The Fundraising Is Over. Begin The Fundraising!
Popular wisdom has it that members of Congress take some time off from their important work on Capitol Hill in the months before an election, in order to raise funds and campaign, but then re-dedicate themselves to their public service after the election is over. Just accept the sacrifices of “campaign season”, voters are told, and then members of Congress will knuckle down to fulfill their campaign promises.
The actual political practice demonstrated by members of Congress doesn’t match the popular wisdom, however. Results of the 2010 congressional elections will start coming in about 36 hours from now, but campaign fundraising is continuing unabated – not for the 2010 elections, but for the 2012 elections.
Just two weeks after Election Day, U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield will hold a campaign fundraiser at the offices of the Stanton Park Group, a lobbying firm that represents corporate giants such as Microsoft, Motorola and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Whitfield is charging $2,500 in exchange for top level access to him at the meeting.
Over on the West Coast, the same thing is happening, as Representative Mary Bono Mack, from California, has already prepared a special weekend retreat at the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, Colorado at which she will meet with representatives of political action committees who are paying her money in return for the political favor. The top slot for access to Bono Mack goes for $5,000.
Before the next session of Congress even has a chance to begin, these members of Congress, and many others, are already preparing to take time away from their work on the nation’s business in order to get money from corporations and meet with lobbyists. From the very start of the political cycle, the setting is going straight back to the money.
