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Tuesday, December 8, 2009 10:40 AM



As a Supreme Court decision that could weaken campaign finance laws looms, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said that a ruling giving an upper hand to corporations and labor unions could be the catalyst needed to pass election-reform legislation.

He and Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., spoke at a Center for American Progress event on Friday to promote their legislation, the Fair Elections Now Act, and discuss the impact of the pending decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That decision could open the door for unrestricted spending on campaign advertising.

"It takes a major scandal to create a major reform," Durbin said. "I don't know that we've reached the level in the Senate or in the nation where people are going to demand this of us.... But if they think that the Supreme Court has tipped the scales so dramatically that they don't have a fighting chance any more, they may be open to this."

FENA would put in place a public financing system, driven by small-donor contributions, that would cost the government, by Durbin's estimate, $186 million and would be subsidized by a surtax on federal government contractors (with a $500,000 ceiling per contractor).

In the House, the bill has almost 120 cosponsors. "The best place that I go to enlist people for this program is down to the DCCC as they're dialing for dollars," Larson said.

But on the Senate side, wealthier candidates and incumbents who are convinced that they have a winning formula will resist reform, Durbin said. What's more, he continued, finding the time to debate the bill will be a challenge given the Senate's busy docket.

As such, the discussion inevitably turned to the influence of special interests in the debate that has recently dominated both chambers -- health care. Durbin's remarks on this issue, as well as his explanation of how his proposed financing system would work, can be watched after the jump.

20 Responses

D Donovan

Monday, July 26, 2010

Its unfortnate but the defecit spent has to be rocouperated in some way and the only way to do this is change the way taxes are collected.

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S Donovan

Monday, July 26, 2010

As frightning as it is the money spent too boost the economy in the downturn has to be recouperated in some way, so if we stay on our present system, that just isnt going to happen.

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

More benefecial rules must be imposed very soon or otherwise future elections may suffer

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Do you think the taxations suit comeon people? definitly not

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eret321

Monday, July 19, 2010

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mivpl

Thursday, June 17, 2010

There needs to be better rules that need to put in place. This definitely needs to happen in the near future. If this does not get passed it will hurt a lot of elections. Find Freebies
 

james caine

Friday, June 11, 2010

Health reform is definitely needed in the country for real. There are so many people without insurance that need it. The governement needs to step up and pass it quickly.

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Rico

Thursday, June 10, 2010

After Citizens United vs. FEC what comes next? Allowing corporations to cast votes? 

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james

Sunday, May 16, 2010

 

 

 

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Michael

Thursday, May 6, 2010

This type of taxation doesnot suit the common people. Otherwise, the videos are very informative.

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james lee

Thursday, April 1, 2010

election-reform reform definitely needs to passed. There needs to be better rules that need to put in place. This definitely needs to happen in the near future. If this does not get passed it will hurt a lot of elections.

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Karisa Clarks

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I think that the people of the United States need to stand up for what they think is right. If the politicians arent doing what that are supposed to they need to elect someone who will.

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Erica

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Having watched the videos all this talk of tax makes me nervous! Aren't we heading back to the old days where were taxed to death? Everything we touch now has a tax attached to it and it's just crazy.

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Jason

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

all this talk of "we are taxed to death" is crap, taxes used to be like 90% only a few decades ago..a change in step of 1-2% is nothing(step counter)

 

Tayna

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The citizens are always what creates reform. You have to slow down and ask your self - What do the people want? Its not about you just the people that got you elected. I have a car donation business and I have to think about my employees first.

Janet Marks

Saturday, March 20, 2010

This should always be up to the people. Most seem to forget that in government the people should be in charge. Their elected officials should do what they ask and not try to fight them in the process. Thanks for your awesome post.

Thanks Janet
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Juanita D

Sunday, March 7, 2010

I don't like the idea of all this taxation.  I would rather have one flat tax instead of all this crazy tax after tax for silly things.  I work for a company that sells cheap auto insurance and every little thing we are taxed on and the client is taxed too.  We are taxed to death!

Brad

Thursday, March 4, 2010

I work at a Tampa home security company and all this stuff really scares me

Robert Franklin Lutes

Monday, December 28, 2009

So taxing all of the contractors?  Especially the small and minority owned(huhh?)  and then the C.F.R.'s can just be tossed out the window as the bubbling over, with power, that continues in our ever burgeoning government.

I would easily liken it to a severe sarcoma of the body poltic of this nation.  Have you ever seen the actual cancer cells of the sarcoma?  I did!  It is a lime green in color and is like the kids' toy of Slime.  A bubbly lime green mass that growns almost beneath you eyes as you watch it.

When I was blessed with the responsibility of providing for my father-in-law"s in-home care, I helped him in his by-weekly trip to the radiology treatments and was as aggressive as the doctor recommended with cutting away the dead tissue, following each of the treatments.

This entailed treating the wound with lidocaine and then cutting free the dead tissue. this was done under styrile conditions and followed with a silver sulfidine cream.

One day the doctor declard "Pop" to now be free of the cancer.  Wow! What a rejoicing that was in our family.

Then when rejuvination came, the skin doctor asked for a new biopsy and declared to us that there was still that insideous monster present in his leg.  So his son said, "pop, we can cure this simply by adding some herbs for you.  Pop decided to follow the doctor's recommendation and have his lower foot amputated above his knee-cap.

Back to the question about the cancer itself.  This lime-green effuvescent bubbling, foaming ooze had begun at the edge of this huge(by comparison to the leg above his ankle) crater left from the radiology and had filled the entirety of it between the decision and the operation and looked to begin to spill over the top. 

We went ahead with the amputation of the right leg of this formerly active professional banker and he adapted well to the loss.

Within 14 months of the amputation above the right knee-cap, he began to have a difficulty in swallowing any whole food.  We assisted him in appropriate nutritional drinks for about ten days, thinking it to be a simple conjestivion and then had a chest x-ray.  Our great doctor notified me a 6:00 p.m. that evening that his entire chest had a mass of darkness within it.  Then on the fifth day from that he succombed to this same incideous disease.  Twice it had eluded the doctors and twice it beat their clearances of it.

And the congress wants to tax the contractors and you and all of us, more and more and more.  How many times do we need to be deluded?

So "the beat goes on" and we get the "feed me-fix me, mentality fed and fixed. And taxed and taxed!!!

The bellicose and burgenoning government continues to create it's elitism of the "Haves and the Have-nots". 

The government officials share one elite healthcare system and impose another, of a significantly lower standard upon the rest of the country.

Just remember that green bubbly Slime that "ain't no slurrpy" for us."

Mel Liles

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

After Citizens United vs. FEC what comes next? Allowing corporations to cast votes?

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