There is nothing illegal nor immoral about trying to talk your way out of a ticket that a state trooper is about ready to write up on you, is it? Most people give their best excuse for why they were going past the speed limit, and hope that their reasoning is good enough for the officer to give them a warning rather than a fine. But it is illegal to offer an officer cold-hard cash in exchange for making the violation go away.
Same thing with political issues…using words and reason to explain why one should vote a particular way has been a time-honored tradition for as long as voting has been around But it is illegal to flat-out buy the vote of another. Doesn’t matter if it is a lobbyist handing a briefcase of cash to a Congressperson or a bartender giving out shots of whiskey for having an absentee ballot “properly” filled out…most reasonable people would say that those acts ain’t proper, and the law agrees.
And of course, there is always the whole sex thing. All kinds of folks are always trying to talk others into having nakid-fun with ’em. Ain’t nuttin’ wrong with doing some sweet talkin’ in order to get some sweet lovin’…but laying cash on the table for a lay on the table is illegal in most of the United States.
So with all that in mind, will someone please explain to me how money equals speech? I just can’t wrap my head around that concept.