WASHINGTON The Supreme Court
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/sup\
reme_court/index.html?inline=nyt-org> has handed lobbyists a new
weapon. A lobbyist can now tell any elected official: if you vote wrong,
my company, labor union or interest group will spend unlimited sums
explicitly advertising against your re-election.
"We have got a million we can spend advertising for you or against
you whichever one you want,' " a lobbyist can tell
lawmakers, said Lawrence M. Noble, a lawyer at Skadden Arps in
Washington and former general counsel of the Federal Election Commission
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/fed\
eral_election_commission/index.html?inline=nyt-org> .
The decision seeks to let voters choose for themselves among a multitude
of voices and ideas when they go to the polls, but it will also increase
the power of organized interest groups at the expense of candidates and
political parties.
It is expected to unleash a torrent of attack advertisements from
outside groups aiming to sway voters, without any candidate having to
take the criticism for dirty campaigning. The biggest beneficiaries
might be well-placed incumbents whose favor companies and interests
groups are eager to court. It could also have a big impact on state and
local governments, where a few million dollars can have more influence
on elections.
The ruling comes at a time when influence-seekers of all kinds have
special incentives to open their wallets. Amid the economic crisis, the
Obama administration and Congressional Democrats are trying to rewrite
the rules for broad swaths of the economy, from Detroit to Wall Street.
Republicans, meanwhile, see a chance for major gains in November.
Democrats predicted that Republicans would benefit most from the
decision, because they are the traditional allies of big corporations,
who have more money to spend than unions.
In a statement shortly after the decision, President Obama
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_oba\
ma/index.html?inline=nyt-per> called it "a green light to a new
stampede of special interest money in our politics."
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