I am here to urge Americans to enlist in Project Independence, the largest-ever campaign reform movement. Project Independence gives the American people a powerful way to tell Congress they are really sick and tired of big money politics in Washington and to express their earnest demand that Congress pass legislation to clean up money in politics. We need Project Independence because something is wrong with our government. Citizens of both parties agree that something is very wrong. The mood in the country is sour, and citizens are as cynical about government as they have ever been.
Citizens are cynical because there is too much money in politics.
That money distorts our great system of government. It demeans the Americans who have sacrificed in our history to give us a government of the people, not of the special interests. The worst of it, of course, is soft money. The corrupting soft money system must be ended. When I was in the Republican leadership in the Senate for 10 years, what I found most disturbing when I was counting the votes was that some Senators would say they couldn t vote for an issue even if they agreed with it because doing so would affect their fundraising efforts.