Thomas Daschle: “Mr. President I also want to address the matter concerning Bradley Smith. I know there will be time allocated for his…”

“Mr. President I also want to address the matter concerning Bradley Smith. I know there will be time allocated for his nomination later on this afternoon. I will simply take time as if in morning business using the quorum call to address his nomination at this time. As I have stated before, I have come to the conclusion that I must oppose this nomination. For me, this is not just a vote on a particular nominee with whom I don't agree, this vote is about whether or not we will prove the cynics in America wrong in demonstrating our commitment to strong campaign finance laws. Yesterday morning in the Washington Post, a Republican strategist who advises Governor Bush and the Republican National Committee said the following: There are no rules any more . . . There were few if any to begin with but there are virtually none today. They know it, we know it, everybody knows it. That wasn't Common Cause or Ralph Nader. That was an adviser to Texas Governor George W. Bush. Governor Bush's adviser is right. In many ways, we have entered the post-Federal Election Campaign Act era. It is the Wild West of ``soft money,'' issue advocacy ads and secret donors. The system is broken, and everybody knows it. A vote in favor of this nomination will simply confirm what we already know. It doesn't have to be this way. It shouldn't be this way. I know very few Members of the House and the Senate, of either party, who like our current campaign finance system.…”