CQ POLITICS NEWS
July 27, 2010 – 1:55 p.m.
Sen. Snowe’s Decision Seems To Doom Campaign Finance Bill
Maine Republican Sen. Olympia J. Snowe said Tuesday she would not vote to end a filibuster on a campaign finance disclosure bill, dashing Democrats’ hopes to salvage the legislation, which is a White House priority and already has passed in the House.
“I’m going to vote against it, because it’s premature,” Snowe said early Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve had no hearing process and ability to build consensus.”
The Senate was scheduled to vote later in the day on whether to limit debate on a motion to proceed to the bill. Late changes to the measure were aimed at winning over either Snowe or Maine Republican Susan Collins , but neither senator budged.
Collins’ spokesman said Monday that she believes the revised version still would give unions an advantage over other groups. Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts, another Republican seen as a potential swing vote, came out against the bill two weeks ago.
Normally, Senate Democrats need every member of their own voting bloc and the support of at least one Republican to get to the 60 votes required to invoke cloture and end a filibuster. But with Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman , I-Conn., who typically votes with Democrats, out of town for a funeral, Democrats were expected to be at least two votes short.
The legislation is an effort to limit the impact of the Supreme Court’s January decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which held that groups and corporations have the same free-speech rights as individuals and can spend money from their treasuries to influence elections.
President Obama made a statement in the Rose Garden on Monday urging senators to pass the bill.
Comments
I never thought I would say this, but three cheers for Senator Snowe. The DISCLOSE Act was an violation of the constitutional right to free speech. The Democrats were trying to rig the November elections, since they clearly expect a lot of free speech given their disastrous policies. Thank you Senator Snowe, and Thank you Senator Collins.
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