Tom Udall: “we have had an important debate this week. A debate about bringing sanity back to our elections. I want to thank all of…”

“we have had an important debate this week. A debate about bringing sanity back to our elections. I want to thank all of my colleagues who have joined this fight. And I want to thank the millions of Americans, regardless of party, who stand behind us. Over 150 years ago, Abraham Lincoln saw the danger of too much money in politics. Lincoln warned about ``corruption in high places . . . until the Republic is destroyed.'' Changing the Constitution is a big step. As James Madison said, it should be amended only on ``great and extraordinary occasions.'' I agree; but I also believe we have reached one of those rare occasions. The Supreme Court put up a ``for sale'' sign on our elections. On the foundation of our democracy. It is wrong. It is dangerous. It cannot stand. Amending the Constitution can take a long time. The 19th amendment was first introduced in 1878. Opponents called it impractical, and immoral, for daring to give women the right to vote. It took more than 40 years to pass. But its proponents did not give up, and they eventually prevailed. Today's vote is a step forward in that long process. One more step toward restoring our democracy. We will keep pushing until this amendment is reality. But that will take the support of my Republican colleagues. I was disappointed that none of them voted in support of our amendment today, as it has a bipartisan history.…”