During a press briefing on Thursday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke about the growing costs of political campaigns and claimed former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was ousted by cryptocurrency lobbyists donating against him.
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00:00Senator, your thoughts on Citizens United and its impact?
00:03You know, we see these cartoonish third-party ads picking on the appearance of candidates.
00:09Just your thoughts on the impact of not only on elections, but just the way we view folks in Washington.
00:15Any negative concerns there?
00:17I took a look at the decision speech or press conference of Paul Simon when he decided not to run for re-election.
00:25And he said there were two reasons, and this goes back, as I mentioned, to 1994.
00:31He made the announcement a week after the previous election for the one that he would be standing for re-election in.
00:38And he gave two reasons.
00:40He said the money cost to these campaigns is out of control.
00:44He said this in 1994.
00:46And you think to yourself now, Paul, you wouldn't believe it today.
00:50Millions of dollars being spent is not uncommon at all.
00:53I gave an example.
00:54One industry, the cryptocurrency industry, pay attention to what's going on there.
00:59They are becoming major political players.
01:02They've decided that some people who want basic regulation of this industry to protect people who are buying into it have got to be defeated.
01:09Well, Sherrod Brown was one of those senators.
01:12He sits next to me on the aid committee.
01:14We vote identically on that subject.
01:16And you've got to decide whether you're going to run based on your conscience or you're going to run based on fear of the money they're going to spend against you.
01:23They spent $40 million, that industry, against Sherrod Brown in the last election.
01:28And sadly, he lost.
01:29So the reality is, as Paul worried about it, it's much worse today.
01:33But the second thing he said you just alluded to, it wasn't just money.
01:36He said in 1994, there's too much meanness in politics.
01:40Oh, Paul, if you could only see it today, you wouldn't believe what's going on.
01:44And millions of dollars are being spent to muddy people up and to destroy their reputation in the community.
01:51That's just the reality.