Senate Democrats won’t be bringing back up a failed Constitutional amendment anytime soon, a sign the campaign finance proposal was mostly intended as a campaign season stunt.
A motion to proceed on a proposal to overturn the Supreme Court‘s decision in Citizens United failed to reach a required 60-vote threshold on a strict party-line vote Thursday afternoon, 54-42.
But the key vote was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who backed the proposal. When Reid plans to bring a bill back up later, he’ll vote against it so that he can use a parliamentary procedure to reconsider the vote.
Democrats said the measure, sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., would stop what they called “dark money” from infiltrating politics now that the 2002 campaign finance law has been overturned by the Supreme Court, allowing unlimited donations to special interest groups that aim to influence elections.
Republicans opposed the proposal, saying it would restrict free speech by giving politicians the power over who can give money.
Democrats never really thought the measure would go anywhere, as they drafted it on the assumption Republicans would immediately block it. Democrats had hoped then to hold up the vote as an example of GOP obstructionism, a ploy they expected to exploit ahead of the November congressional elections.
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Reid’s bluff Monday when he allowed the measure to advance on an initial procedural vote, turning what was supposed to be a Democratic messaging bill against them. McConnell allowed a second procedural vote to pass Wednesday on a voice vote.
The Kentucky Republican then blasted Reid for wasting Senate time on a measure he knew had a slim chance of passing.
Reid, meanwhile, used the time to continue his ongoing attacks of McConnell for his ties with billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. The majority leader has accused McConnell of refusing to consider the proposed amendment solely because the Kochs, who contribute significantly to conservative groups, oppose campaign finance laws.
