Virgil Goode on Free Trade : Oct 16, 2012
Super PACs benefit from jobs being sent overseas

ROMNEY: The place where we've seen manufacturing go has been China. One of the reasons for that is that people think it's more attractive in some cases to go offshore than to stay here. I want to make America the most attractive place in the world for entrepreneurs.

GOODE: When Romney was with Bain Capital, they sent all kinds of jobs to China and other foreign countries because of lower wages, no employment commission restrictions, no Department of Labor restrictions. If I were president, our trade measures would be totally renegotiated in favor of manufacturing and more jobs in this country, instead of seeing how many we could send overseas that benefit many of those behind the super PACs that are pouring so much money into the Obama and Romney ads. Virgil Goode will stand up for jobs in the United States for U.S. citizens first.

Virgil Goode on Government Reform : Oct 16, 2012
Stop the super PACs from controlling our federal election

GOODE: Virgil Goode is the candidate for you. I'm pro-life, pro-traditional marriage. Balance the budget now, not 10 years down the road. Jobs in America for American citizens first. Quit bringing in so many foreign workers. Stop the super PACs from controlling our federal election, and have term limits. The right way for America.

Mitt Romney on Government Reform : Aug 27, 2012
FactCheck: Ryan more liberal than Romney on campaign finance

Obama-Biden vs. Romney-Ryan on Economic Issues:
• Corporation Policy
• Wall Street Reform
• Recession Bailout
• Economic Stimulus
• Mortgage Crisis
• National Debt
• Balanced Budget
• Earmark Reform
• Campaign Finance Reform
• Union Policy
• Unemployment
• Job Creation
• Welfare State
• Social Security Privatization
• Capital Gains & Death Tax
• Income Tax Reform

Marco Rubio on Principles & Values : Jun 19, 2012
2011: Formed "Reclaim America PAC" to support conservatives

Jill Stein on Government Reform : Jan 29, 2012
2002 Clean Elections repeal meant "throw the bums out"

A: After we passed campaign finance reform in Massachusetts, I was working on that issue, thinking, "Oh, it's the money that stops us from shutting down our incinerators."

Q: You're referring to the "Clean Elections Law"; what year was this?

A: It was passed in 1998. It then got repealed by the legislature after passing on a two-to-one margin via a citizen referendum. The people of Massachusetts passed it by a 2-to-1 vote, so it was an enormous victory and it took two years for the legislature to turn around and repeal it on a voice vote and to me that said, "Okay, we can't even change the system by changing the system--we actually have to throw the bums out." This is a long-term political struggle.

Q: But you need people to actually implement the will of the people if you're going to have a democracy?

A: Exactly. Then the Green Party came to me and said, "Why don't you keep doing what you're doing and call it a campaign for Governor?

Jill Stein on Government Reform : Dec 21, 2011
PACs connect campaigns with rich donors, & disconnect public

A: We now have influence-peddling on steroids with Citizens United and the Super PACs. And Obama raising $1 billion for his campaign alone. We have a political system which is completely disconnected with the public, and connected instead with those with deep pockets who can find these campaigns with such extreme amounts.

Rocky Anderson on Health Care : Dec 13, 2011
Need universal healthcare like every industrialized nation

Mitt Romney on Government Reform : Jun 7, 2011
1994: campaign spending limits and the abolition of PACs

"I personally believe that when campaigns spend the kind of money they're now spending, to get that kind of money you've got to cozy up as an incumbent to all of the special-interest groups who can go out and raise money for you from their members, and that kind of relationship has an influence over the way you're going to vote. And for that reason I would like to have campaign spending limits and to say we're not going to spend more than this in certain campaigns. I also would abolish PACS. I don't like them. I don't like the influence of money--whether it's business, labor, or any other group. I do not like that kind of influence."

Mitt Romney on Government Reform : Jun 7, 2011
2002: publicly fund campaigns; 2008: repeal McCain-Feingold

As a presidential candidate in 2008, Mitt Romney pivoted drastically, abandoning his old anti-First Amendment stance and taking the harshest position against McCain-Feingold of all the candidates. He has called repeatedly for the legislation's repeal, and even labeled the bill "one of the worst things in my lifetime." Romney then advocated "reforms that promote transparency & disclosure, preserve grassroots activism and protect the ability to criticize or endorse current officeholders and candidates."

Barack Obama on Principles & Values : Jan 11, 2010
Required email list from every candidate event he attended

Within Obama's operation, "the options" became a code phrase , a reference to three live possibilities: launching a presidential run, bolstering his stature in the Senate with an eye toward the VP slot in 2008, or returning to Illinois to run for governor--with a presidential bid so far remaining at the bottom of the option pile.

The scheme revolved around a simple transaction. Every time he did an event for a candidate, Hopefund would requir the beneficiary to set up a registration system and then turn over the attendees' email address to the PAC.

The was no small thing. As 2006 rolled on, the requests poured in. That added up to a lot of chits, and a lot of email addresses.

Sarah Palin on Government Reform : Nov 13, 2009
FactCheck: Over half of her campaign funded by large donors

THE FACTS: Of the roughly $1.3 million she raised fo her primary and general election campaigns for governor, more than half came from people and political action committees giving at least $500, according to an AP analysis of her campaign finance reports. The maximum that individual donors could give was $1,000; $2,000 for a PAC. Of the rest, about $76,000 came from Republican Party committees.

She accepted $1,000 each from a state senator and his wife in the weeks after the Republican lawmakers' offices were raided by the FBI as part of an investigation into a powerful Alaska oilfield services company. After AP reported those donations during the presidential campaign, she said she would give a comparative sum to charity after the general election in 2010, a date set by state election laws

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Jun 20, 2008
GovWatch: No, McCain & RNC don’t get much money from PACs

We find that to be a large exaggeration and a lame excuse. In fact, donations from PACs and lobbyists make up less than 1.7% of McCain’s total receipts, and they account for only about 1.1% of the RNC’s receipts.

It’s not our place to comment on Obama’s financial strategy, except to note that it is perfectly legal and also that McCain and Obama both refused to accept public funds or spending limits during the primary campaign. We also note that Obama’s decision is likely to give him a big financial advantage over McCain in the weeks just before the election.

Ron Paul on Principles & Values : Feb 7, 2008
Liberty promotes peace, and peace promotes prosperity

Mitt Romney on Government Reform : Feb 5, 2008
GovWatch: 1994: advocated spending limit on elections

In 1994, Romney advocated a spending limit on congressional elections and abolition of political action committees. In 2002, he supported public financing of campaigns from a 10 percent tax on private fund-raising. In 2008, he attacked the McCain-Feingold law limiting campaign contributions as an attack on free speech.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Feb 2, 2008
Shine light on federal contracts, earmarks, & proposed bills

• Secrecy Dominates Government Actions: The Bush administration has ignored public disclosure rules and has invoked a legal tool known as the ‘state secrets’ privilege more than any other previous administration.

• Shine Light on Washington Lobbying: Create a centralized Internet database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance filings.
• Create a Public “Contracts and Influence” Database: Disclose how much federal contractors spend on lobbying, and what contracts they are getting.
• Sunlight Before Signing:As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to comment online for five days.
• Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama’s Transparency and Integrity in Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who asked for each earmark, along with a written justification.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Feb 2, 2008
Ended corporate jet travel subsidized by lobbyists

• Lobbyists Write National Policies: For example, Vice President Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force of oil and gas lobbyists met secretly to develop national energy policy.

• Support Campaign Finance Reform: Obama supports public financing of campaigns combined with free television and radio time as a way to reduce the influence of moneyed special interests.

• Federal Ethics Reform: Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was described as the “gold standard” for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists’ bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Jan 21, 2008
Never took money from federal lobbyists or their companies

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Jan 15, 2008
No lobbyist money; no PAC money; fund campaigns instead

Hillary Clinton on Government Reform : Sep 23, 2007
Public financing would fix campaign donor problems

A: Well, I’m very much in favor of public financing, which is the only way to really change a lot of the problems that we have in our campaign finance system. You know, as soon as my campaign found out that he was a fugitive from justice, we did return any contribution that we could in any way link to him.

Q: Back in the 1996 campaign, Johnny Chung plead guilty to illegally funding of money, under very similar circumstances. How do you convince the American people that you have changed?

A: Well, this is a problem for every campaign. I have more than 100,000 donors, the vast majority of whom have given me less than $100. We’re spending an enormous amount of time and effort raising money, mostly to be clear to go on television. It is not good for our political system. There has to be a way that public financing becomes the law.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Sep 13, 2007
Ok to take $5 donations from drug company employees

A: I don’t accept money from federal registered lobbyists and from federal PACs. Now, I’m sure that we’ve received money from people who work at insurance companies or work at drug companies, because we’re getting contributions of $5, $10, $100 from all sorts of people. We don’t want to finance our campaign by people whose professional job it is to influence legislation in Washington. The drug companies, the insurance companies spent a billion dollars over the last 10 years blocking reform. That’s how we ended up with a prescription drug bill that is better for drug companies than it is for our seniors. So it is an imperfect system. Money is the original sin of politics, & when you’re running for president, you’re going to do some sinning when it comes to raising money because otherwise you can’t compete. But it’s less important what your health-care plan is, than are you able to overcome the special-interest-driven agendas?

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Aug 14, 2007
1998: First law passed, 52-4, stripping legislator perks

The senate’s Democratic leader offered Obama the opportunity to push through the bill because it seemed like a good fit fo the do-good persona projected by Obama. It was a tough assignment for a new lawmaker, since he was essentially sponsoring legislation that would strip away long-held privileges and perks from his colleagues. One colleague angrily denounced the bill, saying that it impinged on lawmakers’ inherent rights. But Obama worked the issue by an overwhelming 52-4 vote.

The bill lifted Illinois, a state with a deep history of illicit, pay-to-play politics, into the modern world when it came to restrictions.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Aug 8, 2007
No “bundled” money from federal-registered lobbyists

A: No, no, I do not have federal-registered lobbyists bundling for me, just like I don’t take PAC money. People need to know who we are going to fight for. The reason I’m in public life, the reason that I am running for president is because of you, not because of folks who are writing big checks.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Jul 23, 2007
Doesn’t take PAC money or federal lobbyists’ money

KUCINICH: The new doctrine that I’m going to promote throughout this campaign is that we’ll use the science of human relations and diplomacy to settle your differences without committing the young men and women to war, unless it’s absolutely necessary.

CLINTON: The issue is: Which of us is ready to lead on day one? I have 35 years of being an instrument and agent of change.

OBAMA: I don’t think this is just a Republican problem. I think this is a problem that spans the parties. And we don’t just need a change in political parties in Washington. We’ve got to have a change in attitudes of those who are representing the people. And part of the reason I don’t take PAC money, I don’t take federal lobbyists’ money is because we’ve got to get the national interests up front as opposed to the special interests. And that is something that I’ve got a track record doing.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Jul 23, 2007
People know his “bundlers” because he pushed disclosure law

GRAVEL: Barack Obama says he doesn’t take money from lobbyists. Well, he has 134 bundlers. Now, what does he think that is? And, besides that, he has received $195,000 from the head of a foreign-owned bank who has lobbyists in Washington.

OBAMA: Well, the fact is I don’t take PAC money and I don’t take lobbyists’ money. And the bundlers--the reason you know who is raising money for me, Mike, is because I have pushed through a law this past session to disclose that. And that’s the kind of leadership that I’ve shown in the Senate. And that’s the kind of leadership that I’ll show as president of the United States.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Jul 23, 2007
FactCheck: no lobbyist money; yes from bundlers who lobby

Gravel and Obama weren’t actually contradicting each other. However, Obama’s policy is an ethical tightrope. Obama’s official policy is: “The Obama campaign does not accept donations or fundraising help from federal lobbyists or PACs.” Obama, however, is sticking to a strict interpretation of his ban on lobbyist contributions.

[The largest bundler was] Robert Wolf, COO of the Switzerland-based UBS Investment Bank, who raised money for Obama to the tune of $194,930. Those contributions don’t violate the letter of Obama’s pledge, even though UBS, like most large corporations, has lobbyists in Washington. Obama voluntarily listed Wolf, along with 254 other “bundlers” (influential types who agree to encourage and collect individual contributions) on his Web site.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Apr 26, 2007
FactCheck: no lobbyist money, yes from lobbyist spouses

Nevertheless, Obama accepts money from lobbyists’ spouses and other family members, their partners at the law firms where they work if the partners aren’t registered to lobby, senior executives at companies that hire lobbyists, and state-level lobbyists. Among his top fundraisers are at least a few who were registered lobbyists as recently as last year. The campaign says it is making a “best effort” to stay away from tainted money. “It isn’t a perfect solution to the problem and it isn’t even a perfect symbol,” a spokesman said.

Barack Obama on Government Reform : Nov 17, 2006
Hopefund PAC pushes government to honor sacred commitments

• Our hope says government must play a constructive role in investing in our communities.
• Our hope says tax breaks can be a very useful tool, but that they should be used to reward the creation of jobs rather than companies that ship them overseas.
• Our hope says health care is every human being’s right, and when the free market fails us, the government must step in to correct its abuses.
• Our hope says the liberties of every person are sacred, but that those liberties must be defended--with military might abroad when absolutely necessary, but also with courage and vigilance at home.

Hillary Clinton on Government Reform : Feb 25, 2004
HILLPAC raised $31M through 2002

During the 2002 election cycle, Hillary was among the Senate’s top donors, disbursing more than $1 million to candidates and to party committees.

Hillary raises almost half of her funds from outside the state, with trial lawyers and law firms as her top categories. She endearingly bestows the title ‘Hill Raisers’ on those who collect large sums for her. Lesser mortals can log onto the Hillary website and become ‘Hill’s Angels’

Joe Biden on Government Reform : Feb 11, 2003
Campaign reform in 1980s made more problems than it solved

Biden might have added: the Ethics in Government Act of 1978; the reforms of the presidential-primary selection process and of the seniority system in Congress; the limitations on presidential war and budgetary powers; the "whistle-blower" reforms that enabled disgruntled government employees everywhere to bring anonymous complaints against their bosses.

Jill Stein on Local Issues : Mar 3, 2002
New voices heard with Clean Elections law

Gary Johnson on Government Reform : Jan 1, 2001
Full disclosure, but no limits on campaign donations

A: If you're talking about reform where you want to do away with soft money, yeah, I think that's good. If RJR wants to give me $100,000 for my campaign, it can't. But it can give it to the Republican Party and then the Republican Party will write a check to me. It's not directly from the cigarette manufacturer and all I have to say is that I got it from the party. So I think that should be reformed. The public should know exactly where every penny comes from. But I don't think there should be limits on contributions.

Q: But big contributions mean the wealthy have much more political influence.

A: My biggest contributor during the last two campaigns gave me over $150,000. Not once since I've been elected has he been on the phone to tell me anything about what I should do. Is that not better than 150 people giving me a limit of $1000? Of those 150, there's a good chance that 50 are going to be on the phone trying to tell me what to do.