Neil Abercrombie: “if we hear one more talk about special interests. This is all special interests. The question is whether it is in the…”

“if we hear one more talk about special interests. This is all special interests. The question is whether it is in the public interest or not. I can tell my colleagues what is going to happen, and we all better remember it. All politics is local. And out where I am anyway, if anyone thinks they are going to show the football game at one time and another infomercial at another time, and that is going to work out somehow in the number of days that you got where you get the lowest rate, you are dreaming. What is going to happen is the local advertisers, aside from me or aside from my colleagues, are going to have to make up the difference. And I am not going back in my district and tell people that are trying to make a living, especially after 9/11, in their advertising that they have to pay more so that people can listen to me. All I am trying to do when I get down there is express all the virtues I have. And at least in my district they already know I am full of virtue. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Burr-Green amendment. It obviates Section 305 of underlying bill, a provision that does not address the central issues of the campaign finance debate: soft money and so-called ``issue ads''. The language in Section 305 is well intentioned. It seeks to lower the costs of campaigns, a goal everyone agrees is worthwhile. However, the mechanism if flawed.”