Didja know that when Honest Abe ran for U.S. Congress in 1846 the whole shebang only ran him 75 cents? Trufax are fun.
I did not need the money. I made the canvass on my own horse; my entertainment, being at the houses of friends, cost me nothing; and my only outlay was 75 cents for a barrel of cider, which some farm-hands insisted I should treat to.
Yeah, yeah. But inflation. In today’s dollars 75 cents is about $18.90. Whoa.
So, here are some more words:
Money! It is money! Money! Money! Not ideas, nor principles, but money that reigns supreme in American politics. –Sen. Robert C. Byrd
I’ve been a part of the system for more than two decades, and personally raised millions in hard and soft dollars. I know that the endless pressures of raising money threaten the integrity of the legislative process and drain more and more time from my colleagues. –Rep. Henry Waxman
People who contribute get the ear of the member and the ear of the staff. They have the access and access is it. Access is power. Access is clout. That’s how this thing works. –Rep. Romano Mazzoli
I don’t think mistakes are just made at the edges. The entire process, even when conducted strictly within the law, invites corruption and erodes the confidence that the decisions made in our democracy are based on our representative honest judgment and deliberation about the best policies and the interests and opinions of all their constituents. –Sen. Bill Bradley
Democracy as we know it will be lost if we continue to allow government to become one bought by the highest bidder, for the highest bidder. Candidates will simply become bit players and pawns in a campaign managed and manipulated by paid consultants and hired guns. –Sen. Wendell Ford.
That’s all I got. If ya’ll see Joltin’ Joe running around anywhere, ping me, mmmkay? Danke.