Special interests, pork, and, lobbyists: each side of the political aisle throws these accusations around about the motivations of the other. What is increasingly clear is that Congress as a whole has virtually no credibility as a body that actually represents the American people, let alone the constituents of individual states and districts. Here is an overview of the money raised and spent by two leading members of Congress, one Republican, one Democrat. These two come from heavily populated, high-profile districts, but the amount of money they spent on an office that represents one small slice of the country is nothing less than staggering.What accounts for these inflated totals? For one, TV is clearly the most effective form of communicating political messages, and ads are expensive. The cheapening of political discourse that has resulted is not the subject of this post (too bad). Another reason has to be the fact that corporations and PACs want to influence policy through their donations.
One of the most frightening aspects of campaigns is the overwhelming advantage of incumbents. The giant leg up afforded by media exposure is simply too hard for most challengers to overcome, hence the recent trend for the self-made rich to seek office on their own dime. Some representatives even use public funds to run their reelection campaigns.
Without further ado, here are the numbers. I will follow that with a bit of research about some of the lesser-known companies mentioned.
My source is a site that should be in everyone's bookmarks list: opensecrets.org
I have put a link to their blog on my blog list.
Republican Representative John Boehner
Total amount of last campaign cycle (2007-2008): $5,342,022
Top industries that contributed to Boehner's campaign:
| Insurance | $222,525 |
| Securities & Investment | $180,600 |
| Pharmaceuticals/Health Products | $163,950 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $162,400 |
| Commercial Banks | $150,450 |
Top 5 individual contributors:
| Communicare Inc | $27,600 |
| American Electric Power | $25,050 |
| National City Corp | $22,000 |
| American Financial Group | $21,200 |
| FirstEnergy Corp | $17,500 |
Here's a breakdown of contributions. I'm not sure what "other" means:
| Individual Contributions | $1,638,383 | (32%) | |
 | PAC Contributions | $2,280,558 | (44%) |
 | Candidate self-financing | $0 | (0%) |
 | Other | $1,225,540 | (24%) |
Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi
Total amount of last campaign cycle (2007-2008): $2,727,177
| Amgen Inc | $42,050 |
| Akin, Gump et al | $41,050 |
| E&J Gallo Winery | $18,400 |
| Patton Boggs LLP | $17,400 |
| Torchmark Corp | $17,000 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $220,600 |
| Securities & Investment | $159,200 |
| Health Professionals | $156,450 |
| Real Estate | $129,182 |
| Insurance | $119,500 |
| Individual Contributions | $1,339,781 | (47%) | |
| PAC Contributions | $1,511,730 | (53%) |
| Candidate self-financing | $0 | (0%) |
| Other | $5,434 | (0%) |
For Boehner:
Communicare: mental health, substance abuse
For Pelosi:
Amgen: biotech, pharmaceutical
Torchmark: insurance
I trust my congressional reps over the executive branch any day. My guys have emailed me back. Perhaps it was their staff, but at least I got non-form letter replies to my questions and concerns.
ReplyDeleteHey Boehner beat Pelosi that's good for the Republicans! Isn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head, accessibility is the key. We need to make it cheaper for candidates to run for public office. I also don't think that public funds should be used to run attack ads on any form of medium. It's sad when I look at campaigning and see how little a candidate tells you about their agenda. Saying your for education and job creation doesn't count. It ultimately is the public's fault, if we demanded more out of our candidates before we blindly elected them maybe the worthy representatives would win more often.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to tell you that I followed you over here from NPR. I like that you attempt to be even handed when dealing out criticism. You actually try to offer a argument based on policy and substance that you know about rather than just call the other side idiots. It's very adult of you. Good job, your shameless plug on your profile worked.
The Feb. 7th Economist in an article about Obama Cabinet nominee Tom Dashle suggested that his vices were his virtues.
ReplyDeleteComparison to the failure of HillaryCare.
1) Hillary failed to court members of Capital Hill. Daschle of course is an insider and knows who and how to get things done.
2) Hillary never engaged industry groups. Daschle of course made a career in part by his lobbying on behalf of the health-care industry. Plus he is on the board of the supremely influential Mayo Clinic.
So which is better? Someone who knows the players and the game. Or a HHS secretary thrown into the coliseum unarmed against the veteran gladiators.
Barry DeHatchet
I'll take ANY player into the fray with absolutely no connections, as a preference any day over these so called "professionals that know how to get things done". We have too many of these so-called "experienced individuals getting things done". Congress is bought and sold by these guys and it is an American tragedy. The lobby money needs to be controlled, and I am even in favor of term limits. These arguments of "experience, influence, and knowing how to get things done" are worn out and not justified. There is no way to convolute an argument enough to justify the way things are now. WE ALL KNOW WHAT THE DEAL IS !!! It is time to clean it up.
ReplyDeleteExplanation "other" : small sums found under the couch cushions in the lobbyist green room or antechamber where concerned "citizens" await a few words with a key staffer or the rep him/herself.
ReplyDeleteHTH tim
I always wonder if something became "bad", what was the original "good' intent? The money certainly mucks things up. Can lobbying be done without the money? Lobby for the good of the industry, like you might lobby the grocery store to stock the seasonal Bridgeport Ales. In who's interest is it to allow the unlimited money for campaigns? Why shouldn't the public finance campaigns for public office?
ReplyDelete@Hubertg - you aren't convinced that Dashle's experience, influence and lobbyist back ground justifies the HHS appointment. How then to get universal health care? If this administration can't pull this rabbit out of its hat, it will make me wonder. Keep in mind my position comes from the Clinton indiscretions at the end of his tenure. I adopted a puritanical position that I obviously regret today. I'll take the imperfections with talent over a born again numnut.
Barry DeHatchet
Peter,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the link. It was very educational. I also compared industry contributions to each Party. It is very interesting to see, for example, Oil & Gas only contributed to the Republican Party as Lobbyists only contributed to the Democratic Party.
Democratic Party: Top Industries 2008
Industry Total
Candidate Committees $63,637,446 20%
Lawyers/Law Firms $45,329,012 14%
Retired $44,220,700 14%
Securities & Investment $37,703,097 12%
Real Estate $21,265,735 7%
TV/Movies/Music $13,317,279 4%
Business Services $13,224,697 4%
Misc Finance $10,523,469 3%
Education $8,961,934 3%
Health Professionals $8,950,861 3%
Computers/Internet $7,747,202 2%
Printing & Publishing $7,548,895 2%
Misc Business $7,190,983 2%
Non-Profit Institutions $6,284,045 2%
Lobbyists $3,925,414 1%
Commercial Banks $3,896,836 1%
Civil Servants/Public Officials $3,686,518 1%
Insurance $3,567,370 1%
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $3,438,380 5%
Other $3,400,093 1%
Republican Party: Top Industries 2008
Industry Total
Retired $63,304,944 24%
Securities & Investment $29,406,609 11%
Candidate Committees $28,259,511 11%
Real Estate $25,883,606 10%
Misc Business $16,394,080 6%
Misc Finance $12,712,111 5%
Health Professionals $12,400,009 5%
Lawyers/Law Firms $12,191,517 5%
Oil & Gas $9,876,643 4%
Business Services $8,503,140 3%
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $6,596,034 2%
Insurance $6,444,315 2%
General Contractors $6,030,719 2%
Commercial Banks $4,742,959 2%
Computers/Internet $4,240,953 2%
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $4,170,857 2%
Automotive $4,078,164 2%
Retail Sales $3,648,151 1%
Construction Services $3,473,478 5%
TV/Movies/Music $3,260,112 1%
Audrey
Anon....Dashle ???...I take the same position with him as ALL the others....I take no exception to ANY of them for any reason. I'll stand on my original statement as-is.
ReplyDelete