"The Supreme Court, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, is right to say that if we allow unlimited special interest contributions we '[l]eave the perception of impropriety unanswered and the cynical assumption that large donors call the tune could jeopardize the willingness of voters to take part in democratic governance.' This is exactly the argument I have made in favor of reform for years. The only way we can restore America's greatness is to restore America's pride in our institutions of government by ridding our nation of the pernicious effects of unregulated soft money. Only then will we be able to achieve conservative reform of our tax code, our educational system, and our military.
"The Supreme Court's decision reaffirms that political contribution limits, first embraced by Republican President Teddy Roosevelt, are constitutional and assures that those who may not have unlimited funds still have a voice in the political system. Roosevelt stopped the Robber Barons from buying and controlling the political system. Today, the unregulated flow of unlimited soft money allows labor unions, special interests and even foreign governments to buy and control the political system. That is wrong
"Contrary to what the backers of the status quo have argued, the Court will and has today confirmed that excessive political contributions have the appearance of corruption. With this ruling, soft money can now also be banned, returning our government to the people from the hands of labor unions, special interests and foreign governments."