Political Quotes

“if there is even a single violation of the existing laws, be it Democrat or Republican, prosecute it fully, but do not hide behind the latest tabloid news to thwart campaign finance reform. To any American who wonders why we need that reform, thumb through the bipartisan budget agreement and come across title XVI, entitled Technical Amendments Related to the Small Business Job Protection Act and Other Legislation. Under that title turn to page 322 and learn that one of those small businesses that just got protection was $50 billion for the tobacco industry. Anyone who thinks that is unrelated to campaign contributions is probably sitting at home waiting for the tooth fairy to arrive. Ladies and gentlemen, the fact that the tobacco industry is the leading soft money contributor in this country demonstrates the need along with this provision to reform our campaign finance laws in time for the 1998 elections. But Speaker Gingrich, one of the beneficiaries of the current system, refuses to schedule it for debate. That is why we will have yet another motion to adjourn because of the refusal to deal with this issue.”