Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick: “Real campaign finance reform has to speak to the needs of the American citizens. What we have heard from some of our…”

“Real campaign finance reform has to speak to the needs of the American citizens. What we have heard from some of our speakers already, and what we know from the tallies that have come in from across America, is that American citizens are not voting. And they are not voting for a number of reasons, one of which I contend is they feel their vote does not count; that there is too much money in the system, and that their $20, $30, $50 donations will not be accepted in a way where their votes can be heard. So I am happy today that we are discussing campaign finance reform and that real campaign finance reform has three elements: It bans soft money, it requires full disclosure from those who give money, and cleans up third-party expenditures so that special interest groups do not control the political process. I hope as we continue this debate today that we will keep that in mind. American citizens want to participate in their government. It is our responsibility to see that we make it possible that they do that.”