Posted on 07/20/2010 7:47:09 PM PDT by Southside_Chicago_Republican
Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias on Tuesday proposed ethics reforms so sweeping as to appear dead-on-arrival in Washington, D.C.
He wants a total ban on corporations and lobbyists donating to candidates and a lifetime ban on senators or congressmen ever becoming lobbyists.
More modest laws passed by Congress have already been ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has ruled that corporations have a First Amendment Right to free speech that includes donating to candidates.
“I’m not going to pretend that as a freshman United States senator, in one day we’re going to change the world and move toward public financing,” Giannoulias said.
“I’m saying candidates should take that pledge,” Giannoulias said of his own decision not to take money from corporate Political Action Committees or federal lobbyists.
(snip)
Giannoulias does take contributions from state lobbyists in Springfield. He denied partisan motives in supporting bans on donations from corporations that often give more to Republicans, but not on unions, who more often support Democrats.
“My goal is saying ‘No’ to organizations that are out there that actually making a profit.,” Giannoulias said. “Labor organizations that represent working class men and women, janitors, nurses, road-builders, these are not organizations that are out there to make money.”
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
It’s sad that I don’t have a candidate to vote for in this race.
I know what you mean.
I miss Everett Dirksen.
I miss Peter Fitzgerald too.
Yep. Think about all of the trouble we could have avoided if he had stayed around.
>> “Labor organizations that represent working class men and women, janitors, nurses, road-builders, these are not organizations that are out there to make money.”
****
Oh boy...
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