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A Senate Republican’s Perspective Alan K. Simpson Alan K. Simpson was a U.S. senator from Wyoming from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was a fact witness for the defense. He testified to the role of soft money in the campaign finance system and the special treatment political parties give to large donors. In this excerpt, he describes how members of the Senate are involved in soft-money fund-raising and the corruptive effect soft money can have on the legislative process. During my tenure in the U.S. Senate, I became acutely aware of the need for campaign finance reform, particularly with the impact of soft money on the political system. I have seen firsthand how the current campaign financing system prostitutes ideas and ideals, demeans democracy, and debases debates. The national parties often ask senators to make phone calls to raise soft money and the process is like a boiler-room operation. When I was in the Senate, the Republican leadership would take us off Capitol Hill—usually to the Reagan Center—give us a list of heavy hitters, and tell us to make phone calls to get more money from these donors. Sometimes, the party asked us to solicit soft money for attendance at events that included access to the president; other times major donors were given access to certain lawmakers. The more money one donates, the higher-level players he or she has access to. I did not enjoy making these phone calls and after participating once or twice, I told the party that I would no longer telephone donors. Although I rarely made phone calls for the party, I agreed to attend and speak at their donor events. Often, donors would give large sums of soft money to attend events with elected officials. Donors were often allowed to choose whom they wanted to sit with at events, provided they gave enough money. Party leaders would inform members at caucus meetings who the big donors were. If the leaders tell you that a certain person or group has donated a large sum to the party and will be at an event Saturday night, you’ll be sure to attend and get to know the people behind the donation, especially if you are told that the reason people donated was because they wanted to sit at the same table with you. At these events, it was not uncommon for the donors to mention certain legislation that affected them. Even if some members did not attend these events, they all 119 03 1583-8 part1b 3/25/03 12:00 PM Page 119 still knew which donors gave the large donations, as the party publicized who gives what. The parties often ask members to solicit soft money from individuals who have maxed out to the member’s campaign. Donors do not really differentiate between hard and soft money; they often contribute to assist or gain favor with an individual politician. When donors give soft money to the parties, there is sometimes at least an implicit understanding that the money will be used to benefit a certain candidate. Likewise, members know that if they assist the party with fund-raising, be it hard or soft money, the party will later assist their campaign. There is little practical difference between hard and soft money these days in terms of how the funds are used. Politicians care only that money is available; it doesn’t matter where it came from. Although soft money cannot be given directly to federal candidates, everyone knows that it is fairly easy to push the money through our tortured system to benefit specific candidates. I always knew that both the national and state parties would find ways to assist my candidacy with soft money, whether it be staff assistance, polling, get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities, or buying television advertisements. Large donors of both hard and soft money receive special treatment. No matter how busy a politician may be during the day, he or she will always make time to see donors who gave large amounts of money. Staffers who work for members know who the big donors are, and those people always get their phone calls returned first and are allowed to see the member when others are not. For example, one longtime contributor might come into my office and say, “Al, I’m really proud of the work you’re doing here, and I’m proud to have supported you over the years. I...

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