John McCain on Senate floor trashing the DISCLOSE Act which comes up again for cloture today at 3PM

[flpoljunkie]

He's making a desperate attempt to say the bill does not treat unions equally--which I highly doubt is the case.

Harry Reid pointed out this morning that 14 current senators voted for cloture for the 2010 DISCLOSE Act, but voted in lock step yesterday to filibuster the current, and more accommodating version, of the DISCLOSE Act.

What a hypocrite John McCain is--working so hard to protect the Koch Brothers and their ilk's ability to buy the 2012 federal election on all levels--Congress and the Presidency.

Sheldon Whitehouse is now responding to McCain. He indicates they moved several Republican objections to the 2010 DISCLOSE Act--removing the 'stand by your ad' required at the end of the ad and raised the threshold for reporting contributions from $600 to $10,000.

He also pointed out the op-ed in today's New York Times by Warren Rudman and Chuck Hagel which urged Republicans to vote for cloture for Whitehouse's DISCLOSE Act of 2012.

Without the transparency offered by the Disclose Act of 2012, we fear long-term consequences that will hurt our democracy profoundly. We’re already seeing too many of our former colleagues leaving public office because the partisanship has become stifling and toxic. If campaigning for office continues to be so heavily affected by anonymous out-of-district influences running negative advertising, we fear even more incumbents will decline to run and many of our most capable potential leaders will shy away from elective office.

No thinking person can deny that the current situation is unacceptable and intolerable. We urge all senators to engage in a bipartisan effort to enact this critically needed legislation. The Disclose Act of 2012 is a prudent and important first step in restoring some sanity to our democratic process.

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/for-political-closure-we-need-disclosure/?hp

[Enrique]

1. he's voting against it?

I'm as skeptical as you about his reasoning.

[atreides1]

2. Well there it is!

"No thinking person can deny that the current situation is unacceptable and intolerable."

No one can accuse McCain of being a "thinking person"!

[oldhippydude]

3. McCain

as in McCain Fiengold.... the man is a shadow of his past self... remember when he was the leader in electoral reform..

[hack89]

4. The ACLU is in his corner on this issue - can you believe it? nt

[The Wielding Truth]

5. No. Why?

[hack89]

7. "...will likely infringe upon the free speech and privacy rights of Americans."

WASHINGTON – The Senate today and tomorrow will debate a campaign finance bill that includes disclosure requirements that raise significant civil liberties concerns. The American Civil Liberties Union is urging senators to vote against the bill because those disclosure requirements are overly broad and inconsistent and will likely infringe upon the free speech and privacy rights of Americans.

http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/aclu-urges-no-vote-disclose-act

[The Wielding Truth]

8. I understand the position, but the rights of the super-donor should be waved,IMO.

[flpoljunkie]

6. They also support the awful Citizens United decision. Sunlight Foundation supports DISCLOSE Act.

Last edited Tue Jul 17, 2012, 01:18 PM - Edit history (1)

DISCLOSE Act Failed on Party Lines Yesterday, Another Vote Expected This Afternoon

Lisa Rosenberg July 17, 2012, 12:03 p.m.

Despite talking the talk for years that disclosure was the answer to every campaign finance question, that transparency was an area in which the parties could both agree, Republicans in the Senate yesterday showed their true colors and voted down the DISCLOSE Act, a simple transparency bill that would uncover the secret, dark money behind the avalanche of campaign ads pummeling voters this election season.

The bill has the support of the public behind it. Many of you called your Senate offices, sent letters to the editors of your papers, or signed petitions in support of disclosure. Thank you for your support. A majority of Senators (all Democrats) also supported the bill, but a Republican filibuster doomed its chances. Even “maverick” champions of campaign finance like John McCain, “moderate” voices like Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and Scott Brown, and members with nothing to lose by doing the right thing, like Dick Lugar, followed the lead of Mitch McConnell and voted no on the bill. Each one of the members I mentioned has been a vocal supporter of transparency of money in politics in the past, as you can see on this short video Sunlight put together.

Senate Leaders have decided to bring the bill up for a vote one more time, probably around 3:00 this afternoon. The goal of 60 votes remains elusive, but there is still time to try to sway some votes, so if you haven’t already done so, make your voice heard—especially if you are represented by a Republican senator. Whatever happens this afternoon, Sunlight won’t give up the fight to shine a light on dark money. Our democracy is too important to be sold to the highest anonymous bidder.

http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2012/07/17/disclose-act-failed-on-party-lines-yesterday-another-vote-expected-this-afternoon/