Political Quotes

“Mr. President, since the Supreme Court's decision 2 years ago in Citizens United, we have seen a new system of campaign finance emerge. Without limits on donations or limits on spending by outside groups such as super PACs, we have been inundated with mostly political advertisements while candidates from both sides of the aisle struggle to raise more and more money just to keep up. Nearly $170 million has been spent so far in this election cycle by outside groups, and that does not include much the candidates themselves have spent. Just think what good we could do with that $170 million. The rising influence of donors and corporations is a problem. But the larger issue, and the one we are here to talk about--and I wish to recognize the leadership of Senator Whitehouse from Rhode Island, who has done such a great job of raising the importance of this issue. The larger issue is the prevalence of secret money that is increasingly making its way into our campaigns. Millions of dollars of untraceable money have already been spent during this election. This spending is unacceptable because there is too much at stake in this election for Americans who are struggling. By that, I am not talking about the secret donors who can afford to spend millions of dollars on secret political ads. I am talking about middle-class families who are struggling with their mortgages, trying to pay for college, fighting to get their credit card payments mailed in on time.…”