Political Quotes

“they said pigs would fly before we got an open debate on campaign finance reform in the House. Well, Mr. Speaker, it is time to bring home the bacon because we are here at last. After 4 years of promises made and promises broken, we are finally going to get a vote on Shays-Meehan. Or are we? It is not all clear to me that this rule will allow for a vote on the Shays/Meehan bill, especially in light of the commitment of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) to essentially filibuster this bill by offering hundreds of amendments throughout the summer. The Speaker's message is clear. He supports more money in campaigns, not less. He wants to enhance the role of wealthy special interests in congressional elections rather than diminish it. Well, the public clearly feels differently. In a recent NBC Wall Street Journal poll, 92 percent of the American people felt that too much money was spent on campaigns. We are here today because the American voters demand that we fix a broken system. Over the course of this debate, there will be many substitutes and many amendments. I urge all of my colleagues to remember that there is only one bill that is both bipartisan and bicameral and that will enact real campaign finance reform this year, there is only one bill that has the support of nearly every grassroots organization that is active on reform, and there is only one bill that has the support of editorial boards all across this country.”