Capitol Hill: Parties All the Time

When I showed up unannounced--and with a video crew in tow--at a couple dozen Congressional fundraisers on Capitol Hill, I felt as if I were channeling two paragons of contrarian virtue: first, Diogenes the Cynic, the ancient Greek sage who carried a lantern around Athens during the daytime, looking for an honest man; second, the great sociologist Harold Garfinkel, who in the 1960s pioneered the use of what he called "breaching experiments," interactions in which researchers intentionally breach unspoken rules of conduct to reveal hidden features of our social order.   

In my breaching experiment, the unspoken rule was that you do not show up to a Congressional fundraiser with a video crew and ask to speak to a member of Congress or their staff.  Even just for two minutes. Even if you are very polite. Even though all of the money raised is going to be reported to the Federal Elections Commission and posted on their website. You do not ask how much the member of Congress or candidate expects to raise. You do not even inquire about the suggested contribution levels--even though those numbers are also available online, thanks to the hundreds of fundraiser invitations that lobbyists have leaked to the Sunlight Foundation's website Political Partytime.   

Fundraising parties seem to be proliferating--possibly as an unintended consequence of the otherwise laudable post-Abramoff reforms of 2007, which banned gifts from lobbyists to members of Congress, restricted the use of corporate jets by members, and curbed junkets like Abramoff's notorious Scottish golfing trip. In his new book, So Damn Much Money, Robert Kaiser quotes the prominent lobbyist Lawrence O'Brien III, who says the latest reforms "have shifted the emphasis over to political fundraising. Now writing checks and raising money is the simplest pathway to completely legal personal face time with members and their senior staff." 

It all may be "completely legal," but campaign finance advocates wonder what deals get cut along with all the big checks. After all, just before his sentencing no less an authority than Jack Abramoff reportedly said, "I was participating in a system of legalized bribery.  All of it is bribery, every bit of it." 

It may take time to dismantle what Kaiser calls "the culture of money, lobbying, and self-dealing that has metastasized over four decades." But a surprising alliance of good government groups, lobbyists, and business leaders believe this is the moment for sweeping campaign finance reform.  They are rallying behind bills that would publicly fund races for the House, Senate, and the presidency. That would certainly throw a wet blanket over D.C.'s party circuit. But would it really be so a bad if members of Congress no longer felt compelled to spend a quarter to a third of their time raising campaign cash? 

P.S. About five minutes into the video, is that you, Michael Moore, gliding into the Wolverine PAC fundraiser, just as the hotel security guy is turning me away?

Comments

[VOTER]

SUGGESTION:

Huffington Post - This deserves to be a NEW PAGE for
your website.

RSVP - NO VOTERS, ALLOWED!

[VOTER]

Don't stop now.......­......
We need this kind of reporting to become HEADLINE NEWS.

Kudos!

[Asmodeus]

Anyone still laughing at the people who've been shouting about the corporations' obviation of governments, among other things? Of course Obama's administration is terrified of doing what must be done. They can't get too edgy, or the gods of the money-churches will be angered you see.

Push publicly funded elections, and push it hard. Otherwise we are forever doomed to flounder in this sort of maelstrom.

Time for us to re-assert full ownership of our government. Whether they like it or not.

[joebloe]

I find it quite interesting that the only staffer to come out and be completely honest about the whole thing is from a liberal Democrat.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

They should teach this in grammer school. In the civic classes if they still have them.

Do so and it will save the next upcoming generation from being frustrated and upset at an entrenched governmental system that does not work in the way that we were all taught.

[mommadona]

Oops-make that MAY 1st -

[mommadona]

While we're at it...

How's about a DEFINED CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE set by the election committe.

START DATE: JULY 1ST of any CAMPAIGN YEAR.

That'd give them 6 months to cavort and preen and look soo clean and keen.

"On the catwalk...­the catwalk"

Let's make politics not "business, as usual".

[joebloe]

Hear, hear!!!

And let's limit contributions to people, no PACs, no lobbyists, no corporations. No gifts or anything that can be construed as seeking favor for political deeds.

[Guy Incognito]

Any bets she won't have her job much longer?

[joebloe]

Actually Woolsey is a representative who has worked for the average person her whole career. It shows in her staff and how they treat the public. I wouldn't expect the staffer to be fired at all.

[Poboy]

Excellent work.

Harry Hanbury, you are a giant among giants.

If there is one area that deserves the spot light, it is this.

Shine this spot light, bright.

[secondsight]

This is even worse than I had imagined, but it is so corrupt just on the face of it. The need to raise money is based on the fear that they may not be re-elected and keep their nice cushy jobs in Washington with the huge staffs, perks, budgets, paychecks, and health care. It's an insider's club to protect their backsides from being tossed out of office. They could care less about "doing the public's business," especially when it interferes with their corporate obligations and their lobbyist payoffs. They say they are for public financing, but that is pure bunk--public financing would level the playing field, and that would mean they might have to really work at doing the job they were elected to do in order to stay in office. And worse still, take the flak for their bumbling performance.

[monoxboogie]

Right on man.