BLOOMSBURG PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Editorial
Who's buying our congressman?
Out-of-state interest
The old joke goes like this: "We've got the best lawmakers money can buy!"
Well, if you never thought that was funny, you certainly won't laugh at this: They're now being bought by people who don't even live here.
Exhibit A is our man in Congress, Democrat Paul Kanjorski.
Officially, he represents the people of northeast Pennsylvania. However, 57 percent of personal contributions to his re-election campaign are coming from outside the state, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political finances.
It's hard not to wonder: Who are these folks so interested in the re-election of our Congressman?
No other member of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation even comes close to matching Kanjorski's popularity among people who don't live in Pennsylvania.
As a 13-term incumbent, Kanjorski is a key figure on a House committee that oversees regulation of financial services. To put that another way, he's someone to whom people and financial institutions with big money want access.
Keeping this in mind, consider what reporter Eric Boehm of the Pennsylvania Independent discovered when he took a closer look at Kanjorski's donors:
"... Mr. Kanjorski's ... funds come from 30 different states. During the current election cycle, he has received more than $46,000 from people in New York and more than $34,000 from people in Washington, along with donations from as far away as Ogden, Utah, and San Diego. ... Of his $116,000 in contributions from inside Pennsylvania, nearly $70,000 has come from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh combined, and neither of those cities are part of Mr. Kanjorski's congressional district."
In the popular imagination, it's the Republican lawmakers who live off the lint in the pockets of the monied interests.
Either Kanjorski is an exception to the rule, or the rules have changed. Lucky us.
If it's any consolation – and, in truth, it's not – our guy in Washington is not the only one being bought by interests outside of his district and the state.
"All told, Pennsylvania's 18 incumbent U.S. representatives have collected more than $1.68 million from out-of-state individual contributions during this election cycle ..." the Pennsylvania Independent found.
Forget the honest, principled Jimmy Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
Big-time electoral politics today is more like a loud, garish, 3-D summer blockbuster, with the hidden producers putting up big dollars to re-hire proven actors, the incumbents.
As for the actual voters back home whom the members of Congress purport to represent? Mere extras.
Is it any wonder that, for most people, interest in politics and trust in government are at or near historic lows?
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