The letter reads as follows:
By American Conservative Union
CNSNews.com Information Services
(Editor's note: What follows is the text of a letter to President George W. Bush from American conservatives, who want the president to veto new campaign finance restrictions passed by Congress. The Senate gave final approval to the bill on Wednesday.)
President George W. Bush 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington D.C. 20500 March 20, 2002,/pre> Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of the nearly one million members and supporters of the American Conservative Union, and the millions more represented by those groups who have co-signed this letter, we are writing to urge you to veto the ill-conceived and unconstitutional Campaign Finance "Reform" bill, passed by the House last month, and the U.S. Senate this afternoon.
As we have said all along, this is not about politics, but about principle.
It is a travesty that so many Members of Congress-on both sides of the aisle- seem to have either forgotten about or chose to intentionally ignore their oaths to "support and defend the Constitution" when they cast their votes on this legislation. It is, frankly, sad that such an affront to freedom has actually made it to the desk of the President of the United States.
Much of the debate over this legislation focused on which party will be helped or hurt by its various provisions, with very few commentators addressing the core questions of whether or not the sorts of restrictions on political speech envisioned by the bill's authors are either wise or Constitutional.
We don't know which party will ultimately benefit or be hurt by this legislation and what's more, we don't care. The bill making its way to your desk completely redefines political speech and outlaws or criminalizes speech that every American has always believed to be protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Looked at from our perspective, you are being asked to sign a bill that tells those who might want to criticize the actions of politicians to just shut up.
We understand fully the reasons why you have taken the position up to now that Congress could not count on a Presidential veto on this legislation and must therefore work to fashion something that is fair, effective and, yes, Constitutional. Well, Congress had its chance ... and failed.
So now it's up to you!
You can pass the buck to the courts and hope that they will straighten out this mess. Or, you can veto it for what it is.... A bad bill that criminalizes political speech and deserves to be sent back from whence it came.
If there was ever a time to use the veto pen this is it. We urge you to veto this legislation.
If you can honestly say that you believe legislated restrictions on political speech is at the core of what our Founders wanted, by all means, sign the bill. But if you believe the proposed restrictions won't pass muster by a Supreme Court that actually believes in free speech, please, do everyone a favor by vetoing it.
Yours Sincerely,
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The names follow
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In any event, I am proud to associate myself with the letter ... and no offense taken to your post, FWIW
Cheers,
Richard F.