Word: wirth
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...this year, 56 members of Congress have announced that they will not seek re-election in November, the largest voluntary departure since World War II. Among those who have decided not to return are Democratic Senators Tim Wirth of Colorado and Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Republican Congressman Vin Weber of Minnesota. At a round-table session, Wirth, Conrad and Weber discussed their reasons for leaving and how their attitudes toward government and public service were changed by their experiences in Washington. Excerpts...
...WIRTH: Let me start with campaign-finance reform. Congress is awash in money. Interests have emerged that have enormous amounts of cash and that stand between the Congress and its constituency. In my 18 years in the Congress, I have seen the denominator of debate get lower and lower, and I think much of that is explained by fear -- fear that you will be unable to raise money from a certain group; or worse, that the interest group will give the money to the other guy; or worse still, that the money will go to a third party...
...WIRTH: I just came from a discussion on product-liability reform. The room was filled with trial lawyers -- and with fear of them. The problem isn't just that trial lawyers donate campaign money, but they can give a maximum of $5,000 in the primary and $5,000 in the general, and they're a phalanx that can have an effect on every candidate who's out there. And it isn't just money. It's also all the emoluments and blandishments...
...WIRTH: Like bats...
...WIRTH: In the 1986 election, 80% of my time was spent raising money -- not talking to constituents, not thinking, not going to seminars. All of us are entrepreneurs. The leadership has no handle on us. They can't really do anything for us or to us. So the place gets more and more horizontally structured, and every time we have a vote, ((Senate majority leader)) George Mitchell's got to get out on his horse and try to round up 57 heifers, who are in pastures all over the place. The leadership has no power anymore...