I'm always amazed how little money buys off politicians - in my state I see individuals selected for plum patronage jobs that pay well and they donated $500.00 to the governor.
I know I'm late to this party, just catching up on my inbox, but I really appreciate this reporting on the linkage between corporate lobbying expenditures and direct, let's call it quid pro quo, results in Congress.
When MAGA acolytes talk about the Uni-Party, this is exactly what the mean. How does my vote fix this: Answer, it doesn't. Shameful.
What is the difference between the guys who got nailed in the FIFA Scandal during the past decade for selling their votes (remember Chuck Blazer and Jack Warner?) and Norfolk Southern buying votes...or maybe "No" votes?
Can you look into why Congress refuses to take action to allow VA Loans to be used for Co-ops and all Condos, just like they can be used for single family homes?
Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced a bill into the House in 2020 but it never went anywhere. She was then voted out in redistricting and her replacement (Nadler) hasn't taken any action. There was a program for a single year in 2006 that allowed Co-ops to be purchased with VA Loans - but it was not well advertised or used and it lapsed.
Probably 75% of the housing stock available for purchase where I live are either Co-ops or Condos. And Single Family homes are way out of my price range (if and where they even exist).
Mr Perticone, Calling $5K donations "big checks" is a bit of stretch when re-election campaigns cost many millions. While there's surely a positive correlation between donations to a candidate and that candidate's position, that's not, in of itself, evidence of causality.
I enjoy your insights. I need to have my confidence restored that their are still congressmen working for their country instead of their party. Can you help?
1) Most of the Afghans who assisted our military, governmental and civic organizations are still stuck there and at greater risk than ever. There are very few visas and support available for them. They deserve much more and better treatment from us.
2) I’m not confident that vetting was ever done for those who got through the crowds, chaos and Afghan security at the airport, probably some because they were known to the Taliban guards and/or bribed them than were truly America’s allies.
How else you gonna make a decent wage as a Congressperson? Answer: Take cash from corps that value making profits over human life so they can make more for election donations... and so on.
This process is termed "Gov't SOS!" and it makes the capitol (read: "capital") dome go round.
"[T]he Senate’s rail-safety ... bill’s fortunes started shifting around the same time that the Norfolk Southern Corporation ... was cutting big checks to PACs and members of Congress whose positions made them critical to the bill’s fate."
<Dr. Horrible voice>What a crazy random happenstance!</Dr. Horrible voice>
In response to your request for comments about coverage: I would be overjoyed to not see another piece in the Bulwark this year on presidential polls.
"For their part, beneficiaries in the House hold positions on key committees like Transportation and Infrastructure (Bost) and the Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation (Cline)."
-----
I should be amazed, but I'm not, about how cheaply many politicians can be bought. These two "Representatives" have apparently sold out for a *combined total* of $3000 - Bost got $2000 while Cline received $1000; It looks like being a member of a committee is more lucrative than that of one sitting on a subcommittee, which seems rather obvious. The fact that no individual or PAC received more than $5000 is just further proof of how cheap one can buy preferred legislation
The four national party campaign committees receiving $15,000 each is indicative, at least to me, that whoring for Norfolk Southern, or any other corporate contributor, is a team sport with a low payroll. If there was any chance that I could buy clout in both major parties for a mere $60k in order to achieve a personal vision of legislation I really want passed (the national committees will pressure their respective members to vote aye to keep the gravy train on track - pardon the pun), then I would not hesitate to "invest" in the future to push the bills forward, whether or not I had immediate access to the cash.
Pimping and grifting are critical skillsets for politicians to raise the monies needed to run a successful campaign, unfortunately. The sad part is their ability to put morals aside - if they had any to begin with - for fundraising purposes, and it is even sadder that a majority of these politicos never regain the moral compass required to be a good legislator. All they seem to understand and believe in is the accrual of ever-greater power for their own benefits. (This applies, unequally, to both parties.)
I, also, am astonished by the low cost of elected officials. When I read a list like this it makes me scratch my head. Aren't there millionaire/billionaire folks out there that would drive up this price? I seem to be told that George Soros is interested in controlling the US political system and I am sure he could beat these bids without breaking a sweat.
On a more serious note, Joe, could you please dive deeper into this situation. On rail transit where it is corporations vs. the citizens who live near train tracks it makes sense that something from the corporations is better than nothing from the citizens but I had heard that in the pharmaceutical debate Krysten Sinema sold her vote for 50k but there were deep pockets on both sides in that fight. Why didn't she hold out for more?
I guess I am interested in how the market for votes works if you have Occidental shelling out millions to umbrella PACs but Norfolk paying the equivalent of a country club fee directly. Are there campaign finance restrictions? How do these donations mesh with the Lobbying industry? Ultimately, how do citizens figure out how to participate, if that is the game being played? There is money out there in the small donation world, does it all come down to a lack of organization and/or access?
“Were these donations made because the lawmakers who benefited from them are politically aligned with the companies that made them, or have the lawmakers been incentivized by these donations to toe a certain line?”
Thanks Joe. I live in Arkansas and Cotton is a waste of oxygen here. We actually, under Hutchinson, took quite a few Afghan families in and resettled them in the Ft. Smith area. I sincerely hope they're not in jeopardy.
Immigration is hugely complicated in the U.S. I doubt the ability of Congress critters to understand it or do anything to fix it. For example, 20 years ago, immigration was split between two departments. Since then it's been three.
The Republicans won’t compromise. And they don’t care about it. They just want to strut and posture and further inflame anti-immigration ignorance among their voters.
The funny thing is the Country Club and Chamber of Commerce Republicans really want Immigration to be fixed (and no, they do not want it shut down, they want the sweet low cost labor that raw immigrants adds to the economy).
It is the base and the bomb throwers who have the upper hand these days though.
I'm always amazed how little money buys off politicians - in my state I see individuals selected for plum patronage jobs that pay well and they donated $500.00 to the governor.
I know I'm late to this party, just catching up on my inbox, but I really appreciate this reporting on the linkage between corporate lobbying expenditures and direct, let's call it quid pro quo, results in Congress.
When MAGA acolytes talk about the Uni-Party, this is exactly what the mean. How does my vote fix this: Answer, it doesn't. Shameful.
What is the difference between the guys who got nailed in the FIFA Scandal during the past decade for selling their votes (remember Chuck Blazer and Jack Warner?) and Norfolk Southern buying votes...or maybe "No" votes?
May be self serving but here goes:
Can you look into why Congress refuses to take action to allow VA Loans to be used for Co-ops and all Condos, just like they can be used for single family homes?
Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced a bill into the House in 2020 but it never went anywhere. She was then voted out in redistricting and her replacement (Nadler) hasn't taken any action. There was a program for a single year in 2006 that allowed Co-ops to be purchased with VA Loans - but it was not well advertised or used and it lapsed.
Probably 75% of the housing stock available for purchase where I live are either Co-ops or Condos. And Single Family homes are way out of my price range (if and where they even exist).
Mr Perticone, Calling $5K donations "big checks" is a bit of stretch when re-election campaigns cost many millions. While there's surely a positive correlation between donations to a candidate and that candidate's position, that's not, in of itself, evidence of causality.
I enjoy your insights. I need to have my confidence restored that their are still congressmen working for their country instead of their party. Can you help?
Thanks. Rail safety should not bevesylwis by conrrsduional largesse
I have two issues with the Afghan Adjustment Act:
1) Most of the Afghans who assisted our military, governmental and civic organizations are still stuck there and at greater risk than ever. There are very few visas and support available for them. They deserve much more and better treatment from us.
2) I’m not confident that vetting was ever done for those who got through the crowds, chaos and Afghan security at the airport, probably some because they were known to the Taliban guards and/or bribed them than were truly America’s allies.
Joe - I have not read your pieces before today. Great to be able to read about legislation not just political opinion.
Thank you!
How else you gonna make a decent wage as a Congressperson? Answer: Take cash from corps that value making profits over human life so they can make more for election donations... and so on.
This process is termed "Gov't SOS!" and it makes the capitol (read: "capital") dome go round.
"[T]he Senate’s rail-safety ... bill’s fortunes started shifting around the same time that the Norfolk Southern Corporation ... was cutting big checks to PACs and members of Congress whose positions made them critical to the bill’s fate."
<Dr. Horrible voice>What a crazy random happenstance!</Dr. Horrible voice>
In response to your request for comments about coverage: I would be overjoyed to not see another piece in the Bulwark this year on presidential polls.
Because of course
"For their part, beneficiaries in the House hold positions on key committees like Transportation and Infrastructure (Bost) and the Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation (Cline)."
-----
I should be amazed, but I'm not, about how cheaply many politicians can be bought. These two "Representatives" have apparently sold out for a *combined total* of $3000 - Bost got $2000 while Cline received $1000; It looks like being a member of a committee is more lucrative than that of one sitting on a subcommittee, which seems rather obvious. The fact that no individual or PAC received more than $5000 is just further proof of how cheap one can buy preferred legislation
The four national party campaign committees receiving $15,000 each is indicative, at least to me, that whoring for Norfolk Southern, or any other corporate contributor, is a team sport with a low payroll. If there was any chance that I could buy clout in both major parties for a mere $60k in order to achieve a personal vision of legislation I really want passed (the national committees will pressure their respective members to vote aye to keep the gravy train on track - pardon the pun), then I would not hesitate to "invest" in the future to push the bills forward, whether or not I had immediate access to the cash.
Pimping and grifting are critical skillsets for politicians to raise the monies needed to run a successful campaign, unfortunately. The sad part is their ability to put morals aside - if they had any to begin with - for fundraising purposes, and it is even sadder that a majority of these politicos never regain the moral compass required to be a good legislator. All they seem to understand and believe in is the accrual of ever-greater power for their own benefits. (This applies, unequally, to both parties.)
fnord
I, also, am astonished by the low cost of elected officials. When I read a list like this it makes me scratch my head. Aren't there millionaire/billionaire folks out there that would drive up this price? I seem to be told that George Soros is interested in controlling the US political system and I am sure he could beat these bids without breaking a sweat.
On a more serious note, Joe, could you please dive deeper into this situation. On rail transit where it is corporations vs. the citizens who live near train tracks it makes sense that something from the corporations is better than nothing from the citizens but I had heard that in the pharmaceutical debate Krysten Sinema sold her vote for 50k but there were deep pockets on both sides in that fight. Why didn't she hold out for more?
I guess I am interested in how the market for votes works if you have Occidental shelling out millions to umbrella PACs but Norfolk paying the equivalent of a country club fee directly. Are there campaign finance restrictions? How do these donations mesh with the Lobbying industry? Ultimately, how do citizens figure out how to participate, if that is the game being played? There is money out there in the small donation world, does it all come down to a lack of organization and/or access?
“Were these donations made because the lawmakers who benefited from them are politically aligned with the companies that made them, or have the lawmakers been incentivized by these donations to toe a certain line?”
Yes, and yes. Always follow the money.
Thanks Joe. I live in Arkansas and Cotton is a waste of oxygen here. We actually, under Hutchinson, took quite a few Afghan families in and resettled them in the Ft. Smith area. I sincerely hope they're not in jeopardy.
Immigration is hugely complicated in the U.S. I doubt the ability of Congress critters to understand it or do anything to fix it. For example, 20 years ago, immigration was split between two departments. Since then it's been three.
The Republicans won’t compromise. And they don’t care about it. They just want to strut and posture and further inflame anti-immigration ignorance among their voters.
The funny thing is the Country Club and Chamber of Commerce Republicans really want Immigration to be fixed (and no, they do not want it shut down, they want the sweet low cost labor that raw immigrants adds to the economy).
It is the base and the bomb throwers who have the upper hand these days though.