Talk is cheap
-by Ken Gordon
Talk is cheap -- especially if you're a giant corporation.
The Supreme Court yesterday opened the floodgates for independent expenditures by corporations and other special interest groups -- as if the $1 billion those groups spent in the last election wasn't enough.
Andrew Romanoff is the first and -- so far, the only -- candidate in this race to turn down corporate cash. In fact, he refuses to accept contributions from any political action committee. Andrew is leading by example, which is one of the reasons I support his campaign.
Yesterday, Andrew called on his opponents to return the hundreds of thousands of dollars they have taken from special interest groups. They have yet to do so.
Andrew's primary opponent today parroted our call for campaign finance reform. He chose to follow Andrew's lead in word but not in deed. The best way to demonstrate the courage of your convictions is not simply to bemoan the influence of corporate cash but to give it back.
Andrew has a strong record of leadership, not just lip service, on this issue. He has spent more than a decade fighting for campaign finance reform and ethics in government. He fought the GOP's attempts to gut voter-approved contribution limits, sponsored a tough gift ban, and - in his very first year in the legislature -- authored a law increasing the penalties on candidates who fail to disclose their donors or expenditures (House Bill 01-1390).
As speaker of the House, Andrew put an end to backroom deals by enforcing Colorado's open-meetings law, investigating and punishing ethics violations, and requiring an opportunity for public testimony on every bill. Andrew's leadership has been recognized by every major newspaper in Colorado and by more than 50 state and national organizations, including Governing Magazine, which named him Public Official of the Year.
At a time when our democracy is drowning in corporate cash, we need a leader who will stand up for ordinary Americans. That's what Andrew Romanoff has always done -- and what he will do in the U.S. Senate.
Sincerely,
Ken Gordon
Former Senate Majority Leader
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