JOHN LINDER: “Mr. Speaker, I have got to comment on the fact that the Democrats seem to rather talk about campaign finance reform on…”

“Mr. Speaker, I have got to comment on the fact that the Democrats seem to rather talk about campaign finance reform on this than relieving America from an insidious tax, an immoral tax, a tax on what they accumulated through their lifetime and want to pass on to their children. Next to the gift tax, it is the least moral tax. But they would rather talk about 527 organizations that are used in campaigns. Their indignation, while seeming real, seems also very selective. Where were they when the peace action 527 was hammering Republicans? Ben and Jerry's has a 527 trying to cut the Pentagon budget. I did not hear them talk about them. The AFL/CIO has been using them for years, and the Sierra Club spent millions on issue ads in 1996 through their 527. I did not hear anybody up here hollering about them. But guess what? The Republicans copied their practice, formed a 527, and all of a sudden it is a threat to democracy. It is a threat to democracy. This indignation is too selective to be seen as real. Let us pass this rule and move on with doing the right thing for the American people.”