Fred Barnes writing in the Weekly Standard praises Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell’s superior political skills:
Mitch McConnell runs rings around Harry Reid. McConnell’s first major venture in exploiting minority rights in the Senate came in 1994 when Democrats still had a majority. A campaign finance reform bill that would have imposed public financing on congressional races had passed both houses of Congress. McConnell consulted Senate secretary Elizabeth Letchworth to find out if there were any options left to block the legislation.
Letchworth told him three motions must be passed before conferees can be dispatched to iron out differences between the Senate and House bills. But of course nobody had ever filibustered those motions before, and she recommended against breaking new ground. That didn’t stop McConnell. He succeeded in blocking the second motion. The bill died. Six weeks later, Republicans captured the Senate and House in the 1994 landslide.
I am depressed that we got so close to a major reduction in the influence of money on Congress but that McConnell used his talent and skill to protect special interests and corruption. I am disappointed that most major Presidential candidates are forgoing public campaign financing to avoid the limits on their own fund raising. I read today in the New York Times how lobbyists and Congressfolk are already figuring out how to end run the new limits on special interest gifts and funding.
I am having trouble grasping how our Representatives can engage in thoughtful deliberation about issues related to our survival and wellbeing when they have to spend most of their time pandering to donors who will support them in exchange for favoritism over the rest of us, who are not able to match the ante.
All of the Political Candidates who clamor for our attention might consider taking responsibility for advancing a meaningful issue like campaign reform and proving to us that they are the representatives of the voters not the donors.
Born 1950, Married, Living in Austin Texas, Semi
Retired Small Business owner and investor. My political interest
evolved out of his business experience that the best decisions come out of an objective gathering of information and a pragmatic consideration of costs and benefits. I am interested in promoting Centrist candidates and Policies. My posts are mostly about people and policies that I believe are part of the solution rather the problem.