Campaign funding and the First amendment

One Sunday back when David Brinkley was still hosting This Week, George Will tried to explain to a dim Sam Donaldson how campaign finance limits were an abridgement of free speech (roughly from memory):

Will: “What if the Supreme Court told ABC News that they could only spend so much money? That would be a limit on free press under the First amendment.”
Donaldson: “Well, they can say that money is money and speech is speech and never the twain shall meet.”
Will: [shoots Donaldson a look of disgusted disbelief]

The WashPost columnist is on his crusade again today with “Corrupt campaign finance reform” as he criticizes the Supreme Court’s muddled ruling on Vermont’s funding program. It appears that in that case, $200 limits are too low and thus an abridgement of free speech. But millions from corporate or union sources are too much. Will isn’t having any of it.