Political Quotes

“I join in echoing the comments of the Senator from Connecticut about what we just heard from the Senator from Arizona. He has really touched an important issue. There is no doubt in my mind there is a crisis in confidence in terms of the integrity of Congress. Unless and until we deal with that directly, little else we might do will be noticed or believed. I believe he is on the right track. But I would suggest to him there is something more to the story. It is not just a question of lobbyists larding Members of Congress with gifts, trips to Scotland for golf outings or lavish meals or whatever it happens to be. There is more to the story, and it really goes to the heart of the issue about how we get to Congress and how we get to the Senate. It is no longer ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,'' if it ever was. It is no longer a matter of putting your candidacy before the people of the State and asking that they consider you and wait for the consequence. It is a money chase. It is a huge money chase. And unless you happen to be one of the fortunate few and independently wealthy, you have to spend an awful lot of time chasing it, an awful lot of time raising money. If you come from a State, as I do, like Illinois, you know an ordinary Senate campaign in my State is going to cost anywhere from $5 million to $20 million to $40 million.…”