Press release from Common Cause and Public Campaign

Washington, D.C.—A Times-Picayune article today highlighting a California dry cleaning company’s efforts to use campaign contributions to influence Sen. David Vitter  (R-LA) underscores our badly broken campaign finance system, according to campaign watchdogs Public Campaign and Common Cause.

Public Campaign President Nick Nyhart and Common Cause President Bob Edgar released the following statement:

"This story is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with our current pay-to-play political system. Members of Congress are forced to spend their time raising money from out-of-state interests that are hoping for a sweetheart deal in return.

"Sen. Vitter needs to assure voters in Louisiana that he represents them—and not big money California donors or entrenched Washington insiders. He should co-sponsor the Fair Elections Now Act."

According to the article, during a West Coast fundraising tour, Sen. Vitter’s campaign pocketed more than $30,000 from employees associated with US Dry Cleaning Corp. An executive with the company publicly stated that he was hoping Sen. Vitter would help them get stimulus funding. According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, nearly one-third of Sen. Vitter’s funds for his re-election campaign have come from out-of-state donors, including Wall Street banks and Washington, D.C. lobbyists.

Sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Fair Elections Now Act (S. 752) would give candidates for Congress the option to run on a blend of limited public funds and a four-to-one match of donations of $100 or less. With Fair Elections, candidates can run competitive campaigns for office by relying solely on their grassroots base of support.Learn more at www.fairelectionsnow.org.

The article is available at http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/sen_david_vitter_cleans_up_wit.html.

Public Campaign and Common Cause are working with a broad coalition of organizations representing tens of millions of Americans pushing for the Fair Elections Now Act, legislation aimed at reducing the undue influence of special interest cash in our elections.