This week marks the fifth anniversary of Citizens United — the most maligned, degraded, and vilified Supreme Court decision of the last decade. But it is a decision that deserves celebration. On this day five years ago, the court continued a proud tradition of protecting our right to free political speech.

The decision was controversial. It prompted President Obama to berate the Supreme Court directly during his State of the Union address. It was reviled. The New York Times declared that “the Supreme Court has thrust politics back to the robber-baron era.” And it was opposed. It led many Senate Democrats to propose a radical constitutional amendment in a misguided attempt to “overturn” the ruling.