Thomas Daschle: “Mark Twain once noted that politicians' biggest objection to ``tainted'' money is, ``tain't mine.'' My colleagues, today…”

“Mark Twain once noted that politicians' biggest objection to ``tainted'' money is, ``tain't mine.'' My colleagues, today we stand on the verge of proving that saying wrong. In the last two weeks, we've achieved some things in this Senate that few people thought, going into this debate, were possible. We have had a real debate. We have reached bipartisan agreements. We have stood together, Republicans and Democrats, and rejected amendments that would have made this bill unworkable. And we have accepted amendments that improve the bill. Thanks to the hard work of Senator Wellstone, we broadened the Snowe- Jeffords provision to bar sham issue ads so that all outside groups are treated equally. Thanks to the hard work of Senators Torricelli, Corzine, Durbin and Dorgan, we lowered the cost of campaigns by ensuring that the stations that enjoy the benefit of federally licensed airwaves give candidates the lowest unit cost for their political advertisements. Thanks to the hard work of Senator Schumer, we put new teeth into the limits on the vast sums of money national parties may spend on coordinated expenditures for candidates. Moreover, we turned back destructive amendments aimed at silencing the voices of working people. I will be honest, this bill is not perfect. It now includes increases in the amount of hard money that may be contributed to candidates and parties. I believe we must reduce the amount of money in politics--no matter the form.”