George W. Bush on Campaign Finance Reform
Ban soft money, but no public financing of elections
GORE [to Bush]: If I’m president, the first bill I will send to Congress is the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. And the reasons it’s that important is that all of the issues like prescription drugs for seniors that is opposed by the drug companies, will be easier to pass if we limit the influence of special interests. BUSH: I am not going to lay down my arms in the middle of a campaign for somebody who has got no credibility on the issue. I would support an effort to ban corporate soft money & labor union soft money. I believe there needs to be instant disclosure on the Internet as to who’s given to whom. GORE: You have attacked my character and credibility and I am not going to respond in kind. One serious problem is that our system of government is being undermined by too much influence coming from special interest money. BUSH: I want people to hear what he just said. He is for full public financing of congressional elections. I’m absolutely, adamantly opposed to that. Source: Presidential debate, Boston MA Oct 3, 2000
Ban some soft money; fewer restrictions on individuals
Bush has no interest in changing campaign finance rules. He has raised a record amount of money, more than $100M (though only a small part of that is “soft” money, $83M of it coming from individual donations). He also accepted $500,000 in the 1999 Texas legislative session from polluters he had exempted from mandatory cleanup rules. But he, like Gore, has responded to McCain’s challenge by devising a reform plan. It would:
- Ban soft money from unions and corporations, but not from individuals
- Raise the limit on individual donations from $1,000 to $3,400 in each election
- Introduce “paycheck protection”, by which union members would have to give approval for their dues to be spent on political activities
- Introduce weekly Internet disclosure of all contributions
- Reformers say the soft-money ban is undermined by the exemption for individuals. They detect (not surprisingly) an anti-union bias. And they know his heart is not in it.
Source: The Economist, “Issues 2000” special Sep 30, 2000
“Paycheck Protection”: no union-directed campaign donations
Supports banning soft money contributions from labor unions & corporations because members/shareholders have no say in how those contributions are given - Supports ‘Paycheck Protection’ legislation so union members have the right to decide whether to direct money to political activities
- Supports raising individual contribution limits
- Supports instant disclosure of contributions; was the first presidential candidate to voluntarily implement this reform with disclosure on the Internet
Source: GeorgeWBush.com: ‘Issues: Policy Points Overview’ Apr 2, 2000
No government takeover of campaign finance
Bush called Gore’s endowment proposal a “government takeover that replaces individual spending decisions with decisions made by an unelected government committee.” He said the plan echoed Clinton’s 1993 failed health care legislation. In a statement, Bush described his campaign finance overhaul proposal as “superior because it abolishes corporate and union soft money without creating taxpayer-financed elections.” Gore’s plan is nothing more than “welfare for politicians,” Bush’s spokesman said. Source: CNN.com AllPolitics Mar 27, 2000
Full disclosure and no giving limits
Q: Do you disagree with the recent Supreme Court decision that upheld limits on campaign contributions?
A: In my state that’s the way it is. People can give any amount they want to give so long as there’s disclosure. That Supreme Court case was [too] liberal an interpretation of the Constitution. I believe in freedom of speech. I understand there’s going to be limits and I’ll live with them. But I believe the best policy is to say individuals can give and then have instant disclosure on the Internet. Source: GOP debate in Los Angeles Mar 2, 2000
No corporate or union soft money.
Q: Where do you stand on campaign finance reform? A: We ought to ban corporate soft money, and we ought to ban labor union soft money. We ought to make sure that labor bosses cannot spend union members’ money without their permission. Thirdly, we should not allow federal candidates to take money from one campaign and roll it over into another campaign. And members of the United States Congress should not be allowed to raise money from federal lobbyists during a session. Source: GOP Debate on the Larry King Show Feb 15, 2000
Agrees to no negative ads; stop tearing each other down
Q: [to Bush & Forbes]: Will you agree not to run any negative ads against each other? FORBES. The answer is if being negative is telling the truth I will continue to tell the truth. People deserve it, we deserve an honest and open and vigorous debate. And if a man breaks a pledge [re 1997 tax cuts], the voters ought to know it. BUSH: I’ll run positive ads. Listen, I cut taxes as the governor. That’s a fact. That is the bottom line. The people of my state know my record and they endorsed it with an election. And yet if you look at [Forbes’] ads it doesn’t say that. I don’t mind debates. I do mind Republicans tearing each other down. FORBES. You’re not going to win the White House by making pledges that are then broken. We’ve been through that before, particularly on taxes. A pledge made should be a pledge kept. And in Texas it was your own party that saved you from breaking that pledge. You tried to break it, they blocked you. Source: (cross-ref to Forbes) GOP Debate in Michigan Jan 10, 2000
Supports tweaking campaign finance rules
Bush proposes lifting the $1,000 limit on individual contributions and requiring full disclosure of contributors. Source: Time Magazine, p. 37, col. 2 Jul 5, 1999
- Click here for 8 older quotations from George W. Bush on Government Reform.
- Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
- Click here for policy papers on Government Reform.
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