Campaign Finance Deform

I wish everyone realized how badly we're being screwed by our
politico-economic system of government. The government/corporate alliance has
pulled the "divide and conquer" trick on us.  While the people fight over the
virtues of Red and Blue States, "They" are more concerned with their
own financial status.

In public, Democrat and Republican politicians bicker like
rabid cats and dogs. But if you could see them in their real element, in the
private clubs and lounges where lobbyists buy them the finest meals and
$50-a-glass scotch, you would witness the collective camaraderie that
develops from the pursuit of mutual interests.  On the fairways of
exclusive golf resorts, and in the leather seats of private jets, they
are kin.

It works like this: When politicians are selling themselves to voters
and campaign contributors, they wear the masks of the left or the
right, red or blue, conservative or liberal.  When they are spending,
it is all about the green.  They are less worried about fixing the
economy than they are about meeting 3rd-quarter fundraising goals.  And
the input of their constituents always takes a back seat to the
suggestions of lobbyists.  Make no mistake about it, politicians are for
sale.  When you see a politician speak passionately about one issue or
another, you can bet that his hat will be held out soon after.

The sad fact is, when it comes to fundraising, partisanship
pays way better than cooperation.  The more you hate the other side, the
deeper you will dig into your pocket.  When a politician is selling his
influence, he can put a higher price tag on competitive partisanship
than he can on cooperative compromise.  Fear is used to fertilize their
fundraising crops.  Here is a common tactical refrain:  "We need you to
stand tall with us as we fight tirelessly for the well-being of the
fine, hard-working citizens of this Country.  Never have the stakes been
higher.  Without your urgently needed financial support, *This* will
happen, ___________."  (Fill in the blank, but it is something evil and
ruinous that the "other side" is trying to do that will detrimentally
effect you, your family, your health, your safety, your future, your
taxes, your bank account, the economy, and yes, even the weather.)
"Please send what you can today."

It is obvious that money buys political access. And buying that access is big business.
Nearly 5,400 congressional staffers have left the Hill for lobbyist firms
over the past decade, according to a new study by LegiStorm, a non-partisan organization
that tracks Congress. The organization also found that of about 14,000 current congressional
staffers, 605 have lobbied in the past decade. The study analyzed the records of
130,000 people who have worked for lobbyist firms or on the Hill. Here are some
other highlights from the LegiStorm study:

--So far this year, 155 lobbyists have been hired as staffers. Not surprisingly,
having taken back he House last year, Republican lobbyists-turned-staffers outnumbered
their Democratic brethren 8 to 1. But in 2007, when Democrats won the House and Senate,
206 lobbyists switched from serving clients to aiding lawmakers.

--393 current and former members of Congress have been paid lobbyists
or foreign agents in the past 10 years.

--383 congressional aides have taken their first spin through the revolving
door from the Hill to K Street lobbyist firms this year.

The thing I find most annoying and troubling about the marriage of politics and money in all facets of representative government in the United States today is the fact that so many citizens buy into (literally) the current government system of paying for political access.  People give money abundantly to their “Team” and their team’s “Players”, and that insures a continuation of the influence of money on policy.  During the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama and Senator McCain, between just the two of them, raised and spent $1 Billion in campaign contributions.  I believe that if you offer money to any Republican or Democratic party political candidate or political action committee, you sacrifice any moral right to complain about the dysfunction of politics in America.  Because the individuals, corporations, unions, special interest groups, lobbyists, and everyone else with an open checkbook are the enablers of the bitterly partisan, diseased body of politics we are suffering with today.