Accusations fly over campaign finance vote

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Reaction to the House vote putting off debate indefinitely on campaign finance reform:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois:
"It's pretty clear who didn't want to bring campaign finance reform to the floor. It wasn't the Republicans. It was the Democrat leadership."

Co-sponsor Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Massachusetts:
“We just want a fair vote up and down. The American people want a fair vote on this, and we hope that the leadership provides us that opportunity as soon as possible -- preferably next week.”

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Missouri:
"All through this, what [House Republican leaders] have done constantly is try to construct a process which will cause the defeat of the bill rather than a fair process that would give both sides a fair chance to see if they could pass their bill. That's all we ask."

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona:
"I hope we can early next week have an orderly consideration of this amendment and put the discomfort of this particular day behind us. This is not a happy day when we see this kind of rancor, and this is not what the American people want from us."

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas:
"In the end, the Democrats said unless they could have a guaranteed victory of a bill that would be nothing other than a rubber stamp of the McCain bill, they would rather have no consideration of that issue. That may be good politics, but it’s certainly not legislation."

Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina:
"What goes around comes around, and this will not go away."

Co-sponsor Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Connecticut:
“Someone said, ‘What’s next?’ I guess what’s next is the $40 million fund-raiser, and instead of to be the chairman of a committee and you have to raise $300,000, you have to raise $600,000 to be chairman of a committee. I know that’s what’s really what’s on line. And there will be a point in time where the American people will be so outraged members will be running to pass this bill.”