The rot is inherent in the current system
A whole Congress for sale
WALL STREET MONEY RAINS ON CHUCK SCHUMER // 9/29/09:
The political system won’t be cleaned up until a revolution forces it to.
Politicians are bought every day, in broad daylight, and cheap, too.
By: Victoria McGrane and Lisa Lerer September 28, 2009 04:34 AM EST
Wall Street has showered nearly $11 million on the Senate since the beginning of the year, and more than 15 percent of it has gone to a single senator: Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York. (Image at left)
Schumer’s $1.65 million take from the financial services industry is nearly twice that of any other senator’s — and more than five times what the industry gave to any single Republican senator.
While the industry has scaled back its political spending in the wake of last year’s economic collapse, data from the Center for Responsive Politics show that it’s still investing heavily in the Senate, where it’s likely to have its best shot at stopping — or at least shaping — the crackdown on Wall Street that President Barack Obama has proposed.
And it’s clearly looking to Democrats to do it.
f the $10.6 million the industry has given to sitting senators this year, more than $7.7 million has gone to Democrats. Schumer got his $1.65 million; his New York colleague Kirsten Gillibrand took in $886,000; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada received $814,000; Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd of Connecticut scored $603,000; Colorado freshman Michael Bennet got $401,000; and Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas— who will have a big say on the derivatives portion of regulatory reform — got $336,000.
“Democrats are holding the reins in Washington now with a Democratic- run White House and Congress,” said one financial services lobbyist. “It only makes sense that donors want to put their money into the coffers of those who are driving the agenda.”
Congress. Democrats, Republicans - they all play the game and they are ultimately on the same side - on the take. They protect each other on this front, to a greater extent. Sure, you see the occasional accusations of impropriety, but I can almost guarantee that the first to point fingers are committing the same violations of ethics. Politicians have a good thing going on in D.C. - and no matter what side of the fence they are on, they won't put each other down if it means exposing the entire filthy rotten core of D.C.
