On the recordJanuary 26, 2012
I am here today also to talk about something that is very important to the future of our democracy; that is, campaign finance reform and the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court which had its second anniversary a few days ago. I see Senator Gillibrand from New York is also here to speak on this important issue. She is a leader. The Presiding Officer has done some very important work in this area as well, which I will get to in a minute. Most fundamentally, I am here to talk about the public lack of trust and our need to ensure that the American people have a government that is responsive to their concerns. It is vital that the American people have trust and confidence in their government. Right now it is clear they do not have either. The American people believe Washington is focused more on scoring political points for special interests and not looking out for their interests, for the interests of the people of this country, for the interests of the middle class. They have seen the preservation of oil company subsidies while at the same time the price of gasoline has remained painfully high. Simply put, they think the system is broken. While most people probably do not have the time to study the intricate details of campaign finance law, which unfortunately has loopholes and things written in it that make it hard to figure, the American people have a pretty good sense there is something wrong with how we conduct our elections.…





