Cite as: 528 U. S. 377 (2000)
Thomas, J., dissenting
ability of candidates to present, and the public to receive, information necessary for the effective operation of the democratic process." CBS, Inc. v. FCC, 453 U. S. 367, 396 (1981). See also Citizens Against Rent Control/Coalition for Fair Housing v. Berkeley, 454 U. S. 290, 299 (1981) ("Placing limits on contributions which in turn limit expenditures plainly impairs freedom of expression"). Instead, the Court abstracted from a candidate's individual right to speak and focused exclusively on aggregate campaign funding. See Buckley v. Valeo, supra, at 21 ("There is no indication . . . that the contribution limitations imposed by the Act would have any dramatic adverse effect on the funding of campaigns") (quoted ante, at 395); ante, at 395-396 (There is "no showing that 'the limitations prevented candidates and political committees from amassing the resources necessary for effective advocacy' " (quoting Buckley v. Valeo, supra, at 21)).
The Court's flawed and unsupported aggregate approach ignores both the rights and value of individual candidates. The First Amendment "is designed and intended to remove governmental restraints from the arena of public discussion, putting the decision as to what views shall be voiced largely into the hands of each of us, in the hope that use of such freedom will ultimately produce a more capable citizenry and more perfect polity and in the belief that no other approach would comport with the premise of individual dignity and choice upon which our political system rests." Cohen v. California, 403 U. S. 15, 24 (1971) (emphases added). See also Sweezy v. New Hampshire, 354 U. S. 234, 250 (1957) (plurality opinion) ("Our form of government is built on the premise that every citizen shall have the right to engage in political expression and association"); Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co., 488 U. S. 469, 493 (1989) (plurality opinion) ("As this Court has noted in the past, the 'rights created by the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment are, by its terms, guaranteed to the individual. The rights established are personal
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