Political Quotes

“last May, nearly a year ago, my colleagues Mr. Meehan, Senator Feingold and I introduced the first lobbying reform legislation in the Congress. It has the support of Public Citizen, Common Cause, and non-partisan scholars like Norm Ornstein and Tom Mann, none of whom support the bill that is on the floor today. We said then it would take bipartisan cooperation to get real reform. This legislation has chosen politics above progress, business as usual, rather than breaking the gridlock of the special interests. Today, we are considering the incredible shrinking bill. With each passing day, it has become weaker and smaller. If we were going to vote on it tomorrow, it probably would be a blank page. The Washington Post calls it a ``watered down sham,'' ``simply a joke,'' ``diluted snake oil,'' and ``an insult to voters who the GOP apparently believes are dumb enough to be snookered by this feint.'' The New York Times called it a ``laughingstock'' and ``an election year con.'' Republican Congressman Hefley, the former chairman of the Ethics Committee representing the Republican Caucus, said, ``In terms of ethic process reform, I don't think we have much of that here. And I think actually we are missing an opportunity here.'' Of the restrictive rule, he said, ``The bottom line for me is why can we not have debate and vote on these issues and a number of others?…”