Political Quotes

“before we vote on the motion to table the Snowe-Jeffords amendment I want to thank Senator Jeffords for his tremendous work and leadership on this issue, as well as the cosponsors of the amendment--Senators Levin, Lieberman, McCain, Feingold, Chafee, Collins, and Thompson--for their invaluable comments and support. We have had a good debate on this amendment this afternoon, but we have also heard a great many misconceptions. So before we vote, I want to once again speak to the importance of this amendment, what it really does and doesn't do, and why the American people are counting on us to pass it. Madam President, the Supreme Court has made clear that, for constitutional purposes, electioneering is different from other speech. And the Supreme Court has also never held that there is only a single, constitutionally permissible route a legislature may take when it defines ``electioneering'' to be regulated or reported. To the contrary, Congress has the power to enact a statute that defines electioneering in a more nuanced manner, as long as its definition adequately addresses the vagueness and overbreadth concerns expressed by the court. This compromise amendment carves out, in a clear and narrow way, a new category of electioneering that meets the Court's criteria.…”