"There is a very radical measure which would, I believe, work a substantial improvement in our system of conducting a campaign, although I am well aware that it will take some time for people so to familiarize themselves with such a proposal as to be willing to consider its adoption. The need for collecting large campaign funds would vanish if Congress provided an appropriation for the proper and legitimate expenses of each of the great national parties, an appropriation ample enough to meet the necessity for thorough organization and machinery, which requires a large expenditure of money. Then the stipulation should be made that no party receiving campaign funds from the Treasury should accept more than a fixed amount from any individual subscriber or donor; and the necessary publicity for receipts and expenditures could without difficulty be provided."
Theodore Roosevelt, 1907 State of the Union Address
“In fact, not only do I support eliminating soft money, but I support full public financing for campaigns. I am hopeful that once Shays-Meehan passes and is signed into law that we can focus our efforts on passing legislation to provide for public financing.”
As Public Campaign states in its report called ‘The Color of Money,’ it is an indisputable fact of our political system that those candidates and laws favored by wealthy contributors usually prevail over those would-be backers who cannot afford to give such large sums of money.”
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), February 13, 2002
“In my opinion, we need to again consider the possibility of public funding of congressional elections, following the very successful experience with clean money systems in Maine and Arizona.”
Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), March 20, 2002
“We have many more important campaign finance issues to explore, from improving the access of candidates to broadcast media to introducing aspects of public financing into the system. I look forward to continuing to work to improve the system.”
Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ), March 20, 2002
Sen. McCain appeared on NOW! with Bill Moyers for an interview to promote his new book Worth The Fighting For: A Memoir on December 13, 2002. Moyers talked to Sen. McCain about his book, his landmark campaign finance legislation that was signed into law this year, and what he thought about the Clean Elections law in Arizona. Below is Sen. McCain's answer on public financing in his home state:
BILL MOYERS: Senator, in your home state of Arizona, a number of candidates recently were elected to office running with public funding, public financing. Would you support it? Would you endorse, what do you think about that experiment there?
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: I think it's good overall. I think it needs to, like any other new experiment, it needs to have some wrinkles taken out of it. But we had more people run for public office than any time in the history of our state, and that's what it was all about.
As I say, there's some fixes that need to be made, but it was a new experiment, and overall I think was very successful and interestingly the ones who are running, you know what they're telling me? They said, surprise, surprise, I spend my time talking to voters not to contributors.
BILL MOYERS: Do you think that could become a model for the nation as a whole?
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: Absolutely.
"The difference between being able to go out and spend your time talking with voters, meeting with groups, doing things like traveling to communities that have been under-represented in the past as opposed to being on the phone selling tickets to a $250 a plate fundraiser – that’s the real, practical difference.”
Governor Janet Napolitano (D), AZ, The Road To Clean Elections Video
"Raising money on top of the time it takes just to meet and greet people and to do all the rest that’s required of a campaign is a huge time commitment. It freed me up from the chase of the dollar and allowed me to concentrate on walking the district, meeting folks.”
"There’s a complete turnover at the state house, there’s all kinds of new people and some of those people would not be viable candidates without Clean Elections because they would not have been able to raise any money at all under traditional financing methods.”
Representative Steve Tully (R), AZ, The Road To Clean Elections Video
"I don’t anyone after the race…I don’t owe them any favors and I think that’s instrumental.
Your able to concentrate on the issues. What need to be tackled as opposed to figuring out where your money is coming is going to be coming from at all times.
Representative Robert Meza (D), AZ, The Road To Clean Elections Video
Overall people are excited about it because they feel that there particular legislator will not be tied to special interest dollars and that’s mean a lot to them. The number of constituency calls since I’ve been involved with Clean Elections have increased dramatically. People really feel they have an even stronger tie to you just more so than just the vote.
It’s changed the whole look of what the legislative body looks like. It’s opened it to more minorities it’s opened it up to more women. You need these different view points.
Representative Leah Landrum Taylor (D), AZ, The Road To Clean Elections Video
"The fact that for attorney general for many positions to have to go to the very same interests that you're going to be regulating or potentially suing for your money to run for office is a disaster. That’s a fundamental mistake in the system as it exists. And to be able to be free of that to be able to have public funding which makes you independent from any specific interest is I think a liberating factor. It’s one that would allow me to do a much better job I think as attorney general."
Terry Goddard, Attorney General (D), AZ, The Road To Clean Elections Video
"You know in politics, you buy access; you get access. And those contributions have a bearing on it, whether we like it or not. I mean, if you vote consistently against certain industries, you know you're not going to get any money. I think all of us as elected officials have experienced that." Barry Massey, The Associated Press, 03/15/2003
Senate President Pro Tem Richard Romero (D), NM
“I have been at fund-raisers where lobbyists came up to offer help and I’d say there’s nothing you can do. They’d turn around and walk away. They didn’t want to waste time on me and spend time with someone they could get influence with.”
Senatpr Ed Youngblood (R), ME, The Road To Clean Elections Video
“With the Clean Elections, it seemed less daunting a task to run. I could do what I can do, which is talk to people, as opposed to raising money, which in my life, I didn’t have any experience in.” Boston Globe, February 26, 2001.
Representative Deborah Simpson (D), ME, The Road To Clean Elections Video
"One of the first clean election candidates in the country. No PAC money. No soft money. No individual contributions. So nobody's buying my vote."
Representative Glenn Cummings (D), ME, The Road To Clean Elections Video
"By contrast, four states -- Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont -- are experimenting with offering qualified candidates for office the option of public financing: In exchange for refusing to pander to contributions from donors who may want political favors, they get a reasonable taxpayer stipend for their campaigns. Entrenched incumbents and special interests used to winning friends with their money continue to try to sandbag these efforts. But public financing, still nowhere near the horizon in Washington, is the ultimate answer for cleaning up campaigns.
"The simple truth is that campaigning is expensive, and candidates will get the money someplace. Far better that the public, not special interests, put up the bucks."
USA Today, "Special interests take a hit," March 28, 2002
"In junior high, we had a better idea. If you ran for student council, they gave you three pieces of construction paper and some magic markers. You made your posters. You hung them on the walls. That was it for campaign finance.
"Elementary as it seems, this model should be what all of us -- including our politicians -- are shooting for. Everyone gets the same access. Everyone spends the same money. And the best candidates win with their platforms -- not with the TV time they can buy."
Detroit Free Press, Mitch Albom, "Reform foes fighting only for themselves," March 24, 2002
"Cleanly financed elections that bring more citizens into the political process as candidates, donors and organizers are vital to maintaining the health of American democracy. Over the long run, such a system will produce better choices for all. Massachusetts should light the way."
New York Times, "Cleaning Up Massachusetts Politics," January 31, 2002
