Sometimes there's nothing more truthful than a joke.
During a segment on Larry King's OraTV show "PoliticKING," set to air Thursday night, King asked "Meet The Press" host Chuck Todd to expound on the influence of money in politics, particularly following the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling in 2010. The ruling granted corporations, unions and individuals the ability to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections.
Todd answered that the campaign process -- especially the financial pressure -- keeps "good" candidates from running for office, and therefore, he jokingly concluded, "the collective IQ of congress goes down every two years, because smart people look at it and say, 'Why do I want to do this?'"
"You have to find out if you have a sugar daddy or sugar mommy that can write you a check for a billion dollars or knows people that can accumulate a billion dollars,” Todd explained in the lead-up, adding, “I think this whole process, it’s the money. It’s media, social media, opposition research, the destructive nature of American discourse ... You have an accumulating effect that drives good people from running for office."
According to Todd, the dramatic increase in campaign spending has forced candidates to chase increasing amounts of money, meaning only the most well-connected -- and therefore absurdly well-financed -- ever have a real shot at office.
WATCH Todd's breakdown of money in politics, above.
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