Campaign Finance Quotes

• Well, paycheck protection is an important ingredient for a successful campaign finance reform measure.

  Andrew Card

  Successful, Important, Reform

  "Face The Nation" with Bob Schieffer, www.cbsnews.com. January 21, 2001.

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• Nobody wants campaign finance reform more than me. It would save me a fortune.

  Andrew Tobias

  Reform, Campaigns, Want

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• The number one lobby that opposes campaign finance reform in the United States is the National Association of Broadcasters.

  Robert Waterman McChesney

  Numbers, United States, Reform

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• In fact, corporate and union moneys go overwhelmingly to incumbents, so limiting that money, as Congress did in the campaign finance law, may be the single most self-denying thing that Congress has ever done.

  Elena Kagan

  Self, Law, Facts

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• Campaign finance and ethics reform only works if it curtails all special interest groups equally and does not carve out any exceptions to benefit one party or another. 'Pay to play' reform was passed to limit the influence of big spending contractors over the public officials from whom they are trying to obtain work.

  Thomas Kean, Jr.

  Party, Play, Trying

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• But having said that, what's happening with campaign finance reform and our political culture is devastating.

  Robert Waterman McChesney

  Political, Culture, Campaigns

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• Actually criminal sanctions that are given could be up to five years for violating the rules and regulations under the campaign finance reform. This is like the Alien and Sedition Act of years and years ago, decades ago.

  Jay Sekulow

  Years, Regulation, Criminals

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• What distinguishes the campaign finance issue from just about every other one being debated these days is that the two sides do not divide along conventional liberal/ conservative lines.

  James L. Buckley

  Two Sides, Issues, Campaigns

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• Unfortunately, money in politics is an insidious thing - and a loophole in our campaign finance system was taken advantage of with money going to existing or new 527 groups with the sole purpose of influencing the election.

  Olympia Snowe

  Taken, Groups, Campaigns

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• I admired the way McCain worked on campaign finance reform. I admired the way Nancy Pelosi stiffened the Democrats' spine during the health care debate. I admire the way Barack Obama has raised a dog in the White House without ever putting it on the roof of the car for a vacation drive.

  Gail Collins

  Dog, Vacation, White

  "Politicians, Love ’Em or Hate ’Em". Interview with David Brooks, opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com. September 21, 2011.

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• Let's not overlook, though, what we do know about the campaign finance scandal, and the fact the Chinese were involved in our presidential campaign and our congressional campaigns.

  Fred Thompson

  Presidential, Chinese, Campaigns

  "The 'Inside Politics' Interview: Sen. Fred Thompson". Interview with Judy Woodruff, www.cnn.com. May 19, 1998.

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• The reality is we that have a corrupt campaign finance system which separates the American people's needs and desires from what Congress is doing. So to my mind, what we have got to do is wage a political revolution where millions of people have given up on the political process, stand up and fight back, demand the government that represents us and not just a handful of campaign contribution - contributors.

  Bernie Sanders

  Fighting, Reality, Government

  Bernie Sanders during Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, www.nytimes.com. February 5, 2016.

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• I certainly want campaign finance reform. I just wish this would do it in a way that would stand up to a constitutional challenge.

  Ben Nelson

  Challenges, Wish, Reform

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• It's just a lot safer to be an incumbent. So I think they have used the campaign finance reforms. They have passed laws that will help themselves stay in office. And I think that's one of the flaws that we do have in the system.

  David Brooks

  Thinking, Law, Office

  "Shields and Brooks on the power of campaign donors, baseball vs. baby". "News Hour" with Judy Woodruff, www.pbs.org. April 4, 2014.

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• There are two reforms that we need to restore our democracy. The first is campaign finance. We need to get the corporate money out of the election process. And second, we need to resolve the dysfunction in the environment. Looters are running agencies that are supposed to be protecting us from pollution.

  Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

  Running, Agency, Election Process

  Interview with David Kupfer for The Progressive Magazine, www.thirdworldtraveler.com. November 2006.

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• I think there are two basic approaches you can use for campaign finance. One is complete openness, everybody knows absolutely everything, but no limits. But you let people decide.The other is just have a national public system.

  David Brooks

  Thinking, Two, People

  "Shields and Brooks on the pope's critique of capitalism, Thanksgiving gratitude". "PBS NewsHour" with Hari Sreenivasan, www.pbs.org. November 28, 2013.

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• Already, there is evidence that crimes are being committed with regard to campaign finance, and the FEC is unable to do anything.

  Thom Hartmann

  Campaigns, Crime, Committed

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• I think we need to take on the greed of the billionaire class, a disastrous campaign finance system.

  Bernie Sanders

  Thinking, Class, Greed

  Source: www.nbcnews.com

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• School performance, public health, crime rates, clinical depression, tax compliance, philanthropy, race relations, community development, census returns, teen suicide, economic productivity, campaign finance, even simple human happiness - all are demonstrably affected by how (and whether) we connect with our family and friends and neighbours and co-workers.

  Robert D. Putnam

  Suicide, School, Simple

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• We are very frustrated because we have a Supreme Court that seems determined to say that the wealthier have more right to free speech than the rest of us. For example, they say you couldn't stop me from spending all the money I've saved over the last five years on Hillary's campaign if I wanted to, even though it would clearly violate the spirit of campaign finance reform.

  William J. Clinton

  Years, Frustrated, Example

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• Democrats' desperate attempt to focus on campaign finance reform instead of laws that may have been broken by the Clinton-Gore campaign is like Mike Tyson demanding a reform in boxing regulations after biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear.

  Cal Thomas

  Law, Broken, Boxing

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• Legislative action will never bring genuine campaign-finance reform. Consultants will prove endlessly inventive in gaming whatever system the reformers can devise so as to give their candidate an edge and allow the power of massive money to be felt. But reform laws will become irrelevant and redundant as the Internet replaces the special-interest fat cats as the best way to raise money and takes the place of TV as the most effective way to get votes.

  Dick Morris

  Cat, Law, Giving

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• Some corporations don't want free markets, and they don't want democracy. They want profits. And they use our campaign finance system to loot our commons, to steal from our treasury, and the other shared resources of our community - the air, the water, the public lands, the wildlife, the things that belong to all of us that are held in trust for future generations. Corporations cannot act philanthropically in America.

  Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

  Land, America, Air

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• I think what you've got are millions of people who are in trouble today. They really are. They're confused. They're working longer hours for lower wages. They're seeing productivity going up but their kids are worse off economically than they are. They're looking at a campaign finance system in politics and they see corruption, big money buying elections. Nobody in Congress is listening to them.

  Bernie Sanders

  Confused, Kids, Thinking

  "Sanders: Muslims Are Not Your Enemy And Progressive Values Are The Answer". www.realclearpolitics.com. December 9, 2015.

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• I find that students are very strong on my issues, stronger than anyone: anti-death penalty, anti-racial profiling, campaign finance reform, questioning the anti-terrorism bill.

  Russ Feingold

  Strong, Issues, Reform

  Interview with Matthew Rothschild, www.sharedhost.progressive.org. April 30, 2002.

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