Buying the election with foreign money

[SamIam]

Soooooo... I checked on Google to see if my perceptions are due to lack of sleep, or if the American public has gone to sleep.

This is the first or second article I found:

U.S. senators had a median net worth of approximately $1.7 million in 2007, the most recent year for which their financial data is available, and 62 percent of the Senate's members could be considered millionaires. In the House of Representatives, the median net worth was about $684,000, with 39 percent of members having net worths estimated to be at least $1 million. By contrast, only about 1 percent of all American adults can be considered millionaires. Growth between 2006 and 2007 was still a healthy 13 percent, despite indications last year that the economy was headed south.

And this was money that they admitted to owning.

"Worries about the economy that most members of Congress are feeling right now are likely coming from their constituents, who will head to the polls in less than three weeks," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "For the majority of lawmakers, the pressure they are feeling wouldn't appear to be coming from their personal finances. With a median net worth of $746,000, most members of Congress have a comfortable financial cushion to ride out any recession."

Exactly! Why should they care, really? This is part of the reason we see the current incredible antics in Washington where law makers are gridlocked except when it comes to using tax payer money to bail out financial institutions which have all the morality of a bank robber who needs the cash for a fix. At least its unequivable what the bank robber is doing. Corporate excutives just wring their hands for a few minutes then vote themselves a raise or go flying past the rest of us on their golden parachutes.

Before the American economy showed signs in 2007 of slowing down, lawmakers had enjoyed an extraordinary run in their personal investments and other finances. Members of Congress, who are now paid about $169,000 annually, saw their net worths soar 61 percent from 2004 to 2007, on average...

Get voted into Congress and jump on the gravey train. There are currently 237 millionaires in Congress.

The figures on elected representatives' personal wealth come from the financial disclosure reports they were required to file most recently, covering 2007, and from their reports for the preceding three years. CRP's award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, details the finances of members of Congress in a free, publicly available, searchable database, along with the finances of the president, vice president and selected executive branch officials.

The site is very interesting, but I'm not so sure that's its non partisan. Too tired to look further tonight. I'm going to go lie down on my bed, stare up at the ceiling and try to think good thoughts. HAH!

Here's the link to the info I quoted above:

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008...wed-congr.html

[Spexxvet]

50% of political contributions should go to paying off the national debt. If you can afford to buy a politician, you can afford to help the country.

[Lamplighter]

Maybe a special 50% federal tax on TV ads would pay off the debt quicker, like sales taxes that are so popular among the well-to-do.

[classicman]

I'll agree with spexxie on that.
And with respect to opensecrets.org -
Its basically a bunch from The Center for Responsive Politics

Here is what Wiki says about them:

The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) is a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.[1] The Hill has described the group as a liberal organization.[2]

I love the cheapshot at he end by The Hill.

[SamIam]

The Hill just doesn't like having its collective pants pulled down!

[classicman]

Pa. Democrat admits helping Tea Party candidate

A Pennsylvania Democratic House candidate on Tuesday admitted to helping a third candidate get on the ballot in the hopes he would siphon votes away from his Republican opponent.

Bryan Lentz, the Democratic nominee running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), said he knew that volunteers from his campaign helped Tea Party candidate Jim Schneller.

"If somebody's already made the decision to run, I didn't think that 'helping' with the process of signature petitions was improper," Lentz told told the Delaware County Daily Times editorial board in an interview.

Republicans have accused Democrats of helping set up Tea Party candidates as spoilers in several House and Senate races around the country. Democrats face a tough political environment this fall, when they are trying to maintain their congressional majorities against a GOP wave spurred in part by Tea Party groups.

Lentz said he could not remember when he learned of his volunteers' work on behalf of Schneller, but he said, "I didn't think it was a bad thing for the process or for my candidacy."

"If somebody's already made the decision to run, I didn't think that 'helping' with the process of signature petitions was improper," Lentz, 46, a two-term state representative, told the paper's editorial board in a tape-recorded interview.

I'm NOT saying that the R's don't do the same thing, but if this isn't illegal, it should be. His cavalier attitude on the subject is exactly what is wrong with the system.
I'm interested to see what happens after the election because as I read this I found several other places where it is being "reported" that similar things are happening.

[Undertoad]

If you want to know all about how to get the opposition to manage your ballot access petitioning, just ask me, because I pioneered the approach in Pennsylvania.

[classicman]

Just noticed I forgot the link

Link

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by SamIam

There are currently 237 millionaires in Congress.

And that is why big government is bad! Why the hell would any government need 237 members of Congress! Joking with you.