Mike Thompson: “Proponents of campaign finance reform say it is an assault on the Constitution. I say that McCain-Feingold is an assault…”

“Proponents of campaign finance reform say it is an assault on the Constitution. I say that McCain-Feingold is an assault on an incumbent's protected system that is rapidly losing faith with the American people. These claims about government takeover, and government regulation, and big government, of course, resonate with me as well as they do many other people, because I'm against that. I'm against the more intrusive government and I'm against more and more regulation, and I'm against government doing things that it should not be doing, especially the Federal Government. However, I think we have too quickly divided up into liberal and conservative counts and Democrat and Republican counts on this issue. As I read my history, Senator Barry Goldwater, the father of modern conservatism, in many people's view, was one of the most avid proponents of campaign finance reform a few years ago. So let's go back to the basics. People who are basically conservative think that the Government ought to do the things the Government ought to do and not things that it shouldn't. What should the Government be doing? Mr. President, if the way we elect our Federal officials and the motivations that they come to Washington with is not relevant and is not something that we ought to be concerned with, then what is? That is the basis of Government.”