Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of S. 3628, the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act, otherwise known as the DISCLOSE Act. I urge my colleagues to support the motion to proceed to a debate on this critical legislation tomorrow at 2:45. We must not forget why we are here today. In Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court narrowly overruled almost a century of law and precedent and held that corporations have the same first amendment rights as people and therefore can spend freely on elections from their treasuries. The Court also opened the door to new kinds of campaign spending by labor unions and certain nonprofit organizations. At a time when the public's fears about the influence of special interests were already high, that decision stacked the deck even more against the average American. As a result, we are faced with a new reality in our democracy: unlimited amounts of cash can now flow into our Federal elections anonymously and with no accountability. Voting is the bedrock of our democracy. Elections provide the voters a loudspeaker through which they can make their opinions heard. Allowing special interest money to pour into elections unchecked and undisclosed will drown out the voices of the voters. But the Supreme Court decision did leave us one narrow opportunity to make an impact on this new era in campaign spending.…”