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WASHINGTON
- February 8 - STATEMENT OF COMMON CAUSE PRESIDENT SCOTT HARSHBARGER
ON PRESIDENT CLINTON'S DECISION TO NOMINATE BRADLEY SMITH
TO THE FEC
President Clinton's expected nomination of Bradley A. Smith
to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reeks of the kind
of back-room deal making that turns Americans away from
politics and government. This decision undermines, rather
than strengthens, a commission already known in Washington
as the Failure to Enforce Commission.
By deciding to nominate Smith, President Clinton has caved
in to an increasingly extreme faction in this country, led
by Senator Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Trent Lott,
who actually believe that big money in politics should be
increased, rather than reduced. Just as President Reagan
rejected the nomination of Thomas Harris to the FEC in 1985,
then the choice of Senate Democrats, President Clinton should
have similarly dug in his heels and refused to forward the
Smith nomination.
At a time when the idea that we need to reduce the influence
of big money in our elections and our government is gaining
ground, President Clinton is nominating someone to the FEC
who has complete and utter hostility to the laws he would be
charged with enforcing.
In the State of the Union address, President Clinton called on
Congress to pass campaign finance reform. But by deciding to
nominate Professor Smith to the FEC, President Clinton has even
further damaged his own credibility when it comes to making
reform a reality.
Common Cause will fight a Smith nomination in the Senate. Any
Senator who supports this disastrous nominee cannot claim to
support campaign finance reform.
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