McConnell's Arguments Against Public Financing Distort the Truth

Myth

   “Americans are in overwhelming agreement on this point. Every year, they’re asked to check a box on their tax returns if they wish to send $3 from the U.S. Treasury to the national campaigns. In what amounts to an annual national referendum on the question, an overwhelming majority of taxpayers have always held back their pens.”
Truth   Seventy-four percent of Americans surveyed in a June 2006 poll supported providing a set amount of public money to federal candidates who agreed to spending limits. (Source: Lake Research and Bellwether Research poll at www.campaignmoney.org/polling).
     
Myth   “The current crop of presidential hopefuls are turning aside taxpayer-subsidized welfare for their campaigns. Congress should follow their lead – and that of nearly every American taxpayer – and do away with the current public financing system once and for all.”
Truth   The current system of partial public financing is outdated and needs modernization. Candidates cannot run viable campaigns under its provisions. Most of the major candidates for the presidency have argued for fixing, not abolishing, the presidential system.
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