Sam Gejdenson: “the debate here is how to instill confidence in the voters of this country and their elected officials. There is no…”

“the debate here is how to instill confidence in the voters of this country and their elected officials. There is no place on earth where the connection between the elected and the electors is closer. But as the amounts of money rushing into campaigns through every possible back door and front door continue to grow, the American people's respect for this Government continues to diminish. There is an advantage on the Republican side. I think their constituents are often less bothered by $100,000 contributions. We tend to represent blue collar people that are astounded by those numbers. The Democratic record is clear. In 1971, we started with the FEC and overrode President Nixon's veto. In 1974, we passed campaign finance reform. Yes, the court gutted it. But remember, the Supreme Court for 50 years said separate and equal are okay, until 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education when they reversed themselves. In 1993, the House, under Democratic leadership, passed the campaign finance reform; and in 1994 we put it on George Bush's desk to see him veto it. When President Clinton got elected, we got legislation through both houses and it was filibustered to death in the Senate. Had that gotten past the Senate filibuster, this President would have signed it. Let us pass McCain/Feingold in its form in the House, get it to the Senate, and get those couple more votes we need to break the filibuster.”