Political Quotes

“First and foremost, I support campaign finance reform. Leadership supports campaign finance reform. Both the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) support campaign finance reform. However, this debate should center around real campaign finance reform, reform that closes loopholes that have tainted the current system; reforms which treat both political parties fairly; and reforms that protect the First Amendment rights of all Americans. My amendment is about preserving the First Amendment rights of all Americans by enacting constitutionally accepted campaign finance reform. In a hearing before the Committee on House Administration, constitutional experts from the ACLU to the Cato Institute indicated that Shays-Meehan was very seriously constitutionally flawed. In fact, those witnesses believed that important elements of the Shays-Meehan bill would be unconstitutional. The proponents have indicated that Shays-Meehan is constitutional in all its major provisions. Yet, if the Court rules that any key provision of this bill is unconstitutional, this would put an unprecedented monkey wrench into our current system and make a bad situation worse.”