Posted on 03/20/2002 4:33:41 PM PST by erk
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 20, 2002
Statement by the President
Like many Republicans and Democrats in the Congress, I support common-sense reforms to end abuses in our campaign finance system. The reforms passed today, while flawed in some areas, still improve the current system overall, and I will sign them into law.
The legislation makes some important progress on the timeliness of disclosure, individual contribution limits, and banning soft money from corporations and labor unions, but it does present some legitimate constitutional questions. I continue to believe the best reform is full and timely disclosure of campaign contributions.
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To take an issue away from Mcain-Feingold. If he vetoed it Mcain and the demos have an issue. Now McCain will be quiet as this goes court and hopefully be shot down and what's McCain going to do then? Trash the Supreme Court?
The press would have a field day if he vetoed.
BTW, joe sixpack doesn't really care about this and that 78% figure you saw was an online poll, which is not scientific or accurate.
THE DECLARATION OF DEPENDENCE
In Disgrace, March 20, 2002, THE BINDING CONCENSUS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for a government to strengthen the political bands which have controlled the people, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the collective and superior station to which the Laws of Nature entitle it, a minimal respect to the opinions of mankind requires that it should declare the causes which impel it to the suppression.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all creatures are evolved unequally, that they are imbued by their environment with certain insurmountable obstacles, that among these are fear, panic, and the pursuit of survival.
That to overcome these obstacles, Governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the incompetence of the governed.
That whenever any Form of Protest becomes destructive to the Government, it is the Right of the Government to suppress or abolish it, and to institute more Government, building anew on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to it shall seem most likely to effect the peoples’ safety and security. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while conditions are sufferable, than to endanger themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce it under absolute anarchy, it is the Government’s right, it is its duty, to throw off such protest, and to provide new Guards for its future security.
Such has been the patient sufferance of this Government; and such is now the necessity which constrains it to alter its former Systems of Political Expression. The history of the present electoral finance system is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over this Government. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
It has refused its assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
It has allowed its contributors to pass money of immediate and pressing influence, unless suspended in its operation till more money should be obtained; and when so suspended, it has utterly neglected to account for them.
It has refused to submit to other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, forcing those people to relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and disproportionally beneficial to large corporations only.
It has called together legislative bodies at positions unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public campaigns, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with its measures.
It has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for acquiescing with reservation to the fundraising of the people.
It has allowed, for a long time, after such fundraising, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have not returned to the Incumbents at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of political change from without, and convulsions within.
It has endeavoured to prevent the population of these houses; for that purpose obstructing the Laws of Reelection of Incumbents; attempting to pass others to encourage their elections hither, and reducing the terms of new Appropriations of Office.
It has obstructed the administration of Justice, by refusing its Assent to Laws for establishing reform using Judiciary powers.
It has made Judges dependent on their will alone, for the integrity of their offices, against the amount and payment of its influence.
It has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Lobbyists to harass our Representatives, and eat out their time.
It has kept among us, in times of adjournment, standing Lobbies without the request of our members.
It has effected to render the Lobbies independent of and superior to the Civil power.
It has combined together to subject us to Governments foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving its Assent to their Acts of Political Influence:
For quartering large bodies of foreign troops at taxpayer expense:
For protecting them, by mock Protestations, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these Countries:
For cutting off our Most Favored Nation Trade Status:
For imposing Tax Cuts on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Legal Immunity:
For transporting us beyond Washington to be accountable for pretended offences:
For challenging the free system of Eminent Domain in every Province, establishing therein an arbitrary militia, and enlarging its Membership so as to render it once an example and fit instrument for opposing the absolute rule of this Government:
For taking away our perquisites, abolishing our most valuable privileges, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Government:
For suspending our usual business, and declaring itself invested with power to influence us in all cases whatsoever.
It has usurped Government here, by declaring itself independent of our Protection and waging media campaigns against us.
It has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, polluted our towns, and destroyed the Lives of our people.
It is at this time transporting large quantities of foreign goods to compleat the works of profit, pollution and monopoly, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the economy of a socialist nation.
It has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the capitalist market to protest against their Government, to become the executioners of their plans and propaganda, or to fall themselves by their schemes.
It has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the beneficiaries of our programs, the pitiful poor and ignorant, whose known rule of protest, is an undistinguished destruction of all representatives, senators and judges.
In every stage of these Insurrections We have Legislated for Reform in the most humble terms: Our repeated Assistance has been answered only by repeated criticism. An Insurrection, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Rebellion, is unfit to be the representative of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attention to our fellow citizens. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their lobbyists to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our election and establishment here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Authority, and hold them, as we hold the rest of the population, Enemies in Protest, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the Federal Government, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Good Sense of our Constituents, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the Good Representatives of this Government, solemnly publish and declare, That this Government is, and of Right ought to be Free of Political Pressure; that it is Absolved from all Accountability to the Special Interests; and that all political connection between them and the Representatives of this Government, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a Sovereign Government, it has full power to levy taxes, establish regulations, monitor compliance, punish noncompliance, and to do all other Acts and Things which Sovereign Governments may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the Approval of Public Opinion, we mutually pledge to each other our Staffs, our Votes and our Public Support.
I'd reply, david, but I'm afraid you'd turn me into a thread.
In the last month it appears Bush has taken away 90% of the demos' issues. Soon they'll have nothing to run on in 2002/04, because Bush will have coopted the majority of their platform. That'll be great, huh?
You're probably right. This will help Bush politically in a lot of ways, and most Republicans will eventually overlook his decision (in fact, there are probably a good number of Republicans who want CFR). And there's also a good chance the Supreme Court will shoot down CFR.
But I'm still upset. Despite the political advantages offered by CFR, it's still a bad law. But Bush is supporting it anyway. This means one of two things:
a). Bush also thinks it's a bad law, but he's putting politics over principle. Granted, that may be necessary in political life, but not on an issue this big.
b). Bush really does support this law, meaning that we have a President with a serious misunderstanding of (or disregard for) the Constitution.
What's the value of having a Republican president if he's constantly having to abandon conservative principles?
I think we should just call it the "Constipation", as all it seems to be doing is only temporarily stopping the Marxists from taking over this country. The plug will fail and the poop will hit the fan.
CFR is such a deal for Republicans. Such a deal.
If it's such a deal for Republicans, why are John McCain and Tom Daschle the biggest thugs forcing it through?
CFR empowers the media--90% Democrat. Such a deal for Republicans.
The first amendment doesn't apply to only citizens who can vote. At least, it didn't used to. Now it means all sorts of different things. Indians and the media have more rights than the proletariat in this bill.
Kids sending money were really parents sending money in their kids' names.
Only in convoluted bs campaign finance laws. If citizens could donate what they want, when they want, to whom they want, all of that bs goes away.
Look, I'm for anybody being able to donate as much as they want. But, as long as we're limiting, let's keep non-residents from sending money to campaigns for Senate and the House. That would keep the Hollywood money in California
No. Just more abridging of the first amendment.
David
Mark your calendars, kiddies ... I'm speechless.
Worth repeating.
Hmmmmm a President who will not VETO an obviously UNCONSTITUTIONAL piece of legislation.... In principle I would answer yes.. I think it would be a wake up call to remind our President and ALL our elected officials that they have taken an OATH to support and DEFEND the Constitution.....
Passing and signing unconstitutional law is not illegal. A politician can not go to jail for it. It's that seperation of powers thing -- ya know the Constitution.
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