The Connecticut Post writes on the impending departure of Rep. Martin Meehan (D-MA) from the House and what it means for his long-standing campaign finance reform partnership with Conneticut Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT). The bipartisan nature of their cooperation lent their ideas special credence in a particularly divided partisan atmosphere, something Public Campaign's President, Nick Nyhart, comments on in the article:  Bipartisanship is key when it comes to having any success on campaign finance reform. Without it, the opposing party — worried that somehow the other side is seeking to game the system — will view proposals with tremendous suspicion. "There is a symbolic value in having a bipartisan co-sponsor," said Nick Nyhart, president of Public Campaign, which advocates publicly financed elections. "It reassures members that the proposal is not a political game to advance one party's interest over the other." Nyhart said that it is too early to say who would take Meehan's place, but suspects that there would be no shortage of Democrats looking to partner with Shays to advocate campaign reforms. "Given the political climate, I think there are a number of Democrats who will approach Shays on ethics and campaign finance reform bills," he said.  Of course, this last week saw bicameral introduction of bipartisan legislation to bring full public financing to congressional races, with Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) leading up the Senate bill and Reps. John Tierney (D-MA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and Todd Platts (R-PA) taking the lead in the House. A bipartisan will to change our elections for the better does persist.