The First Amendment would seem to protect the publication of political books in the context of a campaign. It quite explicitly states that �Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech,...

The First Amendment would seem to protect the publication of political books in the context of a campaign. It quite explicitly states that �Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.�

But political appointees still dabble with regulating such elemental and vital freedoms. That is what happened last month, at a routine meeting of the Federal Election Commission, the regulatory agency charged with enforcing campaign finance laws.

Republican members of the commission wanted to ensure that a new book by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and its publisher be exempt from campaign finance regulations by granting it a �media exemption,� a rule that protects the constitutional right of journalists and authors to engage in political speech unimpeded.

This the board declined to do. Instead, it granted Mr. Ryan�s book its blessings under a more narrow exemption. A GOP member called it �unfortunate� that the FEC had failed to �affirm [a] publisher�s constitutional right . . . to disseminate a political book free from FEC conditions and regulations.�

It�s a troubling idea indeed that the FEC is determining which forms of political speech require regulation and which don�t.

If the First Amendment means what it plainly says, the FEC has no business deciding which books (or documentaries) should be regulated and which should not. Should Barack Obama�s children�s book, �Of Thee I Sing,� be regulated because it�s written by a president? What about Hillary Clinton�s recent memoir, �Hard Choices�? Does that get a free ride because Ms. Clinton holds no elective office, and is not (yet) running for any?

Many novels, moreover, have political undertones. Take the best-seller the �Hunger Games,� which envisages a dystopia in which children are forced to fight to the death. Could that affect campaigns? And where does that leave Shakespeare�s political plays?

The truth is, all of these books should be free from government regulation on the grounds of their political content.

In practical terms, the recent ruling may mean nothing, since both Democrats and Republicans say they do not intend to restrict the dissemination of political books. Nevertheless, citizens are well advised to send along a message to their elected officials, who are not always strong proponents of free speech, especially opposing viewpoints, and especially during campaigns: Hands off the First Amendment.

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