Political Quotes

“here we go again, Mr. President. Another chapter in the never ending effort to reform the way we finance political campaigns. I feel like I am driving a race car around a track and no matter how long and how far I drive, the checkered flag just never seems to come down. We never seem to reach the finish line. We are never able to finish what we start. And, now, today, the question before us is whether we will even be allowed to start--whether we will even be allowed to debate the issue of campaign finance reform. I have been on this track for almost 24 years now. One of the first things I did as a new Senator back in 1973 was to testify before the Senate Rules Committee on the need for campaign finance reform--on the need for spending limits and public funding of congressional campaigns; on the need for equal competition based on ideas, not money, between challengers and incumbents. Let me tell you, I did not make many friends. But, I believed then--and I believe as strongly today--that campaign finance reform is the single most significant thing Congress could do. The American people have come to believe the system has failed. The American people have lost faith in their leaders and in their Government. The American people feel alienated and distant from the very people who represent them.”