Cord Byrd: “They are much worse, and they are growing worse and worse and worse every day and every election. It is a disgrace and…”

“They are much worse, and they are growing worse and worse and worse every day and every election. It is a disgrace and it is demeaning. The most demeaning thing that I have had to do in my political career is to ask people for money. When I was majority leader in the 100th Congress, former Senator David Boren of Oklahoma and I introduced legislation to reform the campaign financing system. I am not one of the ``come lately boys'' in this regard. I, as majority leader then, and former Senator David Boren introduced that legislation. The other side of the aisle--I do not like to point to the other side of the aisle as so many Senators today, unfortunately, like to do--but the other side of the aisle--namely, the Republicans in the Senate in that instance--voted consistently eight times against cloture motions that I offered to bring the debate to a close. There were four or five Republicans who did break from the otherwise solid bloc and voted with the Democrats on that occasion to break the filibuster against the campaign financing bill. Go back to the Record. Read it. Senators might do well to go back to the Record and see who those Senators were who broke from the Republican bloc. A handful broke from the Republican bloc and voted to end the filibuster against that campaign financing bill. Eight times I offered cloture motions. No other majority leader has ever offered eight cloture motions on the same legislation in one Congress.”