Meet The New (Improved) Boss

Remember all the screeching and wailing before the last election? Remember "Culture of corruption?" Remember all the hyperventilation about how Rethuglican Bushitler zombies were only looking after the big, evil corporations while the happy, fuzzy, lovable Democrats were only out for the people? Remember the pledges to run the cleanest government in all of recorded history, ever? Ah, the good, old days.

So why is it that the Democrats are squeezing enormous sums of cold, hard cash out of corporations and lobbiests - outraising the Republicans they replaced? 

Campaign finance experts say that special interests have been contributing mostly to Republicans over the last 12 years of GOP rule on Capitol Hill.  Now they are having to making quick friends with Democratic leaders.

"Lobbyists and interest groups need to make a connection right away, and one of the ways to do that is through a PAC contribution," says Kent Cooper, co-founder of PoliticalMoneyLine.

In the past three months, the new committee chairmen have raised $2.4 million in campaign contributions from PACs, the committees created by lobbyists and special interest groups to make contributions and influence elections.

"Committee chairmen act as the gatekeepers exercising control of whether legislation moves or is at a road block, deciding what is to be considered when," says Sheila Krumholz, executive director for the Center for Responsive Politics. "If you've developed a cordial relationship with them over time and have given them contributions, it certainly goes to your benefit."

The chairman to receive the most PAC money was Rep. Charles  Rangel of New York, the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, who reported raising $486,669 from PACs, compared to $7,500 during the same period two years ago. Rangel's PAC donors compromised more than half the money he raised and represent a broad array of industries including health care, finance, transportation, agriculture, technology, retailers and organized labor.

Krumholz says that Rangel and his colleagues are in the position to be key money makers for the party. "More money generally flows to members on high profile committees, like Ways and Means, because they exercise control over earmarks and specific legislative agendas for essentially all areas of industry," says Krumholz. (Emphasis added)

The emperor hath not a stitch of clothing. Nor a single speck of moral high ground.