfare and health benefits, the government, unlike private employers, has a profound and direct interest in the success of this charitable drive, for what the needy receive from charity they will not require from government.
The majority’s decision today to mandate the federal charitable campaign’s inclusion of advocacy groups — non-profit, tax-exempt organizations engaged in the pursuit of policy goals through litigation — distorts the nature of charity. The results of this exercise of judicial power not only threaten the success of the federal charitable drive, but impose as well unnecessary burdens on the federal resources required to conduct it. If the law required this unhappy result, I would suppress my own misgivings about the wisdom of the decision and stoutheart-edly join the majority. But today’s decision is compelled neither by the Constitution nor by relevant decisions of the Supreme Court. In fact, as I will seek to demonstrate, the majority’s decision is at war with the law of the First Amendment.
To foreshadow the discussion to come, the bedrock distinction between a “public forum” and “nonpublic forum” in First Amendment law — a pivotal distinction avoided by the majority’s analytical legerdemain — is designed to prevent that basic bulwark of our liberty from irrationally transforming the nature of a facility which is devoted to purposes other than public discourse and debate. We are dealing here not with a street or park or other gathering place for exchange in the marketplace of *1269ideas. This is the federal workplace. And while the majority’s approach does not directly challenge the proposition that a federal charitable campaign conducted in the federal workplace constitutes a “nonpublic forum” under applicable First Amendment analysis, the majority, in striking down the limitations at issue here, employs a stringent standard of review under the guise of a “reasonableness test” that comports not at all with the deferential standard demanded by Supreme Court precedent. In a word, much of the majority’s analysis is inapplicable to the case at hand.
Furthermore, the majority seems to overlook the fact that this case comes before us on the advocacy groups’ motion for summary judgment. Far from reading the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, the majority in fact blinks at substantial evidence in this record that would support the restrictions at issue here even in the face of more searching judicial scrutiny than governing case law warrants. Inasmuch as the government has presented ample evidence in support of the challenged restrictions to survive a summary judgment motion testing their reasonableness, I respectfully dissent.
I.
A.
The standards for measuring government-imposed limitations upon First Amendment access to public property differ depending upon the nature or character of the property at issue.1 Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators Association, -- U.S. --, 103 S.Ct. 948, 74 L.Ed.2d 794 (1983). Judicial review is most exacting when the place to which access is sought is categorized as a “public forum.” Governmental restrictions on access to a public forum will be upheld only if the limitations are “necessary to serve a compelling state interest and ... [are] narrowly drawn to achieve that end.” Id. The standard of review is also stringent when a “limited public forum” is at issue; however, such a forum may legitimately be limited to the use of groups or the discussion of subjects for which the forum was created in the first instance. Perry, 103 S.Ct. at 955 n. 7. In contrast, the standard of judicial review for limitations on access to a “nonpublic forum”2 is considerably more deferential. Such restrictions will be upheld so long as they are “reasonable” and are “viewpoint neutral,” which is to say that the restrictions are “not an effort to suppress expression merely because public officials oppose the speaker’s view.” Perry, 103 S.Ct. at 955.
The paradigm instances of a public forum are streets and parks — traditional places for public assembly and expression. See United States Postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations, 453 U.S. 114, 101 S.Ct. 2676, 69 L.Ed.2d 517 (1981) (citing, e.g., Hague v. CIO, 307 U.S. 496, 59 S.Ct. 954, 83 L.Ed. 1423 (1939)). Other forums deemed “public” for First Amendment purposes are university meeting facilities, see Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263, 102 S.Ct. 269, 70 L.Ed.2d 440 (1981) and municipal theaters, see Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad, 420 U.S. 546, 95 S.Ct. 1239, 43 L.Ed.2d 448 (1975).3 On the *1270other hand, the Court has held that a school’s internal mail system, see Perry, supra; postal mailboxes, see Greenburgh, supra; military bases, see Greer v. Spock, 424 U.S. 828, 96 S.Ct. 1211, 47 L.Ed.2d 505 (1976); and advertising panels in rapid transit vehicles, see Lehman v. Shaker Heights, 418 U.S. 298, 94 S.Ct. 2714, 41 L.Ed.2d 770 (1974) (plurality opinion), are not public forums.
These cases clearly indicate that no bright-line test exists to distinguish between public and nonpublic forums. Instead, the Supreme Court cases analyze the nature of the particular facility in question and determine whether the forum is “public” or “nonpublic” in light of three factors. First, the Court analyzes the history of the facility to determine whether the public has traditionally used the place as a forum for expression of views. See Greer v. Spock, supra, 424 U.S. at 838, 96 S.Ct. at 1217 (“The notion that federal military reservations, like municipal streets and parks, have traditionally served as a place for free pub-lie assembly and communications of thoughts by private citizens is thus historically and constitutionally false”).4 Second, the Court has looked to the capacity in which the government is operating the forum. The Court is less likely to determine that a public forum exists when the government is operating the facility or installation in the role of employer; see Greer v. Spock, supra, 424 U.S. at 830, 838, 96 S.Ct. at 1213, 1218 (emphasizing that military bases are used for the training of personnel); or a commercial venturer, see Lehman, supra, 418 U.S. at 303, 94 S.Ct. at 2717 (emphasizing that in running a rapid transit service the municipality was operating as a commercial venturer); Greenburgh, supra, 453 U.S. at 127, 101 S.Ct. at 2684 (emphasizing the commercial nature of the postal service).5 Third, and finally, the Court inquires into whether the government permits the forum to be used “indiscriminately” by the public. See Perry, 103 S.Ct. at 956.6
*1271B.
The threshold question in this case, which the majority chooses not to address, is how to characterize the forum at issue here in accordance with the Supreme Court’s teaching, as set out above. The government argues that the forum at issue is the federal workplace in which the campaign takes place. The advocacy groups argue, in contrast, that the forum should be viewed as the Combined Federal Campaign, as embodied in the standardized pamphlet listing charitable organizations which is circulated to employees throughout the federal workplace. While the Supreme Court has never squarely addressed a similar problem, this court recently resolved a similar issue in United States-South West Africa/Namibia Trade & Cultural Council v. United States, 708 F.2d 760 (D.C.Cir.1983) [hereinafter cited as Namibia]. In that case, the district court in its public forum analysis had focused solely upon the advertising display cases at National Airport, disembodied from the airport terminals in which the displays were situated. In reversing the district court, this court stated that the analytical focus upon the display cases alone was unduly “narrow.” To “appraise accurately” whether the forum is public or nonpublic, the court concluded that it had to evaluate the advertising panels in the context of the airport of which they were a part. Namibia, 708 F.2d at 784.
In my view, this approach — analyzing the communicative medium in the larger context of the place in which the facility exists — is supported both by Supreme Court precedent and the rationale of the public forum doctrine. As the Namibia court itself noted, focusing on the larger context “parallels the Supreme Court’s consideration of the functions and physical limitations of the buses at issue in Lehman.’’ Namibia, 708 F.2d at 764 (citation omitted). Furthermore, in- deciding that political speakers had no right of access to a public area on a military base, the Supreme Court analyzed that area in the context of the history and traditions of the military base as a whole. See Greer v. Spock, supra. Both in Lehman and Greer, therefore, the Court eschewed an artificial, piecemeal analysis in determining precisely the metes and bounds of the forum in question.
Namibia is entirely consistent with this common-sense approach. Moreover, because the public forum doctrine involves an analysis of property and facilities in order to determine the appropriate level of scrutiny for restrictions on access, it would be anomalous to analyze the communicative medium — such as an advertising display panel in an airport terminal or on a bus— without reference to the place in which it exists. The fact that an advertising display panel is situated on a bus rather than in a park or publicly owned property abutting a street is highly relevant to an evaluation of government-imposed restrictions on access to the advertising panel.
The anomaly of ignoring the larger place within which the medium for communication is situated would be particularly glaring in cases where, as here, the communicative medium is inseparable from the place in which it is situated. The CFC pamphlets are circulated only within the federal workplace. So too the solicitations by federal workers on behalf of the CFC occur only within the federal workplace. It is therefore to the federal workplace to which we must initially look to decide whether a public or nonpublic forum analysis is appropriate.
The federal workplace in which the CFC takes place, both military and civilian, bears little resemblance to a public street or park, places that the Supreme Court has found to be paradigms of the public forum. Indeed, as we have already observed the Supreme Court in Greer v. Spock specifically held that the federal military workplace- — the military base — is a nonpublic forum. The Court reasoned that there is no history or tradition of public expression at a military base. It stated that “it is ... the business of a military installation like Fort Dix to train soldiers, not to provide a public forum.” Greer v. Spock, 424 U.S. at 838, 96 S.Ct. at 1217.
*1272This reasoning, in my view, applies just as readily in the setting of the civilian workplace. It is the business of the federal civilian workplace to attend to the myriad interests and duties of government, not to provide a public forum for First Amendment communication. Not surprisingly, therefore, the federal workplace has not traditionally served as a place for public assembly or communication of ideas among private citizens. Public debate and discussion of United States foreign policy, for example, are at the core of First Amendment concerns, but that debate and discussion between private citizens need not be permitted in State Department offices at Foggy Bottom.
The Supreme Court has suggested repeatedly in dicta that public institutions such as the federal workplace, whose primary mission lies other than in serving as forums for communication, are simply not public forums. “Were we to hold to the contrary [i.e., that the forum at issue was public], display cases in public hospitals, libraries, office buildings, military compounds, and other public facilities would become Hyde Parks open to every would-be pamphleteer and politician. This the Constitution does not require.” Lehman, supra, 418 U.S. at 304, 94 S.Ct. at 2718 (plurality opinion of Blackmun, J.) (emphasis added).7 The presence of security personnel and sign-in sheets throughout the federal workplace powerfully attest to the undisputed fact that, in a word, the offices of the Department of State or the Department of Defense are not public parks surrounded by walls and ceilings. They are places to which the general public, even for First Amendment purposes, is not automatically permitted to enter simply to exercise constitutional rights.
C.
The advocacy groups contend, however, that the federal government’s introduction of a charitable drive in the federal workplace creates a public forum, albeit of a limited nature.8 There is absolutely no evidence in this record, however, suggesting any tradition that a charitable drive conducted in an employer’s workplace is open to the public. Nor is any evidence of such a tradition likely to exist. To the contrary, a letter from the chairman of the Board of Governors of the United Way of America, a charity invariably included in both public and private employer charitable drives, makes it crystal clear that charitable endeavors in the workplace have depended upon the agreement of government, industry, and labor to put aside political differences; as the letter aptly states, the inclusion of groups engaged in pursuing political or policy goals endangers that long-standing “social compact.”9 From the evidence in this record, in short, it seems abundantly clear that employers have traditionally not *1273opened their charitable drives to any public group that wishes to participate.10
Moreover, the government, as represented by six different Administrations, has never voluntarily included advocacy groups in the federal campaign, let alone every group that wishes to appeal to federal workers for funds. President Kennedy’s 1961 Executive Order initiating the Federal Charitable Campaign limited participation in the campaign to “national voluntary health and welfare agencies and such other[s] ... as may be appropriate.” Exec. Order No. 10,927, § 2(a), 3 C.F.R. 454 (1959-1963 compilation). There is undisputed evidence in the record that this language was understood to limit participation in the campaign to charities that provided traditional health and welfare services to the needy, not organizations devoted to legal advocacy in pursuit of various notions of public policy.11 This understanding was codified in a government manual governing the conduct of the campaign: it limited participation to organizations “providing direct services to persons in the fields of health and welfare services.”12 Only after the federal district court for this District in NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. v. Campbell, 504 F.Supp. 1365 (D.D.C.1981), invalidated this provision as unacceptably vague under the First Amendment did the government allow advocacy groups to participate.13 The advocacy groups thus entered the CFC only as a direct consequence of a lawsuit contested by the government. On this record, it is clear beyond doubt from the two-decade history of the campaign that the government is seeking to return the CFC to the traditional contours within which it has always operated. This, then, is not a ease of the government’s trying to close the barn door after voluntarily allowing the horse to gallop away.
Moreover, Perry plainly means that a traditionally nonpublic forum is not transformed into a public forum, limited or otherwise, by the government’s conferring selective access to the facility on the part of certain groups. The Court in Perry specifically rejected the contention that use of the internal school mail system by the Cub Scouts and similar groups turned the mail system into a public forum or limited public forum, since such selective access did not *1274amount to “indiscriminate use” by the general public. 103 S.Ct. at 955-956.14 Certainly the Combined Federal Campaign is not and never has been used indiscriminately by the public, nor is the public allowed indiscriminate access to the federal workplace.
As indicated above, the government does not circulate all appeals from the public in the CFC but only those from certain traditional health and welfare organizations generally included in an employer’s charitable drive. Furthermore, the “speech” permitted to the charitable groups is strictly limited in ways that clearly prevent any possible claim of indiscriminate access. First, the CFC allows the pamphlets to be circulated once a year for six weeks. 5 C.F.R. § 950.103 (1983). Second, the statements are limited to thirty-word descriptions of the nature of the program. 5 C.F.R. § 950.521. These materials must not contain “distractions that compete for the contributors’ attention,” 5 C.F.R. § 950.-521(d) and “must have the approval of the local Federal Coordinating Committee.”15 5 C.F.R. § 950.521(a). The charitable group-is not permitted to make any spontaneous or personal appeal of its own; to the contrary, federal workers circulate the pamphlets and make any follow-up solicitations. These strict limitations on speech conclusively establish that the CFC, as conducted and regulated in the federal workplace, resembles not at all the public forums that “have been used for the purpose of assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions.” Hague v. CIO, supra, 307 U.S. at 515, 59 S.Ct. at 964.
II.
A.
Once the forum is categorized as nonpublic, the restrictions on access must be upheld if they are both reasonable and neutral as to the viewpoint espoused by the “speaker.” Perry, 103 S.Ct. at 955. The Supreme Court’s decisions make it abundantly clear that the standard of “reasonableness” is deferential, giving substantial weight to judgments of those familiar with the nature of the forum — an approach far removed from that employed by the majority.16 In none of these cases was the government required to produce a “compelling” or “significant” governmental interest17 to justify the restrictions. To the contrary, the government must simply provide a “rational basis” for its exclusion of certain organi*1275zations from the nonpublic forum.18 Nor has the Court engaged in the “least restrictive alternative analysis” to strike down restrictions in a nonpublic forum.19 Indeed, in Greenburgh, supra, 453 U.S. at 132, 101 S.Ct. at 2686, the Court refused to be drawn into balancing the interests of the civic association in using the mailboxes at issue there as against the interests of the government in restricting mailbox access — a task in which the lower court had engaged at length. The Court made it clear that the standard of review applicable to content-neutral time, place and manner regulations did not have to be met in the case of restrictions on access to a nonpublic forum.
Moreover, in several cases the Court has not required the government to produce evidence of dangers against which the government-imposed restrictions on access are to be aimed. The judicial deference evidenced in those cases is particularly noteworthy in divining the appropriate standard of review in the instant case, because the dangers against which the restrictions upon CFC participation are aimed are strikingly similar. For instance, when in Perry the school system alleged that allowing a union which was a rival to the incumbent bargaining agent to use the school’s internal mail system would disrupt the school, the Court specifically stated that it would require no proof of the possibility of disruption. Perry, 103 S.Ct. at 959 n. 12.20 Similarly in Lehman, the worthies of Shaker Heights produced no evidence whatever, nor were they required to, to justify the contentions that allowing paid political advertisements would endanger long term transit revenues and that such advertisements would create “lurking doubts about favoritism” on the part of city authorities. 418 U.S. at 304, 94 S.Ct. at 2718.
In particular, the majority dramatically departs from this body of prior case law when it in effect steps up the standard of judicial review by virtue of the fact that advocacy groups have the same status under the Internal Revenue Code as traditional health and welfare organizations. The tax laws were not drafted with the conduct of charitable campaigns in the federal workplace in mind. With due respect both to the majority and to the tax laws, the Internal Revenue Code may well be of abid*1276ing relevance and interest to taxpayers, but it is breathtakingly irrelevant to whether the government’s restrictions on CFC participation are reasonable. It is certainly true that Perry emphasized the respective statuses of the union that, as the elected bargaining agent, was allowed to use the internal mailbox, and of the union that, as a mere rival with no collective bargaining responsibilities, was excluded from mailbox access. But, critically, the Supreme Court has not heightened judicial review in nonpublic forum eases when there happens to be no difference in legal status between the admitted and the excluded. In Green-burgh, North Carolina Prisoners’ Union, Greer, and Lehman, supra, the Court did not demand that the groups or individuals treated unfavorably have different statuses as codified in some law like the tax code; rather, the Court merely inquired into whether the government had a rational basis for distinguishing between the groups in the context of the forum.
Indeed, Perry, insofar as it speaks to the reasonableness of restrictions in a very different kind of nonpublic forum, supports the government’s position here. In Perry, the Supreme Court emphasized the relevance of private industry practice in evaluating whether there was a rational basis for the differential access given to different groups. 103 S.Ct. at 958 n. 11. The evidence in this record, indicating that private industry admits traditional health and welfare groups but not advocacy groups like appellees into its charitable drives,21 suggests that the government’s distinction is not capricious.
As a practical matter, the majority’s invocation of the various organizations’ legal status as the linchpin of its constitutional analysis would potentially transform the federal charitable drive into a Babel of competing organizations, once the news goes forth that tax-exempt status, without more, entitles an organization to participate in the CFC. By using tax-exempt status vel non as the touchstone for access to government property, the majority seemingly opens wide the door to organizations that have not heretofore participated in the CFC. From religious organizations to public policy thinktanks, from museums to universities, the range of tax-exempt organizations is wide and diverse. And it is not at all clear how, under the majority’s analysis of reasonableness, principled limitations to exclude any tax-exempt organization can be fashioned. By the judiciary’s imaginative use of the First Amendment, the entrance to the federal workplace charitable drive has thus been thrown wide open to any organization that can display evidence of having passed into the safe harbor of section 501(c)(3). Perhaps there is no longer a need for churches to depend exclusively upon giving on Sunday; coupling the majority’s analysis with the Supreme Court’s holding in Widmar v. Vincent, supra, 454 U.S. 263, 102 S.Ct. 269, 70 L.Ed.2d 440, suggests an attractive new vehicle for the effectuation of ecclesiastical stewardship drives.
B.
In contrast to the majority’s conclusion, the government’s showing in this case easily meets the deferential standard enunciated by the Supreme Court for restrictions on access to nonpublic forums. The government identifies three legitimate interests served by limiting access to the CFC so as to exclude advocacy groups. Importantly, the government has adduced substantial and at times overwhelming evidence that those interests will be impaired unless such groups are excluded from the campaign. First, the exclusion of legal advocacy groups promotes both the government’s general interest in the present and future success of the charitable campaign and the government’s specific interest in seeing that a maximum amount of charitable aid goes to the needy. Second, the exclusion promotes both the government’s interest in minimizing the time the campaign draws away from federal workers’ performance of their primary duties and the governmental interest in preventing disruption in the *1277workplace. Third, the exclusion aids the federal government in avoiding the appearance of political favoritism.
The government’s position on this appeal is, moreover, greatly strengthened by the procedural posture in which this case comes before us. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the advocacy groups’ position that their exclusion from the campaign was an unconstitutional abridgement of First Amendment rights. It is well settled that “the party who defended against the motion for summary judgment [in the trial court] will have the advantage of the [appellate] court’s reading the record in the light most favorable to him, will have his allegations taken as true, and will receive the benefit of the doubt when his assertions conflict with those of the movant.” See 10A C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2761 (1983). The grant of summary judgment is to be upheld only if the record, when reviewed in this light, show “that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R. Civ.P. 56(c). Because the government has presented abundant evidence on whether the inclusion of advocacy groups (1) threatens the viability of the campaign, (2) distracts federal employees from their primary duties, and (3) creates the appearance of political favoritism, this court can affirm the grant of summary judgment only by concluding that these three evils are legally irrelevant to the reasonableness of the government’s determination to exclude advocacy groups.22
It is self-evident that the government has an interest in the success of the CFC.23 From the evidence in this record, it is manifestly clear that inclusion of the advocacy groups caused both specific losses in the 1983 campaign24 and threatened the success of the charitable campaign in the years to come. While the amount of contributions measured in constant dollars was un*1278changed from the previous year,25 boycotts in several localities caused sharp contribution declines in those areas, thus indicating that inclusion of advocacy groups did in fact cost the campaign money. For example, in Bremerton, Washington a union boycott caused contributions to drop by over twelve percent.26 Contributions in Dade County, Florida also slipped considerably by virtue of the inclusion of controversial advocacy groups.27 The Denver campaign reported that contributions from postal workers were down because of a boycott by a craft union28 The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers boycotted the campaign nationwide with consequences that defy calculation.29
The record, moreover, strongly suggests that without the exclusion of advocacy groups the disruption of the campaign will deepen in the future. These are not cas-sandrian fears. Uncontradicted evidence indicates that in many localities and agencies the 1983 campaign achieved success only because federal workers involved in the CFC, from local campaign heads to campaign workers, devoted extraordinary time and effort to enlisting and cajoling their colleagues to contribute to the CFC despite the inclusion of advocacy groups.30 There was evidence that this level of support could not be sustained in the future.31 The decline in the number of contributors to the campaign was viewed as a distressing signal of possible troubles ahead, representing an erosion of the base on which future campaigns depend.32 Indeed, in thirteen of the twenty-one largest local CFC’s on which information was available, the number of contributors declined.33 The record further indicates that at least in some localities one important union, the American Federation of Government Employees, was persuaded to stay in the 1983 campaign but promised to boycott future campaigns if advocacy groups were not excluded.34
Thus, the government had received a substantial body of information which taken collectively suggested that the CFC faced *1279difficulties in the future. The government should not be held powerless to forestall the serious erosion of future campaigns simply because the campaign did not immediately collapse under the weight of advocacy groups. In Justice Jackson’s memorable phrase, the Bill of Rights is not a suicide pact, but neither should it be turned into an instrument for forced self-immolation at more deliberate speed.
These concerns over the campaign’s future were widely shared; contrary to the majority’s implication, the concerns were in no way limited to the Administration in Washington. Local CFC administrators stated that the inclusion of advocacy groups placed a “stumbling block” in the “path of potential givers” which would give them an excuse not to contribute.35 The AFL-CIO, while not boycotting the campaign, stated that inclusion of advocacy groups “cannot help but impair the enthusiasm with which trade union members respond to CFC solicitations.”36 The United Way, a seasoned veteran in the ways and means of charitable fundraising, indicated through its national chairman that the inclusion of advocacy groups threatened the “social compact” between government, industry, and labor which has sustained charitable enterprises across the Nation.37 Members of Congress expressed concern.38
In the face of these uniform and uncon-tradicted misgivings about the CFC’s future, it is wholly unwarranted for the judiciary — the arm of the government intended by the Framers to be the least dangerous branch — to dismiss as unreasonable the remedial actions taken to protect the campaign from the wounds inflicted by an earlier district court decision that was not reviewed on appeal.39
The government likewise has an interest in minimizing the amount of time federal employees spend in soliciting their colleagues, for such solicitations are conducted “during duty hours.” 5 C.F.R. § 950.103(e). An extra hour spent on fundraising for the CFC is presumably an hour not spent on other government business. The record is replete with evidence that the inclusion of advocacy groups required federal workers *1280to spend time persuading unions not to boycott the campaign, explaining to skeptical workers how they could designate funds to avoid giving money to advocacy groups, and trying to help people surmount the psychological and emotional barriers which the inclusion of litigation advocacy groups firmly implanted in the way of charitable giving.40 In the Portland, Oregon, area alone approximately 2,500 more hours were devoted by Federal employees to soliciting and managing the Portland area CFC.41 Such an increase in federal employee time spent on the campaign would obviously represent on a national scale a very real and substantial additional burden on federal resources.
While the record does not indicate that any specific contretemps occurred in the workplace because of the advent of advocacy groups into the CFC, facts exist which would, it seems to me, warrant the government’s reasonably inferring the possibility of such occurrences. Union leaders denounced the inclusion of advocacy groups in terms reflecting neither detachment nor polite disinterestedness.42 In at least one locality, pressure groups appeared outside the federal workplace, handing out pamphlets and pressing workers not to give to the CFC.43
Finally, the record suggests that the appearance of governmental favoritism toward advocacy groups is a genuine and deep concern. The AFL-CIO, the country’s largest labor organization, opened a news release on the 1983 CFC with the following pronuneiamento: “The Reagan Administration has granted yet another opportunity to the far right wing to enrich itself, this time at the expense of federal and postal employees and the needy.”44 Others were even less complimentary about the presumed motives inspiring the introduction of advocacy groups into the CFC. One union leader colorfully described the CFC’s inclusion of the National Right to Work Foundation as equivalent to inviting Jack the Ripper to an “afternoon tea party for maiden ladies.”45 In contrast to Lehman where the Court found that the mere possibility of “lurking doubts” of political favoritism was a reason for excluding political advertisements from rapid transit advertising panels, here the record contains the acrid comments of national union leaders who in plain English expressly charged the Administration with politically inspired favoritism.
Of course, just as there is no suggestion in Lehman that Shaker Heights was actually parceling out advertising space on the basis of political beliefs, the record indicates that the CFC included in 1983 all advocacy groups that wanted to participate. But actual favoritism need not exist to warrant an exclusionary effort by government. The Supreme Court has recognized a legitimate government interest in avoiding the very appearance of favoritism even when none exists.46 Indeed, it is highly significant that union leaders who had access to information and were presumably aware of the reasons prompting the inclusion of advocacy groups in the 1983 CFC still attributed the action to partisan motives. Suspicions har*1281bored by national union leaders suggest that it may prove difficult indeed to persuade rank-and-file employees of the federal civil service that the inclusion of advocacy groups, particularly one with which an employee happens to disagree, did not occur for political reasons.47
III.
Finally, I turn to the argument, not relied upon by the majority, that exclusion of advocacy groups is not “view-point neutral” and is therefore impermissible even in a nonpublic forum.48 The President’s Executive Order excludes groups which are trying “to influence the outcomes of elections or the determination of public policy through political activity, advocacy, lobbying or litigation on behalf of parties other than themselves .... ” Exec.Order No. 12,404 § 1(b), 48 Fed.Reg. 6,685 (1983). Since the exclusion operates to prevent groups which are advancing political or policy concerns through certain enumerated means, no matter what those concerns are, appellees cannot plausibly claim that the restrictions on access discriminate on the basis of political viewpoint, as commonly understood. Instead, appellees contend that the order violates “viewpoint neutrality,” because it discriminates against groups that choose to promote human welfare by litigation rather than other methods.
Litigation, however, is generally understood to be a means of obtaining a goal or promoting a viewpoint, rather than a viewpoint itself. Even if appellees’ argument is construed as the claim that they are engaged in advancing the implicit message that litigation is an excellent method of promoting human welfare, Supreme Court precedent demonstrates that restricting such a message does not constitute viewpoint discrimination. For instance, it might well be believed that partisan political activities promote human welfare; yet the Court has upheld restrictions that prohibit public employees from expressing their views on public affairs if the expression is directed toward party success “on the grounds that such restrictions are not aimed at particular parties, groups, or points of view.” United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter Carriers, 413 U.S. 548, 556, 93 S.Ct. 2880, 2886, 37 L.Ed.2d 796 (1973). Similarly, some might think that a completely non-censorious approach to materials dealing with human sexuality would promote human welfare; yet the Court upheld zoning restrictions on theaters displaying sexually explicit movies on the grounds that the restrictions “[are] unaffected by whatever social, political, or philosophical message a film may be intended to communicate.” Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc., 427 U.S. 50, 70, 96 S.Ct. 2440, 2452, 49 L.Ed.2d *1282310 (1976) (plurality opinion). In this case, the restriction on the CFC is unaffected by the “social, political, or philosophical message” that groups wish to convey through “advocacy, litigation, or lobbying.” As in Young, the restriction here is permissible.
IV.
None of the six Administrations that have conducted the federal charitable drive have voluntarily included advocacy groups. From this record, it appears that private employers generally do not allow advocacy groups to participate in the charitable drives conducted in their workplaces. Local administrators of the CFC from across the Nation attest persuasively to the fact that advocacy groups at a bare minimum befoul the atmosphere needed to conduct a successful charitable campaign. Their comments complain vehemently about the extra burdens imposed upon federal resources by inclusion of litigation advocacy groups. Non-government experts who know firsthand how to appeal to the human wellsprings of charitable giving protest that advocacy groups should not participate in the CFC.
The majority evidently thinks it possesses an expertise which enables it to dismiss this accumulated wisdom from diverse and experienced sources, abundantly documented in the record, and to conclude that the government’s restrictions are so blatantly unreasonable that they merit judicial disapprobation without benefit of trial. Convinced that I am not possessed of such expertise, and persuaded that the Constitution neither demands nor warrants today’s result, I respectfully dissent.
ADDENDUM A
September 15, 1982
The President of the United States
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The Board of Governors of United Way of America, acting through its Executive Committee, has adopted the enclosed Resolution respectfully requesting Presidential action to amend Executive Order 12353 to limit eligibility for the Combined Federal Campaign to charitable agencies providing direct, human-care services in the fields of health and welfare, including health research.
When Executive Order 12353, restructuring the Combined Federal Campaign, was issued on March 23, 1982, there were high hopes in your Administration that it would mark the beginning of a new era of cooperative effort and support for the program’s charitable purposes. Certainly, those hopes were shared by the some twenty million dedicated volunteers in United Way organizations across the nation.
Unfortunately, the Executive Order and the implementing regulations issued by the Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, have had an opposite and I am sure, unintended affect.
We now find that the Combined Federal Campaign has become a source of intense controversy because of admission to the campaign of organizations whose principal purpose is other than the providing of direct human-care services and health research to persons and families in need of such services.
Illustrative of the controversy is that organized labor, because of the admission to the campaign of the National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation, now regards the campaign as having departed from its original charitable purpose of support for human-care services. As a result, some unions with hundreds of thousands of members including the National Association of Letter Carriers, have taken the position that the Combined Federal Campaign is no longer deserving of employee support and have directed a boycott of the campaign.
The implications of these actions by organized labor can and do extend beyond the Combined Federal Campaign. Until now, in the cause of charity, leaders of government, industry, and labor have been able to put aside any difference between them on other matters. They have come together at *1283the workplace in a social compact to assist the less fortunate in our society through support of charitable endeavors such as the Combined Federal Campaign as well as the annual nationwide United Way campaign. To jeopardize that compact appears clearly to run contrary to the national interest and to the goals of your Administration.
Mr. President, on behalf of the more than 37,000 charitable health and welfare agencies that are participating members of United Way, we urge favorable consideration and appropriate action to clarify and amend Executive Order 12353.
Sincerely,
/s/ Donald V. Seibert
Chairman,
Board of Governors
United Way of America
ADDENDUM B
Federal Executive Board of Greater St. Louis, Missouri
Office of the Director
January 12, 1983
Dr. Donald Devine
Director
Office of Personnel Management
1900 “E” Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20415
Dear Dr. Devine:
The 1982 East-West Gateway CFC raised $1,326,000 which exceeded the 1981 total by $39,000 even though participation declined by approximately four percent.
From the onset it became apparent that this year’s drive would be very difficult, especially after 1981’s problems with the National Association of Neighborhood Schools (NANS). This year NANS again picketed the Federal buildings; however, after a meeting with their chairman and the CFC chairman they agreed to stop picketing and passing out the handbills. They are still adamant and will no doubt be active next year. The threat of boycott by unions was real. Only by hard work were we able to gain their outward support, but many of the rank and file members still reacted negatively.
The steering away from the traditional health and welfare groups could spell the demise of the CFC as we have grown to know it. The loaned executives and key persons must at times face groups of employees who are staunch union members and they must overcome a negative attitude caused by CFC inclusion of advocacy groups.
To be ultimately successful in a general fund drive all agencies must be noncontroversial. When advocacy groups or groups that stir up negative feelings because of religious or union affiliation are present, we place an undue stumbling block in the path of many potential givers.
There is a growing concern on the part of Federal officials that if the CFC does not remove many of the controversial organizations, dire results will occur. Many people are looking for a chink in the CFC armor, and it appears that by including advocacy groups we play into their hands; and we provide the “I’ll give at home” individual the excuse for not participating.
We strongly urge the OPM [to] exert maximum efforts to exclude “all” advocacy groups from the 1983 program.
Sincerely,
/s/ Sidney M. Ford
Chairman

. The government also argues that because the CFC represents a government subsidy to charity, the exclusion of certain organizations from the enjoyment of the fruits of the CFC is to be tested under the equal protection clause rather than the First Amendment and is permissible under the analysis of a recent Supreme Court decision, Regan v. Taxation with Representation, -- U.S. --, 103 S.Ct. 1997, 76 L.Ed.2d 129 (1983). In view of my conclusion that the CFC is a nonpublic forum and that the restrictions meet the “reasonableness” test for public forums under the First Amendment, I do not reach the government’s argument under Regan.

. Perry is the first Supreme Court case to use the term “nonpublic forum.” 103 S.Ct. at 957. See also note 3, infra, as to “limited public forums.” Previous cases simply stated that a particular place was not a public forum. See, e.g., United States Postal Serv. v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Ass’ns, 453 U.S. 114, 128, 101 S.Ct. 2676, 2684, 69 L.Ed.2d 517 (1981).

. Perry characterizes Widmar and Conrad as “limited public” forums although those cases themselves characterized the forum under review simply as “public.” Indeed, Perry is the first Supreme Court decision to introduce and *1270discuss the concept of a “limited public forum,” although in one prior case a forum was simultaneously characterized as a “public forum” and a “limited public forum.” See Heffron v. International Body for Krishna Consciousness, 452 U.S. 640, 655 & n. 16, 101 S.Ct. 2559, 2568 & n. 16, 69 L.Ed.2d 298 (1981).

. See also Greenburgh, 453 U.S. at 120, 101 S.Ct. at 2680 (quoting Justice Holmes’ aphorism that “a page of history is worth a volume of logic”) (citation omitted); Lehman, 418 U.S. at 302, 94 S.Ct. at 2716 (quoting Lord Dunedin’s statement that “the truth is that open spaces and public places differ very much in their character, and before you could say whether a certain thing could be done in a certain place you would have to know the history of the particular place”).
Determining whether the forum has been used for public discourse helps the court in several ways in deciding whether strict scrutiny of restrictions on access to the forum is appropriate. First, if the forum is one in which speech has traditionally flourished, there is little danger that stringent judicial review resulting in greater “speech” of some kind will alter the nature of the forum. However, the relative absence of public discourse in a forum suggests that it has a bona fide purpose other than communication. Second, restrictions on traditional forums may cut off crucial public debate, because such restrictions prevent people from expressing themselves in places upon which they have reasonably come to rely for public expression. If, however, the forum is not traditionally given over to public discourse, the restrictions will cause no displacement of speech, and the existence of traditional forums will provide the public with obvious alternative venues. Finally, the judiciary has great experience in dealing with traditional forums like parks and streets. However, it may be thought to possess less expertise concerning the nature of nonpublic forums. Therefore, a standard of review which gives more deference to the other branches of government that operate such forums would seem entirely appropriate.

. Considering the capacity in which the government is operating the forum is also useful in determining the level of First Amendment scrutiny. If the government is operating the forum for the use of the public, strict scrutiny is, under binding precedent, reasonably required to ensure that the public in fact has access to the facility. However, when the government is operating a facility as a commercial venturer or employer, it is performing functions to which the public in general has no expectation of access.

. If the forum is in fact being used indiscriminately by the public, there seems no reason to suspect that the introduction of more speakers will change the nature of the forum. See also note 4 supra.

. This dicta is reaffirmed in Perry, supra, 103 S.Ct. at 957-58 n. 9 and Greenburgh, supra, 453 U.S. at 130 n. 6, 101 S.Ct. at 2685 n. 6. Indeed, even where the government facility in question is an office whose purpose is to disseminate information, such as an Office of Public Affairs, it has never been the law that free, unimpeded access must be permitted to such offices on the part of the general public, or that only carefully crafted and narrow time, place or manner restrictions on access would be constitutionally permissible.

. The advocacy groups claim that they should be able to participate in the CFC on the same terms as any other group.

. See Letter from Donald V. Seibert, Chairman, Board of Governors, United Way of America to the President of the United States (Sept. 15, 1982) (“The implications of these actions by organized labor [in threatening a boycott of the campaign] can and do extend beyond the Combined Federal Campaign. Until now, in the case of charity, leaders of government, industry, and labor have been able to put aside differences between them on other matters. They have come together at the workplace in a social compact to assist the less fortunate in our society through support of charitable endeavors such as the Combined Federal Campaign as well as the annual nationwide United Way Campaign. To jeopardize that compact appears clearly to run contrary to the national interest and the goals of your administration.”). I J.A. 99. A copy of this letter is attached to this opinion as Addendum A.

. In part II.A. below, I will discuss the relevance of the status of advocacy groups as tax-exempt charitable organizations.

. See Testimony of Donald Devine, Director of OPM, before the Subcommittee on Manpower and Housing of the Committee on Governmental Operations of the U.S. House of Representatives (Mar. 24, 1983) (“Everyone seemed to understand that the Combined Federal Campaign was intended to support the traditional kinds of charities that undertake research into the causes and cures of dread diseases or that render health and welfare services directly to needy people. The world of not-for-profit organizations had always included many other kinds of groups and institutions, of course, ranging from private schools and universities to opera guilds, sports associations, recreation societies, and many more, including the newer “advocacy groups” such as legal defense funds and public policy research organizations, all of which number today in the many tens of thousands. But it had never been thought appropriate — and certainly not practical — for these kinds of institutions to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign, especially since they were not engaged in supplying health and welfare services directly to human beings who were ill, infirm, poor, or distressed, thereby lessening the burdens of government in meeting such needs.”). II J.A. 385-86.

. Manual on Fund-Raising Within the Federal Service § 5.21 (1977) (U.S. Government Printing Office No. 006-000-01024-5).

. In Campbell, the district court impliedly premised its strict First Amendment scrutiny on the proposition that CFC was a public forum. 504 F.Supp. at 1367. I respectfully disagree with the learned district judge’s conclusion in this respect. But in any event, it is clear that the government’s alteration of the contours of the campaign in response to a decision declaring the campaign to be a public forum should not be taken into account in deciding whether the campaign is a public or nonpublic forum.
Lest there be any misapprehension as to the significance of the fact that no appeal was maintained in Campbell, the Supreme Court has recently reminded us, in a unanimous opinion, that decisions by the Solicitor General to appeal or not to appeal are governed by a variety of factors which would not necessarily obtain as to a private litigant. United States v. Mendoza, -- U.S. --, --, 104 S.Ct. 568, 571, 78 L.Ed.2d 379 (1984).

. See also Greer v. Spock, supra, 424 U.S. at 838 n. 10, 96 S.Ct. at 1217 n. 10 (1976) (“The fact that other civilian speakers and entertainers had sometimes been invited to appear at Fort Dix ... surely did not leave the authorities powerless thereafter to prevent any civilian from entering Fort Dix to speak on any subject whatever.”).

. Such restrictions on expression are difficult to characterize as time, manner and place regulations but would normally be classified as pri- or restraints under traditional First Amendment analysis. If the CFC is categorized as a limited public forum with the stringent First Amendment scrutiny which that categorization implies, such regulations would likely not survive. See, e.g., New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713, 91 S.Ct. 2140, 29 L.Ed.2d 822 (1971) (discussing the heavy presumption against prior restraints). Thus, categorization of the CFC as a public forum may endanger other regulations of the campaign, thereby radically altering its nature. Perhaps the majority’s silence on the precise nature of the CFC in the federal workplace is the better part of valor in light of the havoc which would inevitably be wrought by applying a limited public forum analysis.

. Commentators have noted the deferential standard applied to nonpublic forums. See, e.g., Note, A Unitary Approach to Claims of First Amendment Access to Publicly Owned Property, 35 Stan.L.Rev. 121, 127 (1982) (characterizing “scrutiny” of nonpublic forums as “weak”); Cass, First Amendment Access to Government Facilities, 65 Va.L.Rev. 1287, 1303 (1979) (noting that the Supreme Court grants little protection to speech when the place has been characterized as a nonpublic forum). Indeed, it would seem pointless to go to the trouble of distinguishing between public and nonpublic forums only to employ a stringent scrutiny analysis to restrictions of access to both types of facilities.

. See Greenburgh, supra, 453 U.S. at 131 n. 7, 101 S.Ct. at 2686 n. 7 (rejecting the “significant governmental interest” test advanced by Justice Marshall in dissent).

. See Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners’ Labor Union, Inc., 433 U.S. 119, 134, 97 S.Ct. 2532, 2542, 53 L.Ed.2d 629 (1977).

. Indeed, in some nonpublic forum cases less restrictive alternatives have been suggested only to be ignored by the Court. See, e.g., Lehman, supra, 418 U.S. at 321, 94 S.Ct. at 2726 (suggesting that the “impression of city endorsement can be dispelled by requiring disclaimers to appear prominently on the face of every advertisement”).
In this regard, the majority’s postscript advances the view that under this analysis, “any Government restriction on speech would survive scrutiny under the so-called deferential test enunciated by the dissent.” Majority Op. at 1266 (emphasis in original). In rather heated terms, the majority takes umbrage with what is, in fact, a straight-forward analysis of governing precedent. After all, Jones flatly holds that the burden on the government in nonpublic forum cases is “only [to] demonstrate a rational basis for their distinctions between organizational groups.” 433 U.S. at 134, 97 S.Ct. at 2542 (emphasis added).
The majority’s sturm und drang approach is misplaced. While judges should refrain from rendering advisory opinions, I have no difficulty at all in suggesting that, for example, the government’s elimination from the CFC of only those charitable groups that assist members of discrete and insular minority groups would plainly run afoul of Perry's analysis. So would any exclusion based upon disagreement with the views or positions of the particular charitable organization, under the viewpoint-neutrality analysis set forth below. The majority therefore need not lose any sleep over concern that Perry ushers in an era of utterly unbridled discretion on the part of government officials. Neither Perry nor anything in this opinion, dispassionately read, suggests anything of the sort.

. The Court’s refusal to require evidence of disruption cannot be explained away as an instance of its extraordinary deference to the national interest in labor stability. To justify its refusal to require such evidence, the Court cited another nonpublic forum case, Greer v. Spock, supra, which did not require the production of evidence to prove that political speech would disrupt the military workplace. It will not do to tuck Perry away in a pigeonhole marked “Labor Relations,” and thus drain it of all efficacy outside the employment setting. Perry’s locks are not so Samson-like to be so easily lopped off.

. For a discussion of this evidence, see part I.C., supra.

. As shown in part II. A., supra, the Supreme Court has viewed such considerations as quite relevant to whether a restriction on access to a nonpublic forum is permissible.
With respect to the summary judgment issue, the approach in this case stands in marked contrast to a very recent decision of this court overruling the district court’s grant of summary judgment. See Family Division Trial Lawyers of the Superior Court — D.C., Inc. v. Moul-trie, 725 F.2d 695 (D.C.Cir.1984). In that case, over my dissent, which was grounded on the conclusion that no evidence could sustain a constitutional attack on a voluntary court assignment system, this court showed great solicitousness for permitting a case to be made out by the attorneys-plaintiffs in the face of a motion for summary judgment by District of Columbia officials.

. The majority seems to doubt that the government can promote the charitable campaign by excluding a class of organizations that pursue controversial and often mutually antagonistic policies. It cites many First Amendment cases which declare that the right to speak cannot be impaired because of the controversial nature of what the speaker has to say. None of these cases, however, concern what is at issue here — restrictions on access to nonpublic forums. A nonpublic forum is not designed to promote or even sustain controversial discourse but has other objectives. In this case, the objective is raising money for charity, and the government can legitimately pursue that objective at the expense of diversity of speech. In Lehman, 418 U.S. at 304, 94 S.Ct. at 2718, the Court allowed a municipally-owned bus company to refuse political advertisements in favor of “less controversial” advertisements which would not endanger long term revenues, which was the objective of that nonpublic forum.
Moreover, the majority blinks at reality in claiming that the controversial nature of the participation of advocacy groups does not stem from the nature of the groups themselves. Groups that are promoting or opposing policies like affirmative action or the closed shop are controversial, for the plain reason that the arguments for and against such policies are controvertible in a way that arguments in favor of a policy of seeking a cure for cancer are not.

. In the CFC, federal employees are solicited in the late fall of the year for a pledge of contributions that will then be deducted from the employee’s paycheck in the following year. Thus, solicitations for the 1983 campaign took place in the fall of 1982. Because all active work on behalf of the 1983 campaign took place in 1982, people writing to the government about the campaign often refer to it as the “1982 campaign.” From the dates of their letters, it is clear that they are referring to the 1983 campaign. In quoting their comments, we will not bother to correct their error of appellation.

. In nominal terms, contributions rose 3.8% over the previous year. See Affidavit of P. Kent Bailey (June 30, 1983). II J.A. 553. However, since inflation as represented by the consumer price index was 3.9% in 1982, the real increase was nil.

. See Testimony of Donald Devine, Director of OPM, before the Subcommittee on Manpower and Housing of the Committee on Governmental Operations of the U.S. House of Representatives, March 24, 1983, supra note 11. II J.A. 401. See also Telegram of W.K. Holt to Donald P. Devine (Jan. 11, 1983). II J.A. 482. Mr. Devine also testified that contributions in Cleveland and Colorado Springs fell by over 10 percent and that in Boise, Idaho the drop was nearly 20 percent. Because all inferences must be drawn in the defendant’s favor on this summary judgment motion, it should be inferred that these otherwise unexplained drops were caused by the inclusion of advocacy groups.

. See Telegram from E.T. Stephenson to Donald Devine (Jun. 18, 1983). II J.A. 469.

. See Letter from Gary L. Packer, MSC Manager/Postmaster to Donald Devine (Feb. 11, 1983). II J.A. 361.

. See Letter from William Winpisinger, President of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to IAM members (August 11, 1982). I J.A. 92.

. See Affidavit of P. Kent Bailey (May 18, 1983). II J.A. 466. Moreover, Members of Congress were drawn into the disputes and proved instrumental in preventing statewide boycotts of the CFC by writing to unions and promising to study possible rule revisions which would exclude groups who have “no place in a broad-based charitable appeal like the Combined Federal Campaign.” See Letter of Daniel Inouye, U.S. Senator, et al. to Benjamin Toyama, President of Hawaii Federal Employees Metal Trades Counsel (May 30, 1983). I J.A. 29.

. See Letter from C. Wayne Hawkins, Chairman of the Dallas-Fort Worth Federal Executive Board to Donald Devine (Jan. 17, 1983). I J.A. 37.

. The rate of participation in the campaign decreased by approximately 1.1%. See Affidavit of P. Kent Bailey (May 18, 1983). II J.A. 466.

. See Affidavit of P. Kent Bailey, supra note 32.

. See Letter from C. Wayne Hawkins, supra note 31; Letter from Theodore D. Wood, Chairman, 1984 Denver Metropolitan Area Combined Federal Campaign, to Donald Devine (Jan. 14, 1983). I J.A. 38.

. See, e.g., Letter from Sidney M. Ford, Chairman of the Executive Board of Greater St. Louis Missouri to Donald Devine (Jan. 12, 1983). II J.A. 487. This letter contains much wisdom concerning the atmosphere necessary for a successful charitable drive. “When advocacy groups or groups that stir up negative feelings because of religious or union affiliation are present [in a general fund drive], we place an undue stumbling block in the path of many potential givers. There is a growing concern on the part of Federal officials that if the CFC does not remove many of the controversial organizations, dire results will occur. Many people are looking for a chink in the CFC armor, and it happens that by including advocacy groups we play into their hands; and we provide the ‘I’ll give at home’ individual excuse for not participating.” This letter is attached to this opinion as Addendum B.

. See Statement by the AFL-CIO Executive Council on the Combined Federal Campaign (Aug. 4, 1982). I J.A. 96.

. See Letter from Donald V. Seibert, supra note 9, and Addendum A.

. See, e.g., Letter from Hon. Claudine Schneider to Donald Devine (Sept. 13, 1982). II J.A. 362.

. As to the significance of the government’s not appealing that decision, see note 13 supra.
Besides its interest in maximizing revenues for the campaign in general, the government has a specific interest in directing the revenues to the poor and needy, because as the provider of last resort the government is ultimately responsible for the needy. The government has a rational basis for concluding that in general a dollar given to a traditional health and welfare charity will more certainly aid the needy than a dollar given to an advocacy group. The connection between the activities in which advocacy groups engage and aid for the needy is speculative for two reasons. First, the methods by which advocacy groups advance their policies are risky. In the course of litigation, lobbying, or influencing elections an advocacy group may spend a huge sum of money only to lose. Second, the policies such groups advance are often controversial in the sense that opinion is still divided over whether they aid the needy or not. Indeed, since many of these groups have antagonistic aims, it is simply not possible that all their policies are bringing net benefit to the needy. In view of the uncertainty over the effect of advocacy groups’ policies on the plight of the needy, the government can rationally choose to exclude them from the CFC.

. See, e.g., Letter of Wayne Hawkins, supra note 31; Letter from San Juan Romero, Chairman of the Greater Cincinnati Federal Executive Board to Donald Devine (Jan. 12, 1983) (“Making goal [sic], however, was due primarily to the inordinate amount of official time and effort put into the campaign by everyone concerned. The Federal Government can no longer afford to do this!”). II J.A. 473.

. See Letter from M. Eldon Green, Chairman of the Combined Federal Campaign — Portland, Oregon, to Donald Devine (Jan. 18, 1983). II J.A. 486.

. See Letter from William Winpisinger, supra note 29 and discussion in text infra at note 45.

. See Letter from Colonel J.W. Small, Director of Defense Mapping Agency (Jan. 19, 1983). II J.A. 471; Letter of Sidney M. Ford, supra note 35.

. See Statement of AFL-CIO, supra note 33.

. See Letter of William Winpisinger, supra note 29.

. See, e.g., United States Civil Serv. Comm’n v. National Ass’n of Letter Carriers, 413 U.S. 548, 565, 93 S.Ct. 2880, 2890, 37 L.Ed.2d 796 (1973).

. Many letters from federal employees attacked the Administration for political favoritism. See, e.g., Letter of Alice Shabecoff to the Combined Federal Campaign (November 22, 1982). II J.A. 370.
The majority opinion argues that the inclusion of an organization like the Olympic Committee makes the exclusion of litigation advocacy groups unreasonable. First, on this record it is impossible to know what the Olympic Committee does with money it received from the CFC. The record is devoid of any evidence whatever as to the scope of the activities of this committee. Second, there is no evidence that the inclusion of organizations like the Olympic Committee causes diminution in charitable revenue, threatens the campaign’s future success, distracts employees from their primary duties, and raises doubts of political favoritism in the way that the inclusion of advocacy groups does. Thus, at least on this record, the government is reasonable in excluding advocacy groups and yet not excluding groups like the Olympic Committee.

. Appellees also contend that the exclusion is unconstitutional because it was motivated by a desire to suppress speech. That raw assertion cannot support the judgment below. First, as the government vigorously disputes these characterizations of motivation with supporting record evidence, such an argument cannot form the basis of a decision granting summary judgment. Second, Perry suggests that an illicit motivation will not render the restriction unconstitutional so long as the restriction can be justified on objective grounds. “[T]he state may reserve the forum for its intended purpose ... as long as the regulation or speech is reasonable and not an effort to suppress expression merely because public officials oppose the speaker’s view.” 103 S.Ct. at 955 (emphasis added).