Hawaii Senators on Losing Side in Campaign Spending Vote

GOP blocks constitutional amendment from Democrats meant to reverse recent Supreme Court decisions.

Link to article in Civil Beat

Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz were among the 54 Democrats who fell six votes short on a proposed constitutional amendment meant to reverse two recent Supreme Court decisions on campaign spending.

Forty-two Republicans voted to block the legislation. One Democrat and three Republicans missed the vote. And sixty votes were needed to invoke cloture and end debate on the measure.

“Republicans said the Senate vote was a political stunt by Democrats ahead of the midterm elections,” according to The Hill. “Democrats up for reelection are expected to use this vote on the campaign trail.”

Schatz is expected to easily hold off his general election challenge from Republican Cam Cavasso while Hirono is not up for re-election until 2018.

Carmille Lim, executive director of Common Cause Hawaii, praised Hawaii’s senators for their stance, stating in a press release today that they “voted in the interests of the vast majority of Americans that want big money out of our elections.”

She added, “Opponents of the Democracy for All Amendment have spent the past three days arguing that the amendment is a dangerous attack on the First Amendment. Their votes today expose them as the real opponents of free speech, maintaining a system that lets a few wealthy Americans drown out the voices of millions of their fellow citizens.”