Politics
Out of context: Reply #16691
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- TheBlueOne0
The corruption is staggering. America, your bought Congress:
"Uniquely among legislatures in the developed world, our Congressional parties now post prices for key slots on committees. You want it — you buy it, runs the challenge. They even sell on the installment plan: You want to chair an important committee? That'll be $200,000 down and the same amount later, through fundraising. Unlike most retailers, though, Congressional leaders selling committee positions never offer discounts. Prices only drift up over time.
This practice is perhaps the one case where bipartisanship flourishes in Congress today. The Democrats' 2008 price schedules quoted in Currinder's Money in the House are just variations on themes introduced by the Republicans in the 1990s, when Newt Gingrich brought in the earliest versions of "pay to play" and Tom DeLay consulted computer printouts of members' contributions at meetings to decide on committee chairs. Everybody in D.C. is in on the game. Only the public is still in the dark.
NEW NORMAL—Posting prices in this fashion does more than energize members of Congress to hunt up new sources of cash in hope of advancing their careers and winning reelection. The practice makes cash flow the basic determinant of the very structure of lawmaking. Instead of buffering at least some outside forces, Congressional committees and party leadership posts reflect the shape of political money — and in our New Gilded Age, it is obvious where most of that comes from.
The whole adds up to something far more sinister than the parts. Big interest groups (think finance or oil or utilities or health care) can control the membership of the committees that write the legislation that regulates them. Outside investors and interest groups also become decisive in resolving leadership struggles within the parties in Congress. You want your man or woman in the leadership? Just send money. Lots of it."
Seriously, read the whole thing.
http://www.washingtonspectator.o…
If this doesn't put the #occupy movement in perspective for you, nothing will.
- insane. How can any citizen think this is a good thing?DrBombay
- Someone should start a fundraiser to buy back democracy.d0mino
- What A Bunch Of Fucking Cunts™.
mikotondria3