Political Quotes

“today, I join with several Democratic Senators to reintroduce the DISCLOSE Act, renewing--for the third time--our fight to curtail some of the worst abuses resulting from the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. Republicans mounted filibusters of this commonsense bill when it was first introduced in 2010 and then again when it was reintroduced in 2012. This was the case even though Republicans claim to support disclosure. Earlier this month, I chaired a hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to repair the damage done by Citizens United and a series of other flawed Supreme Court decisions that have eviscerated our campaign finance laws. At this hearing, even Floyd Abrams, the noted First Amendment attorney who testified against the proposed amendment argued that he supported greater disclosure. And yet, Republicans have already filibustered this bill twice and are likely to continue filibustering it. I am hoping that Republicans have come to their senses after seeing how Citizens United has allowed unlimited, undisclosed money to pollute our elections. Since that decision, our elections have been defined by corporations and billionaires spending vast amounts of secret money to influence elections. In the 2012 election cycle, spending from undisclosed sources exceeded $310 million, a massive increase from the $69 million from undisclosed sources in the previous presidential election cycle in 2008. And this number will only increase.…”