Later today, the Senate is expected to vote along party lines to deny cloture to the DISCLOSE Act. Republicans have even promised to launch a filibuster to guarantee the bill is defeated. But, several Republican Senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) its most ardent opponent, have spoken in favor of disclosure in the past.

The Sunlight Foundation has put together a video highlighting some of these statements. Keep reading for details and links to the statements included in the video. For more background and analysis on the bill see Lisa Rosenberg’s series What You Should Know About the DISCLOSE Act.

We urge you to call your Senators today to tell them to vote YES on DISCLOSE.

President Ronald Reagan

 “Full disclosure of all campaign contributions, including in-kind contributions, and expenditures on behalf of any electoral activities.” From the 1988 Legislative and Administrative Message: A Union of Individuals, January 25, 1988.

President George H.W. Bush

“Disclosure — full disclosure — that’s the answer here.” – Remarks to Congressional and Administrative Interns Announcing Campaign Finance Reform Proposals, June 29, 1989.

Senator Olympia Snowe

“Greater disclosure and transparency in the process will act as a strong deterrent against unethical behavior in Congress.” Statement in favor of lobbying reform, March 2006.

Senator Susan Collins

“Sen. Collins…believes that it is important that any future campaign finance laws include strong transparency provisions so the American public knows…who is funding … a political candidate or issue.” Statement from Collins’ spokesman, GOP Senators avoid co-sponsoring campaign finance reform legislation, The Hill, March 20, 2010.

Senator Scott Brown

“Attack ads from unaccountable outside groups that spend millions of dollars from anonymous donors portraying their opposition unfairly and misleading voters are wrong.” Open letter to Elizabeth Warren challenging her to join his call for outside groups to stay out of the Massachusetts Senate race, The Boston Herald, January 13, 2012.

Senator Dick Lugar

“To make certain that The Club for Growth has not…undermined the public trust, I call upon your organization…to immediately release the names of the individuals and entities contributing.” Open letter to the Club For Growth calling on them to release the names of their donors, April 13, 2012.

Mitch McConnell

“We need to have real disclosure…why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure?” Campaign Finance Bill has GOP Wary, The Hill, April 22, 2010.

“This is nothing less than an effort by the government itself to exposes (sic) its critics to harassment and intimidation, either by government authorities or through third-party allies.” Speech to the American Enterprise Institute, May 15, 2012.

Please share this video to help inform your friends and family about the Republican back-pedaling on disclosure and the urgent need to take action today to convince the Senate to pass DISCLOSE.