Congress for sale

[iquiring mind]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/26/115937/064
Congress for Sale, Millionaires Welcome
by soozler
Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 09:03:56 AM PDT
It has happened.
The U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled this morning that a self-funding candidate can now virtually buy a seat in Congress, striking down any hope of a level playing field in campaigns.
This decision delivers a huge blow to hard working, everyday Americans fighting for better representation in Congress, and sends a message to the richest of the rich that our U.S. Congress is now for sale.
A few weeks ago, I talked about how important this decision would be and now it has come to fruition. Wealthy opponents can and will write themselves millions of dollars from their personal bank accounts to attack Democrats and everything they stands for.
To combat that, Democratic candidates will have to spend more time than ever fundraising.
Individuals are still limited on how much money we can donate, while millionaires will have unlimited access to personal millions to run their campaign.
In addition, a millionaire is not required by law to disclose when they pour millions of dollars into their campaigns. This puts those who cannot write themselves huge checks and a major disadvantage for deciding how much money they need to raise and how to defeat their opponent.
This is a landmark case that has given campaign politics a black eye.
I will update as this story develops.

After reading the above I did a quick Google search and found a site which disclosed how money influences our government and what politician and/or party is beholden to which company and/or industry. I recommend reading through the entire site.

Home Page: http://www.opensecrets.org

2006 Personal Financial Disclosures – Net Worth
Representatives
http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/overview.php?type=W&year=2006&filter=H
Senators
http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/overview.php?type=W&year=2006&filter=S

2008 overview of money’s influence
Incumbent Advantage
http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/incumbs.php?cycle=2008&Type=A&Party=S
This show the enormous financial advantage enjoyed by incumbents. This is one of the reasons re-election rates are so high—incumbents generally don't have to work as hard to get their name and message out.

Top Industries
http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/industries.php
This shows the amount of money and to which party each industry supplies. Again, quite eye opening!

I tried to post all the information directly on to this post for easy reading but, unfortunately tables are not allowed. Sorry.

[99th_Monkey]

1. Lest we forget the importance of having Obama appointing Supremes for next 8 years. ~nt~

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Bah! One of the things I hate most about our politics, and it has only gotten worse!