6 NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMM’N KAGAN, J., dissenting says, might wish to “spend money to produce and place a television advertisement in support of a candidate after consulting with the candidate’s campaign about the content, timing, or placement of the advertisement.” Ante, at 7. So it might—and in such a case the ad seems not terribly far removed from a party’s independent speech on behalf of a candidate, which of course cannot be limited. See ante, at 6–7. That is why the majority uses the example as its lead case. More typical, though, is what happened here: The candidate’s campaign, on its own, produced a political advertisement, and sent the party the invoice after the fact. The party responded, “Received. Will process”—making clear that it is less a collaborative speaker than a simple piggy bank. 1 App. 202–203; 2 id., at 481. And yet a third kind of party-coordinated expenditure does not involve advertising or other speech at all. A candidate, for example, might forward the bill from his pollster; or the rent or electricity bill for campaign headquarters; or the catering bill for a campaign event. So the political party is just helping the candidate pay any of his financial obligations. That is why Colorado II recognized that a party’s coordinated expenditures, like those from individuals or non-party groups, can be “virtually indistinguishable” from direct contributions to a candidate. 533 U. S., at 444–445; see id., at 467 (THOMAS, J., dissenting) (acknowledging the point). Because coordinated expenditures are “as useful to the candidate as cash,” Congress has long recognized that, unless regulated, they will undermine contribution limits. Id., at 446 (majority opinion). Consider the matter first with respect to individual and non-party group donors (the latter meaning corporate and interest groups). There is no point to the $7,000 base limit if a deep-pocketed donor can spend hundreds of thousands more to pay for campaign expenses. So the campaign finance law treats coordinated expenditures by such donors as contributions—meaning, subject to the normal base limits. See 52 U. S. C. §30116(a)(7)(B).