William M. Thomas: “as we head toward the House and Senate conference on campaign finance reform, let us remember it is supposed to be for…”

“as we head toward the House and Senate conference on campaign finance reform, let us remember it is supposed to be for the American people. The American people do not want more of the same with PAC's, and they certainly do not want taxpayer support of campaigns. What do the American people want? In today's Washington Post, on the Federal Page with the headline, ``Americans Want A Direct Say In Political Decision-Making,'' ``The poll, the latest in a series of surveys done by the Americans Talk Issues Foundation, attempted to fuse campaign-style polling with academic research to draw a deeper portrait of public attitudes about government reform. The intent, the foundation's pollsters say, is to find true consensus on public-policy issues. ```You come of these surveys with a real sense of the wisdom of people,' said Democratic pollster Celinda Lake. For instance, after hearing the pros and cons, 70 percent favor requiring congressional candidates to raise at least half of their campaign funds from individual voters in their district.'' This position was offered by Republicans, but rejected by Democrats, who want no change in PAC's. Mr. Speaker, If you want to limit PAC's, dump Democrats. If you want a majority of the candidate's money to come from people in the district, if you want local control of campaign finance, vote for Republicans.”