Always remember that the vote buying process is more about guaranteeing further alignment, instead of straight out buying. I can't imagine, for instance, Kagan

Always remember that the vote buying process is more about guaranteeing further alignment, instead of straight out buying. I can't imagine, for instance, Kagan receiving similar gifts, from similar donors, to make her vote with Thomas. I also don't think that some left wing billionaire could throw a million or two at Thomas and suddenly turn him into a swing voter. High brow political corruption everywhere is more about those small, marginal adjustments, which also lead to less obvious quid pro quo. It's not that your buddy renovated your house, so you pick his company in a government bid worth a few hundred million: He becomes your buddy first, and gives you smaller gifts, and when you are adequately aligned, bigger gifts keep getting exchanged. This is what makes the actual corruption always seem very cheap: It was never that huge a push, and the long term social component is always far more important than just the money.