MSNBC just reported President Obama may take on campaign finance. O'Donnell immediately poopooed it!

[flpoljunkie]

Awesome news!!! The Fair Elections Now Act has 141 cosponsors in the House and there are now 10 cosponsors in the Senate.

1. H.R.1826 : To reform the financing of House elections, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Larson, John B. (introduced 3/31/2009) Cosponsors (141)
Committees: House Administration; House Energy and Commerce; House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 7/30/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee Hearings Held.

2. S.752 : A bill to reform the financing of Senate elections, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Durbin, Richard (introduced 3/31/2009) Cosponsors (10)
Committees: Senate Rules and Administration
Latest Major Action: 3/31/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

http://thomas.loc.gov Type Fair Elections Now Act in the Search box.

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. Obama's coming to Maine this week...

...to talk up HCR. See if he mentions Maine's system of publicly-financed elections while he's there.

[flpoljunkie]

2. Will you be able to attend?

[karynnj]

20. That would be interesting

Maine's and Arizona's laws supposedly were based on the legislation sponsored by Kerry and Welstone. In addition, at least once in the past Durbin cited Maine as what he was trying to do nationally.

[jeanpalmer]

3. O'Donnell has that inside perspective

He knows Congress will never cut off its funding, anymore than it will regulate Wall Street. I'll believe it when I see it.

That was good for a chuckle, though.

[harun]

4. Correct on both. They won't touch either.

[flpoljunkie]

8. Actually it was NBC's Congressional correspondent Kelly O'Donnell.

Congress will respond if voters demand public financing of their campaigns. It would not take effect this November, in any case.

[ClarkUSA]

10. self-delete

[Vinca]

5. If Congress had any interest in cutting off the checks they might

have enacted health CARE reform, not health INSURANCE reform.

[annabanana]

6. Ha!. . that must mean it's on. . . /nt

[cal04]

7. must be getting that from politico

here's the article
President Obama to take strong hand with Congress

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/35116.html


During protracted negotiations over the health care bill, Obama was criticized for giving congressional leaders too much leeway and too little direction and for bending too easily to the timetables of Capitol Hill.

No more. Aides say that with the momentum from the most complex domestic bill to pass Congress in 45 years, Obama now will push Congress to close campaign-finance loopholes opened by the Citizens United case, adopt his overhaul of the No Child Left Behind education bill and perhaps even tackle a clean-energy bill.

“He goes into these into these negotiations, and into these legislative battles, with a stronger hand because people understand that he’s going to fight for what he believes in,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in an interview. “Congress proved to itself that it’s well within their power to do the big things that’ll bring about the type of change that they were elected to bring.”

[flpoljunkie]

9. Perhaps. I hope Obama means more than closing the Citizens United loopholes--like public financing!

[denimgirly]

11. This ALONE is More Impossible than Regulating Wallstreet or Single Payer HCR

Why would congressmen/women want to impose a law that restricts their bread and butter? It's like telling a porn addict to take a scissors to his johnson. They would literally be forced to pound the streets to earn their worth. No chance! Easier to sell out to big business and fatten up that campaign account ensuring an inevitable reelection than to knock door to door to win the hearts of people.

If reform of ANY kind (no chance for strong, meaingful one) happens on this front it would be a different america. Literally, in 5 years hence one could impose Single Payer, Wall Street regulation, or anything else....the root of america's real problems is corrupt (yet legal?!!?11) campaign financing.

[Doremus]

14. Besides the 'porn stars' (office holders) you also have the staffers whose only jobs are to secure

contributions/contributors.

That's a whole passel of people whose professional existence depends on the status quo.

If anybody can do it though, it's Obama.

[Ysabel]

15. russ feingold, tammy baldwin etc. DO pound the streets...

and they genuinely love doing it (we can tell by their open friendly caring inquisitive informed and very involved natures) that is a part of what continually gets them re-elected in wisconsin we see them on the streets at the local grocer coming out of a bookstore at the farmer's market etc. they are all over the place they are very present and are very involved with the people of wisconsin they didn't just go off to washington and disappear and they are not the exception here many other politicians running state wide and in local elections really get out on the streets and mingle as well democratic politicians are not just politicians here they really are our friends and they have been our friends for many many years -- yes this a big part of why they keep getting re-elected...

- edit: typo...

[ElsewheresDaughter]

12. I hope he makes campaigns Public Funded..that is the only way to undo what SCOTUS did.....

and it will remove all lobbyist money from Capital Hill putting an end to it once and for all.

[flpoljunkie]

13. I agree. Altho odds are long, Obama supported public financing of campaigns when he was in the Sena

[Cha]

16. If O'Donnell scoffed at it like he did the HCR then

Maybe it's a definet GO!

[jenmito]

17. It was Kelly O'Donnell-not Lawrence. n/t

[Cha]

19. Oh, of course then..one of the resident

mediawhores.

[BlooInBloo]

18. /me recalls another talking head scoffing at the idea of reconciliation for HCR.