At a congressional hearing on Tuesday called “Restoring Our Democracy” which focused on how to make special interests more accountable in the political process, Whitehouse took Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute to the proverbial woodshed when he not-at-all-surprisingly suggested that Sheldon’s DISCLOSE Act put too high a burden on SuperPACs.

Watch the video, courtesy of PCCC:

The highlight is when, in talking about a disabled veteran he met recently, Whitehouse put some perspective on the different type of sacrifices expected of Americans to protect our country’s principles.

“We had asked that you man to go to Afghanistan and we sent him down a road that had an improvised explosive devise under it that blew both his legs off,” said the senator. “If we can ask that young man to do that we can ask the Koch brothers to put up with some impolite blogging.”

He parried questions about these charges by pivoting to jobs.

“Why is he focusing on campaign finance reform when Rhode Island is losing jobs?” Hinckley asked. The answer, of course, being that not only is our economy broken, but so is our political system.

While the political novice was trying to take the sitting senator to task, Whitehouse trumped him by sending out a statement critical of Republicans lack of support on the DISCLOSE Act, which was blocked for a second straight day by Senate Republicans.

“I’m disappointed that so many of my Republican colleagues, many of whom have clearly supported disclosure in the past, chose today to once again defend secret spending by special interests rather than stand up for the voices of the middle class.  However, I’m also optimistic that ultimately, we will pass this bill, or something like it, to end secret spending and defend the voices of the middle class.”

Hinckley said supports portions of the DISCLOSE Act, but not the whole thing. He also wouldn’t say definitively that he wouldn’t leave a floor debate for a fundraiser if he were to be elected to congress.

Not one Republican voted for the DISCLOSE Act earlier this evening so Senate Democrats, led by Rhode Island’s own Sheldon Whitehouse, plan to work the Senate floor well into the night in hopes of getting the bill that would force SuperPACs and other secret political donors to stand behind the advertisements they fund.

“I’m disappointed that so many of my Republican colleagues, many of whom have clearly supported disclosure in the past, chose today to defend secret spending by special interests rather than stand up for the voices of the middle class,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “However, as I have said before, we can’t let the special interests off the hook after just one round, and I look forward to joining my Democratic colleagues who want to continue debating this issue well into the night. In the meantime, I encourage all Americans to make their voices heard in this debate, and I hope my Republican colleagues will join us to put an end to secret election spending.”

Earlier today, we quoted Whitehouse – who predicted this would happen – as calling it the midnight vigil.

You can watch the action from the Senate floor live here.

Or follow the fun on Twitter with the hashtag #DiscloseVote or in this widget:

Today at about 5:30, the U.S. Senate is set to vote on Sheldon Whitehouse’s DISCLOSE bill, which would require SuperPACs and other outside organizations to stand behind the negative ads they sponsor. Whitehouse is expected to speak on the legislation at around midnight.

“We’re doing what we call the midnight vigil,” said Rhode Island’s junior senator, who between this bill and the Buffett Rule bill, has sponsored some of the most high-profile and progressive legislation in the nation during this congressional session. “I’ll be on the floor until about 1 a.m.”

In describing the bill in a conference call on Friday, he said, “This is more than just a battle for clean elections, it’s more than just a battle for an American democracy that we can all be proud of and that can continue to shine its light around the world as an exemplar.”

A pared down version of a 2010 bill, the legislation would require outside political groups to label advertisements in a way that would let the consumer know who is sponsoring the message. In March, before the bill was submitted, Whitehouse described it this way:

“In the same way at the end of my ads I have to say, ‘I’m Sheldon Whitehouse and I approve this message,’ they would have to have an actual disclaimer in the ads that says we’re Exxon Mobile and we approve this message or I’m a billionaire from Macau and I approve this message so that is clear from the actual advertisement itself who the sponsor is.”

Senators are expected to vote along party lines with Democrats supporting the bill and Republicans not. But, in an odd dodge even for Washington D.C., Republicans have taken to inventing reasons not to support it. They say they won’t support it until language is removed that gives exempts labor unions. The only reason Whitehouse said he won’t remove such language, he said, is that it doesn’t exist.

“There is not place in this bill where unions are treted any differently than anyone one else,” Whitehouse said. “If you want to show me a place where I can find it in this bill, where labor unions get special advantage, have at it. Show me some language. You can look at this bill on its face and you can see there is no special treatment for anyone.”

We’ll see tonight if Democrats have any luck convincing Republicans that the language doesn’t exist, or if they come up with new reasons not to support the bill. Proponents of the legislation will be tweeting about it tomorrow, and invite you to join in, using the hashtag: #DiscloseVote.