“In the 2004 presidential election, the United States came much closer to electoral meltdown, violence in the streets and constitutional crisis than most people realize. Less than a 2 percent swing among Ohio voters -- about 100,000 voters -- toward Democratic candidate for president John Kerry and away from incumbent Republican President Bush would have placed the Ohio -- and national -- election for president well within the 'margin of litigation,' and it would have gotten ugly very quickly.”
“Justice O'Connor has been the key vote in everything from campaign finance to the meaning of the Voting Rights Act to racial gerrymandering to Bush v. Gore.”
“Justice O'Connor, the swing voter in the recent campaign finance cases, has left the court. The Vermont case could present the new Roberts Court with an opportunity to begin imposing significant restrictions on the ability of the government to limit the role of money in politics.”
