Wellstone, Common Cause push for campaign finance report
Karen Boothe, 5/28/96

U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, along with leaders of "Common Cause" the state Independence Party and leaders of "United We Stand," is in Minnesota today promoting a campaign finance proposal pending in Washington.

Minnesota Public Radio's Karen-Louise Boothe reports:

The Minnesota Democrat is sponsoring an amendment that's attached to a major defense bill which comes up for a vote in the U.S. Senate next week.

Wellstone says this is the closest such reform has COME to congressional approval, and attributes it's lifespan to bi-cameral, bi-partisan support. Even so, he says it STILL faces an uphill battle amidst stiff opposition by lobbyists and other special interests as well as a threatened filibuster: Bite: reform 2 :20-secs "are now financed."

Wellstone is joined by another Democrat and two Republicans. Democratic Senator Russ Feingold from Wisconsin, and Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Fred Thompson, a freshman from Tennesse. It's ALSO being endorsed by Common Cause. Ann McBride is the national watchdog organization's president. McBride says the legislation is not perfect, but it's a major first step toward reform:

Bite: reform 1 :20-secs "a tough bill."

McBride says Common Cause and sponsoring lawmakers will try the SAME strategy that was used LAST year to pass tough new gift rules and reform the lobbying disclosure law. McBride's comments were echoed by Dean Barkley of the state Independence Party. He says this is the bill discontent voters have been asking for to end the influence and money THEY believe has corroded Washington:

Bite: reform 4 :13-secs "that's out there."

Barkely he says if leaders of the two main parties want to co opt a third party movement in this country, then they'd begin by passing this legislation.

State Republican Party Chairman, Chris Georgacas, says HIS party ALSO backs some of the ideas behind the legislation.

Bite: reform 3 :19-secs "in campaign financing."

Georgacas ALSO criticizes Senator Wellstone for what he says is pure rhetoric. He says Wellstone is not leading by example, by instituting the very reforms he favors, into his own re-election campaign. Wellstone argues that he's keeping with his earlier promises to SEEK change. But he says he's maintained all along, that if change doesn't come he cannot run for re-election with one hand tied behind his back. Nevertheless, a week after his 1990 election to the Senate, Wellstone said he'd refuse contributions from political action committees after his campaign debt was erased. Wellstone raised more money from PACS in the 1990 campaign than all but TWO of the 35 Senators elected that year. Despite a report in the Minneapolist Star-Tribune in 1992 that he continued to take PAC money after he has appeared to have paid off his campaign debt, Wellstone said the debt was actually higher than he had thought.

Wellstone had said he'd try to refuse PAC contributions but decided to accept the money after Congress failed to overhaul campaign finance laws by 1994.

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