After the 1970s, when President Nixon's illegal campaign cash was used as a secret slush fund to pay for the Watergate burglary and cover-up, Americans have demanded to know where the money fueling our elections is coming from.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The American people have a right to know the source of the money that is being spent. They should be told who is behind the millions of dollars in campaign ads, and they should receive this information before they vote.
When you hear in the tape recordings Nixon's own voice saying, We have to stonewall, We have to lie to the Grand Jury, We have to pay burglars a million dollars, it's all too clear the horror of what went on.
The American public is rightfully asking, 'Hey, all those funds are coming out of my pocket, so I want to know where they're going.'
In post-Vietnam, post-Watergate America, skeptical voters demand full disclosure of everything from candidates' finances to their medical records, and spin-savvy accounts of backstage machinations dominate political coverage.
Well I think money has been going into political campaigns for a very long time.
Unfortunately, money in politics is an insidious thing - and a loophole in our campaign finance system was taken advantage of with money going to existing or new 527 groups with the sole purpose of influencing the election.
More money is being spent on our elections, with less disclosure of where that money is coming from, than ever before.
The campaign finance scandal in America is the global warming of American political life - with cash substituting for deadly solar radiation.
Well, the role of money in politics is pretty corrupting right now.
The government paid the family of Richard Nixon $18 million for papers, tape recordings and other materials seized after Watergate.