Lynn N. Rivers: “as I listen to this debate and as I have listened to it over the years, we have been here before on this, I am reminded…”

“as I listen to this debate and as I have listened to it over the years, we have been here before on this, I am reminded of the legendary creature, the hydra. The hydra, if one of its heads was cut off, it would grow two more. That is the way the arguments against Shays-Meehan seem to be. How many arguments do we have to hear? How many times do we have to endure this? Today we hear that the bill that would not be supported 3 months ago is now the bill that should be embraced today. And then after arguing that, they suggest that the people on this side of the aisle are not operating from principle. Well, what is the principle that is driving the argument against reform? It seems to be the desire to protect the status quo at any cost by any argument no matter how specious. Mr. Chairman, we have a shameful voter-participation record in this country. We have a political system that is not trusted by the people it governs. Enough is enough. It is time to end the cynical games, both political and parliamentary, that perpetuate this system. It is time to defeat the substitute, pass Shays-Meehan and finally, finally, pass campaign finance reform.”