Many among the intelligentsia prefer to think of special interests as corrupting our dedicated public servants with campaign contributions. But Peter Schweizer's new book, "Extortion," shows what happens as the extorting of tribute by politicians in a position to do a lot of harm to businesses that do not pay them protection money.
Campaign contributions are just one of the things that can be extorted. The number of spouses, children or other relatives or favorites of Congressional incumbents who get high-paying jobs in private businesses regulated by government can hardly be coincidental.
When Al Gore was Vice President during the Clinton administration, he simply phoned various special interests and told them how much he wanted them to contribute.
He did not have to spell out the reasons why they should — or why they had better. They already knew from experience how the game is played.
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Mr. Sowell is spot on. We have become what we ran from as a nation. History repeated itself and we didn't even see it coming.
ReplyDeleteCan it be reversed? You tell me. I pray so.