According to the candidates themselves, the stunning Democratic gains in the 2000 Senate elections resulted, in part, because Democrats supported campaign finance reform. Nonetheless, many Republicans, and even some Democrats, still would like to find a way to defeat or modify the legislation in such a way as to render it ineffective. Pro-reform forces, therefore, must be vigilant. We must make clear our opposition to all amendments that really are designed to kill the bill. It would bar all soft money political contributions.
Soft money is the unlimited, unregulated contributions to political parties by special interests.
Huge soft money contributions by wealthy individuals, corporations, and special interest committees are the most corrupting influence in the federal election system. Unless the law is changed, we can expect this trend to continue at an even greater pace. Soft money is growing at a much faster rate than other election contributions and now accounts for more than one-third of all money raised by both major parties. ADA believes that these ads are intended solely to elect or defeat candidates and should be governed by federal campaign law. Millions of dollars were spent on phony issue ads during the last campaign.