It doesn't happen very often, but the leaders of both Senate conferences will testify together about outside money in politics, and the Democrats' constitutional amendment to
bring back some limits gutted by the Supreme Court's
Citizens United and
McCutcheon rulings.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said on Saturday that for the first time in his Senate Judiciary Committee’s history, the majority and minority leaders will testify before the panel. […]
“The [Supreme] Court has repeatedly used the First Amendment — not to protect the voices of all Americans, but as an instrument to amplify the voices of billionaires and corporations,” Leahy said of the Tuesday showdown. “Those voices are not the only ones who the Founding Fathers intended the First Amendment to protect.”
You might guess that McConnell is opposed to this constitutional amendment. You guess correctly.
“This crass attempt by Democrats to shut down any opposition to their plans should be rejected swiftly and decisively by everyone in this country who prizes the free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment,” McConnell said after Reid announced his backing for the amendment last month.
You might also guess that this might have something to do with the promised
$125+ million the Koch brothers have promised to spend in 2014 to buy the Senate and install a Republican majority. You'd be guessing correctly again.
Reid and other Democrats want to make this election about fairness and economic justice—jobs, income inequality, equal pay, the safety net for the millions of people teetering on the brink of economic disaster. With rhetoric like the above, it seems like McConnell is playing right into his hands.