How to Buy & Sell Politicians

Here's a bit from a good post by Robert Reich on an attempt to limit the power of some corporations to buy & sell politicians:

President Obama is mulling an executive order to force big government contractors to disclose details of their political spending. Big businesses are already telling their political patrons in Congress to oppose it – and the pressure is building.

The President should issue the executive order immediately. And he should go even further – banning all political activity by companies receiving more than half their revenues from the U.S. government.

Lockheed Martin, the nation’s largest contractor, has already got more than $19 billion in federal contracts so far this year. But we know very little about Lockheed Martin’s political spending other than its Political Action Committee contributions. We don’t know how much money it gives to the Aerospace Industries Association to lobby for a bigger defense budget.

We don’t even know how much Lockheed is giving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to lobby against Obama’s proposed executive order requiring disclosure of its political activities.

Don’t we have a right to know? After all, you and I and other taxpayers are Lockheed’s biggest customer. As such, we’re financing some of its lobbying and political activities.

There is more. Go read the whole post.

I believe the advice given by Deep Throat in the Watergate scandal is the best advice if you want to understand corruption:

Woodward contacts "Deep Throat", a senior government official and anonymous source he has used before. Communicating through copies of the Times and a balcony flower pot, they meet in a parking garage. Deep Throat speaks in riddles and metaphors, but advises Woodward to "follow the money".

I think Lord Acton got it wrong. More than power, money corrupts, and unaccounted for money corrupts absolutely.