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There is also a logical fallacy that campaign contributions necessarily influence congress(wo)men. Contributions are given to people that others support. Just b

There is also a logical fallacy that campaign contributions necessarily influence congress(wo)men. Contributions are given to people that others support. Just because someone voted for industry X and was given contribution money by industry X does not imply being 'bought.' That said and taken into consideration, people that are outliers (like this guy: http://ismycongressmanbought.com/my_cong.php?con=Sodrel,%20Michael http://ismycongressmanbought.com/my_cong.php?con=Sodrel,%20M... and this guy: http://ismycongressmanbought.com/my_cong.php?con=Chocola,%20Chris)[1] http://ismycongressmanbought.com/my_cong.php?con=Chocola,%20... should be viewed with a suspicious eye. [1] Both happen to be Republicans. I was just viewing my home state (Indiana) where most politicians are Republicans. I am by no means trying to imply one party is better than the other. I am also a Republican.

tbgvi 17y ago
Agreed, contributing to someone's campaign doesn't mean I'm trying to buy them. More likely is that the candidate already supports a cause I care about, and I'm contributing to their campaign so they can get elected and continue supporting my cause. If you want to see who's bought then look for people who voted one way on an issue and then switched their vote after getting contributions from the affected industry.
- hugh3 17y ago
  If you want to see who's bought then look for people who voted one way on an issue and then switched their vote after getting contributions from the affected industry. Which is unlikely to happen all that often. If I've got deep pockets and want to influence politics I'll focus on helping folks who already agree with me to get elected rather than trying to bribe those who don't. It's just a better bang for your buck.
- jbooth 17y ago
  Getting in the door counts for a lot. Said congressman will hear much more of one side than the other, then make up his own mind on the merits and go to sleep confident that he hasn't been bought.

tbgvi 17y ago

Agreed, contributing to someone's campaign doesn't mean I'm trying to buy them. More likely is that the candidate already supports a cause I care about, and I'm contributing to their campaign so they can get elected and continue supporting my cause. If you want to see who's bought then look for people who voted one way on an issue and then switched their vote after getting contributions from the affected industry.

hugh3 17y ago
If you want to see who's bought then look for people who voted one way on an issue and then switched their vote after getting contributions from the affected industry. Which is unlikely to happen all that often. If I've got deep pockets and want to influence politics I'll focus on helping folks who already agree with me to get elected rather than trying to bribe those who don't. It's just a better bang for your buck.
jbooth 17y ago
Getting in the door counts for a lot. Said congressman will hear much more of one side than the other, then make up his own mind on the merits and go to sleep confident that he hasn't been bought.