The Senate votes today on campaign finance reform. Both claims are false.
Experts have hard data on both public trust and campaign spending.
Every two years since 1964, the University of Michigan s National Election Studies have polled the public on the level of trust they have in government. Since 1977, the Federal Election Commission has kept data on congressional spending. During that period, campaign spending has risen. If McCain is right about campaign spending causing public cynicism, trust in government should have fallen continually since 1977. In fact, citizen trust in government dropped dramatically in the 1960s and early 1970s.