Who says Congress isn't corrupt and can't be bought?
/Say it ain’t true. Kidding.
Can you imagine the corruption and not just from AIPAC (domestic and foreign interference - but what about Russia) but oil, guns, war corporations, pharma etc? These are the people who are constantly getting elected to the detriment of the American citizenry and the world - truly disgusting - Democrats and Republicans complicit in genocide and apartheid, all completely corrupt and always for sale to the highest bidder.
In any event here is a breakdown of the monies politicians receive to support Israel’s apartheid state and genocial campaign against Palestinians - then again we have done the same throughout our history, eh? The entire article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/10/congress-member-pro-israel-donations-military-support
Revealed: Congress backers of Gaza war received most from pro-Israel donors
Guardian analysis finds top recipients of pro-Israel contributions in last elections were centrist Democrats who defeated progressives in primaries
Tom Perkins, with data reporting by Will Craft
Congress members who were more supportive of Israel at the start of the Gaza war received over $100,000 more on average from pro-Israel donors during their last election than those who most supported Palestine, a Guardian analysis of campaign data shows.
Those who took more money most often called for US military support and backed Israel’s response, even as Gaza’s civilian death toll mounted, the findings show. The analysis, which looks at positions taken during the war’s first six weeks, does not prove any particular member changed their position because they received pro-Israel campaign donations. However, some campaign finance experts who viewed the data argue that donor spending helped fuel Congress’s overwhelming support for Israel.The analysis compared campaign contributions from pro-Israel groups and individuals to almost every member of the current Congress with each lawmaker’s statements on the war through mid-November.
About 82% of Congress members were more supportive of Israel, and just 9% more supportive of Palestine during this period. The remainder had “mixed” views. Legislators categorized as supportive of Israel received about $125,000 on average during their last election, while those supportive of Palestine on average took about $18,000.
The volume and breadth of the donors’ spending is considerable: over $58m went to current Congress members, and all but 33 received donations. (TEXT CONTINUES BELOW)
The findings have “profound implications for what American policy toward … Israel looks like”, said John Mearsheimer, a University of Chicago political scientist and co-author of the 2006 book The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. “If there was no lobby pushing Congress in a particular direction in a really forceful way, the position of the US Congress on the war in Gaza would be fundamentally different.”
The groups’ campaign contributions have varying goals depending on the member. Spending can be “defensive” or “shore up support” in Congress for allies who already share pro-Israel groups’ views, said Sarah Bryner, a spokesperson for Open Secrets, which tracks campaign finance spending and collected the contributions data used in the Guardian’s analysis. Spending can also be “offensive”, or intended to persuade a lawmaker to take a pro-Israel position, campaign finance observers and political strategists who reviewed the data said.
The donors’ highest profile battles have involved members of the “The Squad”, like Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who are among the most critical of Israel. But statements from Representatives Don Bacon, Dan Kildee and André Carson in the wake of the 7 October attack in which 1,200 Israelis were killed help illustrate varying levels of donations and responses across Congress.
All three first strongly condemned the assault’s perpetrators and expressed deep sympathy for the victims, but their messaging quickly diverged.
Bacon, who received about $250,000, offered full-throated support for Israel: “Whatever Israel wants … we should be there to help.”
Carson, who received $3,000, took aim at Israel, denouncing its “unfair, two-tiered rule over the Palestinian people” and demanded a ceasefire.
Kildee, who received $91,000, fell somewhere in between, underscoring“Israel’s security and its right to respond” and his ”grave concern” over its airstrikes killing thousands of Palestinian civilians…