Political Quotes

“at least--at least--10 Republican Senators are on record supporting transparency and disclosure in election spending. Some of them are very significant leaders on the Republican side. Senator Mitch McConnell said this: I think disclosure is the best disinfectant. Senator John Cornyn, head of the Republican campaign operation, said this: I think the system needs more transparency so people can more easily reach their own conclusions. Other Senators, colleagues, and friends come from States that require disclosure in election spending. The States they represent know this is wrong. The arguments against this bill are few. Some of those arguments are false. Others don't hold water. Huge majorities of Americans-- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents--support cleaning up this mess. More than 700,000 Americans signed up as citizen cosponsors of this bill in the last few days. The actual number, I believe, is 721,000. But then that ran up against this: outside political spending that went from 1 percent to 44 percent, not disclosed in the last election. And these secret groups, such as Crossroads, with $76.8 million, and the majority of the money that they spend is secret money--that has changed the debate. But those who are out of the need for that secret money, such as former Republican Senators Rudman and Hagel, are clear: A bill is being debated this week in the Senate, called the DISCLOSE Act of 2012.…”