Posted on 03/22/2002 1:12:55 PM PST by Jim Robinson
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 15, 2001
President Bush Outlines Campaign Reform Principles
March 15, 2001
The Honorable Trent Lott
Senate Majority Leader
S-230, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Lott:
As the Senate prepares to consider campaign finance reform legislation, I wanted to highlight my principles for reform. I am committed to working with the Congress to ensure that fair and balanced campaign reform legislation is enacted.
These principles represent my framework for assessing campaign finance reform legislation. I remain open to other ideas to meet shared goals.
I am hopeful that, working together, we can achieve responsible campaign finance reforms.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
Campaign Finance Reform
President Bush's Reform Principles
Protect Rights of Individuals to Participate in Democracy: President Bush believes democracy is first and foremost about the rights of individuals to express their views. He supports strengthening the role of individuals in the political process by: 1) updating the limits established more than two decades ago on individual giving to candidates and national parties; and 2) protecting the rights of citizen groups to engage in issue advocacy.
Maintain Strong Political Parties: President Bush believes political parties play an essential role in making America's democratic system operate. He wants to maintain the strength of parties, and not to weaken them. Any reform should help political parties more fully engage citizens in the political process and encourage them to express their views and to vote.
Ban Corporate and Union Soft Money: Corporations and labor unions spend millions of dollars every election cycle in unregulated 'soft? money to influence federal elections. President Bush supports a ban on unregulated corporate and union contributions of soft money to political parties.
Eliminate Involuntary Contributions: President Bush believes no one should be forced to support a candidate or cause against his or her will. He therefore supports two parallel reforms: 1) legislation to prohibit corporations from using treasury funds for political activity without the permission of shareholders; and 2) legislation to require unions to obtain authorization from each dues-paying worker before spending those dues on activities unrelated to collective bargaining.
Require Full and Prompt Disclosure: President Bush also believes that in an open society, the best safeguard against abuse is full disclosure. He supports full, prompt and constitutionally permissible disclosure of contributions and expenditures designed to influence the outcome of federal elections, so voters will have complete and timely information on which to make informed decisions.
Promote Fair, Balanced, Constitutional Approach: President Bush believes reform should not favor any one party over another or incumbents over challengers. Both corporations and unions should be prohibited from giving soft money to political parties, and both corporations and unions should have to obtain permission from their stockholders or dues-paying workers before spending treasury funds or dues on politics. President Bush supports including a non-severability provision, so if any provision of the bill is found unconstitutional, the entire bill is sent back to Congress for further adjustments and deliberations. This provision will ensure fair and balanced campaign finance reform.
What's the real answer?
http://www.constitutionparty.com
Bush will win again in 04, the next one will be worse than him. We have until 2008 to get the Constitution Party built up into a force to be recond with. Let's get to work now.
LOL!
I do not believe they all broke promises. I don't! How the heck do I know who to vote for if they lie to me. I might as well have voted for John McCain. The result is the same.
Dane, I assumed there were others here at FR that didn't approve of lying. I know in your case, and many others, that doesn't matter, but there are some still left here that won't approve of liars, like you, and George W. Bush. Carry on the spin.
Really? Would you like McCain prosecuting the war right now. McCain voted against the tax cut etc. etc.. This is McCain's swansong, IMHO. Get it over with, let SCOTUS strike the most vile parts and don't give McCain or Hillary for that matter an issue for 2004.
: )
He'll spend every penny he has to defeat a pro-life, pro-2A gubernatorial candidate because said candidate allows exceptions for rape and incest on abortion. He's a new FReeper hero!
We can have 10 different right-of-center candidates and they'll each get about 5% of the vote on average and the Hildebeast-endorsed candidate can beat us all 50-5! Wahoo!
Bingo. This is especially true when the "CFR" bill has substantively changed over time, as I understand this one did. I would like to see a chart of the changes made since the debate began. It may be cause for pause for many. For others, methinks some want to paint W as a "liar" to serve some other agenda...
Kiss your 1st ammendment rights goodbye, all the rest of you.
Told you so.
Second, I figured out a long time ago that I'm going to agree with about 70% of the Republican agenda and about 5% of the democrats agenda. Example being welfare reform. 70% I can live with, 5% I don't want to go back there.
The bottom line is the judiciary. If the House goes back to the dems or we don't win the Senate, none of the true conservative nominees are going to get approval in the Senate. Everything else can be challenged in the courts, but if we lose the House/Senate, there's not a prayer in the world that a true conservative would make it to a Federal Appelate Court or the Supreme Court.
Does anybody honestly believe that CFR would have passed had it not been for the Enron grandstanding that's been done, primarily by the dems in congress? I don't. Does anybody honestly believe that GWB would have had to compromise on his education bill and give up on vouchers if we had control of both the House and the Senate? I don't.
I like a lot of what President Bush has done. The tax cuts, telling the Kyote (sp?) Treaty people to take a flying leap, authorizing federal dollars for stem cell research ONLY on those cells that have already been destroyed. Restoring respect to the White House. Restoring respect to our Military.
Let me tell you, these last two items go a long way in my book toward my support of President Bush. We no longer have to see slobs in sweatpants and t-shirts showing up for a meeting with x42. We no longer have to wonder about what's really going on in the Oval Office with the interns. The sinks won't have to be replaced when GWB leaves office and you can bet there won't be any pornographic pictures left on copy machines or computer and telephone equipment vandalized. The day he got off the helicopter and was trying to round up one of the dogs that wasn't behaving, and he actually came back to salute that young Marine sealed it for me. The #1 job of the Federal Government is and always has been National Defense. If the people doing the defending haven't got an ounce of respect for their CIC we're toast.
So McCain's unconstitutional legislation can be his legacy after that portion of the bill gets booted. Am I thrilled that it's apparantly not going to be vetoed? Nope!
So, are we going to complain for the next eight months and then two more years and help get Hillary or Daschle or Edwards elected? I'm not. I love a good fight, but like the President, I choose my battles or I just look like an obstructionist. Sound familiar?
I have 100% faith that if Bush can actually get support from both the House and the Senate for his agenda, you'll see the President you thought you elected on more than just respect for the military and the office he holds.
I have zero interest in doing whatever I can to vote for the likes of Buchanan or Perot or Keyes just to teach them (the Rino's) a lesson. I'd much rather focus on getting rid of the problems and taking my chances that a true conservative agenda can then take shape without a Kennedy, Daschle, Edwards road block at every turn.
/Rant off
Four executive orders were issued by President Bush on February 17, 2001, which the Administration stated "are based on the principles of fair and open competition, neutrality in government contracting, effective and efficient use of tax dollars and the legal right of workers to be notified of how their dues may be used." Reacting to the reports, AFL – CIO President John Swenney issued a statement saying he was "appalled and outraged" by the decision to issue "four mean-spirited, anti-worker executive orders."
One order would require government contractors to notify employees of their rights under the U.S. Supreme Court's 1988 holding in Communications Workers v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735, "affirming the right of workers to be notified and object, if they so chose, to their union dues being used for purposes other than collective bargaining." Government contractors will be required to post notices informing union–represented workers of their rights under the Beck decision. A similar Executive order was signed in 1992 by the President's father, which was rescinded in early 1993 by former President Clinton.
On offices that have runoffs (in many states ALL of 'em except President) we will have one that gets 5.1% and goes on to beat her in the run-off.
And the beauty of it is, when we win IT ACTUALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE! A substantial difference. Unlike now, in which our only choice involves how fast socialism advances.
Thanks for helping to make my case. Now, get to http://www.constitutionparty.com and sign up!
On offices that have runoffs (in many states ALL of 'em except President) we will have one that gets 5.1% and goes on to beat her in the run-off.
And the beauty of it is, when we win IT ACTUALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE! A substantial difference. Unlike now, in which our only choice involves how fast socialism advances.
Thanks for helping to make my case. Now, get to http://www.constitutionparty.com and sign up!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.