http://www.opednews.com/articles/Lawless-Nation–Congress-by-Michael-Collins-101007-764.html
From the page: ” But supposedly Congress passes laws for the public benefit. They come to power based on contributions from their patrons, usually large donors. Then members resolutely deny that these contributions translate into legislation favorable to the donors. If pressed, member’s state that the contributions merely buy access not votes.
In fact, members routinely vote the interests of their largest patrons. Thus, the contributions are a form of legalized bribery (“a favor or promise given to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust.”).
The financial industry contributed hundreds of millions to current members. When Wall Street was about to fail in late 2008, they called in their markers and got an immediate bailout of $700 billion and “total potential Federal Government support (that) could reach up to $23.7 trillion” from the Federal Reserve and other government sources. This was in the midst of the 2008 federal election cycle when members solicited funds from the very people they bailed out. “