In a ruling that touches the deep architecture of American democracy, the Supreme Court has affirmed that major political parties may continue purchasing advertising at discounted rates unavailable to independent groups or individual candidates. Issued as the 2026 midterm season accelerates, the decision preserves a decades-old financial asymmetry that shapes not merely how campaigns spend, but who holds structural advantage in the marketplace of political ideas. The Court, declining to dismantle existing campaign finance arrangements, has ratified a two-tiered system — leaving open the enduri