Russ Feingold: “we are reaching another stage in the campaign finance reform debate today. I certainly sympathize with the Senator from…”

“we are reaching another stage in the campaign finance reform debate today. I certainly sympathize with the Senator from Oklahoma when he is concerned about some ways in which his bill has been characterized. I have had the experience here on the floor this week of having the McCain-Feingold bill compared, first, to a human rights violation and, also, as very similar to the Alien and Sedition Acts. So, clearly, sometimes the rhetoric gets a little carried away. But what is really going on here today in the U.S. Senate just has to make the American people shake their heads. How can they look at this and not wonder what is going on? They can see a clear bipartisan majority in favor of campaign finance reform; and the bipartisan majority isn't for the majority leader's antilabor bill. The majority support that has been demonstrated over and over again this week is for the McCain-Feingold bill. I think people in Wisconsin, in particular, have to be shaking their heads, because the one thing I have learned in 15 years of representing the people of Wisconsin is that they really dislike partisanship. They understand the need for a two-party system. They like the two-party system.…”