Mr. President, my friend the Republican leader talked about a number of things in his presentation, all the time making remarks such as ``reading the bill caused unrestrained laughter.'' Well, 85 percent of the American people support this legislation. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis offered disclosure and transparency as the antidote to swollen corporate influence. Sunlight, he said, is ``the best of disinfectants.'' The man who would replace him on the Supreme Court shed light on the importance of the individual's vote, the voice that anchors our democracy. William O. Douglas, who served on the bench longer than any other Justice, said that the right to vote means more than simply the right to pull a lever on election day. He said it also means ``the right to have the vote counted at full value, without dilution or discount.'' Both Brandeis and Douglas were right. These two Justices' observations should guide us as we correct an error made by today's Supreme Court--the Roberts Court--when it wrongly ruled in January that corporations, special interests, and foreign governments can flood America's political system with contributions in unlimited amounts and in secrecy. That decision was wrong.
Editor's note · Context
Senator Reid addresses the impact of the Supreme Court's ruling on campaign finance and the importance of voting rights.
Share
More from Harry Reid
I think Joe Biden is going to push very, very hard to get an infrastructure bill before the midterm election. I think that`s extremely important to do.
There’s no state in the union that needs more help than West Virginia. And, in my opinion, Joe Manchin is hurting his own state. The state of West Virginia would benefit so greatly with infrastructure. It’s the poorest state in the union…
If we have the will, we have the opportunity to improve the lives of millions of families and build something more prosperous for generations to come.
The Republican Party that we now have is not the Republican Party of John Chafee, Mark Hatfield, those people who were really stalwarts in moving the country forward.





