Donna Edwards has been named by Nancy Pelosi to head a Democratic task force to address campaign finance reform issues. Bloomberg has the story, and has remarks made by Edwards at today’s press conference:
“It doesn’t take the landing of a gyrocopter on the Capitol to underscore the frustration that the American people feel about our campaign finance and election system,” said Edwards. “It’s not the kind of corruption that lands you necessarily in a cell, but it’s the kind of corruption that corrodes the election process and degrades it to a point where it’s meaningless.”
A strategy, said Edwards, is for task force members and other Democrats to pay visits to college campuses, “communities of color,” good government groups, and others to let them know that Democrats have solutions for this.
“I think the fact is nothing moves in Congress on its own,” said Edwards of the effort to build outside support for the Democrats’ package of proposed election law changes. “Frankly, if Democrats were in charge it would move.”
Chris Van Hollen was also at the press conference, per Bloomberg, but didn’t get a quote.