Excerpt from Campaign Finance Reform Proposals of 1996: Hearings Before the Committee on Rules and Administration, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session on Proposals Pertaining to the Financing of Senate Election Campaigns, S. 46, S. 1219, S. 1389, and S. 1528

Sadly, too often the First Amendment is regarded as merely a nuisance, frustrating campaign finance reform efforts, an impediment which must be overcome at all costs, even to the extent of changing the Constitution itself. We have even had votes on that on the floor here over the last few years.

S. 1219 is the latest in a series of efforts to do an end run around the Constitution. It would have the government coerce citizens, some of whom may be candidates, into forfeiting freedoms which the Constitution dictates cannot be stripped by congressional edict.

S. 1219's proponents claim that the bill's limits on spending and speech are voluntary, as if repetition makes it a fact. The truth is S. 1219 is voluntary in name only. The limits on spending and speech are about as voluntary as an armed robber's request for someone's wallet or a carjacker's request for someone's automobile.

For that reason, were S. 1219 or any permutation of it ever to become law, the Supreme Court, of course, would be the final arbiter. And there is no doubt among any recognized constitutional experts on this subject with whom I am familiar that S. 1219 would be struck down as unconstitutional.

Some may argue that, precedence notwithstanding, Congress should push the constitutional envelope because pollsters tell us campaign spending limits have popular appeal. Let Congress issue the pro-reform press releases, and let the Court sort out the collateral constitutional damage. So goes the argument.

Poll results are the most compelling argument advanced in support of S. 1219. Yet the entire debate is rife with mis information, distortion, and hyperbole. Were people aware that we spend on politics in this country about what we Spend on bubble gum every year, the poll results would be different. And as any seasoned political observer knows, poll results hinge on poll questions. Garbage in, garbage out.

Campaign finance polls prefaced with a discussion of constitutional freedom and citizen participation would yield results very different from those often cited in support of S. 1219. Senators take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear true faith and allegiance to polls.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.