Subject: Campaign finance, America's biggest problem (Guru)....
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 063930 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@llion.org>
To: emfguru <rbeavers@llion.org>
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Hey America, Wake Up!!! THIS is America's biggest problem.....
It has a direct relationship to the future of our democratic republic....
Money in politics has become as destructive of our system of government --
our "way of life" -- as was the slavery issue prior to the Civil War....
The McCain-Feingold bill will NOT solve the problem, but it is a genuine
start.....
Send this message to as many people as you can. (We should reach 10,000
at least.) Send it to your Congressman and Senator.....
Roy Beavers (EMFguru)......
rbeavers@llion.org.......
.....It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.....
EMF-L web-site can be found at:
EMF-L archives can be found at:
..................PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROFITS..................
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01:34 PM ET 07/18/99
McCain Pushes Election Money Reform
By DAVID ESPO=
Associated Press Writer=
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Sen. John McCain, a leading proponent of
campaign finance legislation, said Sunday he intends to use
``whatever parliamentary avenue that's open'' to force the Senate
GOP leadership to allow a debate on the issue this week.
McCain, R-Ariz., said he recently urged Senate Majority Leader
Trent Lott to agree to an ``orderly'' debate, rather than try to
prevent it from coming to the floor.
Lott, R-Miss., has yet to respond, said McCain, who is pursuing
the GOP presidential nomination.
But in a television interview, Lott sounded less than willing to
accommodate his fellow Republican.
``I'm going to try to encourage him to find some other way to do
it or wait until the end of the year,'' he said on ``Fox News
Sunday.''
In a telephone interview, McCain indicated that short of an
agreement with Lott, he would force the Senate to debate the issue
by trying to attach it to unrelated legislation.
The campaign finance measure by McCain and Sen. Russell
Feingold, D-Wis., would ban so-called soft money, the large
donations that political parties and candidates solicit to finance
their campaign activities.
The bill also would curtail late campaign issue ads, which are
commercials which customarily attack a candidate without a
specifically calling for his defeat.
Opponents of soft money contributions say they have a corrupting
influence. But critics of the legislation say curtailing such
donations would violate the First Amendment's guarantee of free
speech.
In addition, though, Republicans fear that banning soft money
would amount to political disarmament because labor unions could
continue spending money on behalf of Democrats.
``If we could do something about the fact that unions take union
members money without their permission. If we could do it in a
level way, that would be something we could consider,'' Lott said.
``But the McCain-Feingold bill is not the solution.''
The legislation has failed before in the Senate, and barring a
breakthrough, the prospect is for gridlock when the issue comes up.
McCain is one of a handful of Republicans who favors the measure,
which also has the backing of most if not all of the Senate's
Democrats.
Still, McCain is unlikely to gain the 60 votes needed to force a
final vote on his bill.
Advocates of a similar measure in the House have been trying to
force a reluctant GOP leadership to bring the issue to the floor
this summer. Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., has pledged a debate
for September, and advocates of a faster timetable have not been
able to muster the support votes they need to prevail.
_________________________________________________________________
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html