The House passed a GOP-sponsored bill to end public financing for presidential campaigns Wednesday. Ten Democrats, most of them Blue Dogs, joined Republicans in the vote.
The bill suspends a 35-year-old program that lets taxpayers direct $3 to a general fund in the Treasury when they file their taxes, without reducing their refund. Republicans say ending the option would save $617 million over 10 years without preventing individuals from making personal donations to any candidate or party.
Democrats say there’s a bigger issue at stake. In eliminating the public option, big donors will gain more influence in elections. They drew a comparison between the bill and the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United v. Federal Election Commission, which eased restrictions on corporate contributions to campaigns.
These are the Blue Dog Democrats who voted for this bill:
Reps. Ben Chandler (Ky.)
Jim Matheson (Utah)
Heath Shuler (N.C.)
Jason Altmire (Penn.)
Dan Boren (Okla.)
Henry Cuellar (Texas)
Joe Donnelly (Ind.)
Nick Rahall (W.V.)
Ross (Ark.)
Adam Schiff (Calif.).
Time to start primarying these corporate owned sell outs of the American voters.
This bill now moves to the Senate where hopefully it will never get out of committee but I have my doubts about them, too.
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