2012 Montana Senate Debates: on Government Reform


Dennis Rehberg: It's not about campaign spending; it's government spending

Early on in the debate, both candidates were asked several questions about outside spending and the relentless negative advertising voters have been subjected to this cycle. Rehberg attempted to steer the topic back toward one of his favorite talking points. "It's not about campaign spending," he said of the Senate race. "It's about government spending." This race has seen close to $20 million in spending by third party groups.

Tester, ever the opponent of Citizens United, acknowledged the problem in his closing statement. "We're back in 1912," he said, harkening back to the days of Montana's Copper Kings. "We've come back to a time when corporations can give unlimited amounts of money, secret money, and influence the political structure of this country. And that's scary for a democracy."

But Rehberg, who had no response when asked directly how much outside interests had spent in this race, doesn't seem to be too troubled by where that money is coming from.

Source: Missoula News on 2012 Montana Senate debate Oct 22, 2012

Jon Tester: Citizens United is scary for democracy

Early on in the debate, both candidates were asked several questions about outside spending and the relentless negative advertising voters have been subjected to this cycle. Rehberg attempted to steer the topic back toward one of his favorite talking points. "It's not about campaign spending," he said of the Senate race. "It's about government spending." This race has seen close to $20 million in spending by third party groups.

Tester, ever the opponent of Citizens United, acknowledged the problem in his closing statement. "We're back in 1912," he said, harkening back to the days of Montana's Copper Kings. "We've come back to a time when corporations can give unlimited amounts of money, secret money, and influence the political structure of this country. And that's scary for a democracy."

But Rehberg, who had no response when asked directly how much outside interests had spent in this race, doesn't seem to be too troubled by where that money is coming from.

Source: Missoula News on 2012 Montana Senate debate Oct 22, 2012

Dennis Rehberg: Citizens United ok: political free speech is most important

Tester was critical of the Citizens United Supreme Court case that has allowed corporations to have unfettered involvement in political spending. "We've seen tens of millions of dollars of secret money come into this state to define me as something I'm not," said Tester, who called for transparency about who contributes to political action committees.

Rehberg appeared to speak favorably of Citizens United, saying political free speech is the most important, but he added that he supports 100 percent transparency with campaign donations.

The problem, Tester pointed out, is that Citizens United doesn't require transparency in reporting political contributions.

Source: Daily Inter Lake on 2012 Montana Senate debates Oct 14, 2012

Dennis Rehberg: Supports cutting Public Broadcasting Service & Americorps

Rehberg was challenged about supporting cuts for the Public Broadcasting Service, Americorps and community health clinics that provide preventive care to women.

That served as an opportunity for Libertarian candidate Cox to jump in: "They're only talking about nibbling at the edges of some the proposed increases in federal spending," Cox said, adding that the country is likely to face $1.7 trillion in additional deficit spending next year. "We're talking about cutting PBS. Let's get real."

Source: Daily Inter Lake on 2012 Montana Senate debates Oct 14, 2012

Jon Tester: Oppose Citizens United: limit corporate political spending

Tester was critical of the Citizens United Supreme Court case that has allowed corporations to have unfettered involvement in political spending. "We've seen tens of millions of dollars of secret money come into this state to define me as something I'm not," said Tester, who called for transparency about who contributes to political action committees.

Rehberg appeared to speak favorably of Citizens United, saying political free speech is the most important, but he added that he supports 100 percent transparency with campaign donations.

The problem, Tester pointed out, is that Citizens United doesn't require transparency in reporting political contributions.

Source: Daily Inter Lake on 2012 Montana Senate debates Oct 14, 2012

Dennis Rehberg: There should be nothing more free than political free speech

Jon Tester stated that the widely criticized Citizens United ruling puts democracy at risk by giving corporations more power than people. The Supreme Court ruling undid past restrictions on political spending by corporations and special interest groups.

The decision has been derided by many Montana politicians. Montana, 21 other states and the District of Columbia have asked the high court to rule that Citizens United doesn't apply to Montana's or other state laws regulating corporate campaign spending.

Rehberg said he supported the 2010 ruling, although he added that there should be full transparency on where campaign money is coming from. "There should be nothing more free than political free speech," he said.

Tester responded that "corporations are not people. Because of Citizens United, corporations have more rights when it comes to donations than people do," he said.

Source: The Republic on 2012 Montana Senate debates Jun 17, 2012

Jon Tester: Citizens United ruling puts democracy at risk

Jon Tester stated that the widely criticized Citizens United ruling puts democracy at risk by giving corporations more power than people. The Supreme Court ruling undid past restrictions on political spending by corporations and special interest groups.

The decision has been derided by many Montana politicians. Montana, 21 other states and the District of Columbia have asked the high court to rule that Citizens United doesn't apply to Montana's or other state laws regulating corporate campaign spending.

Rehberg said he supported the 2010 ruling, although he added that there should be full transparency on where campaign money is coming from. "There should be nothing more free than political free speech," he said.

Tester responded that "corporations are not people. Because of Citizens United, corporations have more rights when it comes to donations than people do," he said.

Source: The Republic on 2012 Montana Senate debates Jun 17, 2012

Dennis Rehberg: Citizens United: nothing more free than political speech

Rehberg defended the Supreme Court campaign finance ruling "Citizens United" as vital to free speech. Incumbent Democrat Jon Tester responded that the widely criticized ruling puts democracy at risk by giving corporations more power than people. The Supreme Court ruling undid past restrictions on political spending by corporations and special interest groups.

The decision has been derided by many Montana politicians. Montana, 21 other states and the District of Columbia have asked the high court t Citizens United doesn't apply to Montana's or other state laws regulating corporate campaign spending. Rehberg said he supported the 2010 ruling, although he added that there should be full transparency on where campaign money is coming from. "There should be nothing more free than political free speech," he said.

Tester responded that "corporations are not people. Because of Citizens United, corporations have more rights when it comes to donations than people do," he said.

Source: New England Cable News on 2012 Montana Senate debate Jun 16, 2012

  • The above quotations are from 2012 Montana Senate Debate.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Dennis Rehberg on Government Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Jon Tester on Government Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018