The Baltimore Sun covers the Clean Elections public financing legislation that will be debated by the state House and Senate in the coming weeks. Last year, Clean Elections legislation failed to pass the Senate by just one vote after a protracted battle to get it to the floor over the the objections of Senate President Mike Miller (D), a Clean Elections opponent.The article notes that debate over Clean Elections in Maryland does not fall along strict party lines: "[t]he measure's past supporters include some of the legislature's most conservative Republicans, such as Sen. Andy Harris and Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley. Numerous Democrats oppose it, most notably Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller."The article quotes bill sponsor Sen. Paul Pinsky on the special access granted to big donors:A big donor "gets responded to more quickly than someone who doesn't give," he said. "That's a reality, and I don't think it should be that way. There ought to be a level playing field." Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton says big donors aren't rewarded for giving money, and that he tells them that they get as much for attending fundraisers as they would if they didn't attend. Well, except for valuable face-to-face interaction with their Senator in exchange for writing a check.