GannonFan wrote:kalm wrote:
But they're at least smart enough to cut through the fog of campaign finance and reject 3rd parties, right?
They "reject" 3rd parties because they don't have the need for a 3rd party. What little they want from politics and the government they can get from the existing two parties.
The voters aren't the constituency and they do want little from the government. In fact many wonder why government keeps spending so much.
"As congressional leaders were hastily braiding together a tax and spending bill of more than 2,000 pages, lobbyists swooped in to add 54 words that temporarily preserved a loophole sought by the hotel, restaurant and gambling industries, along with billionaire Wall Street investors, that allowed them to put real estate in trusts and avoid taxes.
They won support from the top Senate Democrat, Harry Reid of Nevada, who responded to appeals from executives of casino companies, politically powerful players and huge employers in his state. And the lobbyists even helped draft the crucial language.
Some executives at companies with the most at stake are also big campaign donors. For example, the family of David Bonderman, a co-founder of TPG Capital, has donated $1.2 million since 2014 to the Senate Majority PAC, a campaign fund with close ties to Mr. Reid and other Senate Democrats. TPG Capital has large holdings in Caesars Entertainment and helps run a Texas-based energy company, both of which stand to benefit from the last-minute change.
“For Senator Reid, it was important, as he represents Nevada, to help the large employers in his state,” said Kristen Orthman, a spokeswoman for Mr. Reid. She noted that Caesars, MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming, all Nevada-based casino companies, could benefit. A spokesman for Mr. Bonderman said he had played no direct role in pushing the cause, but did not dispute that his company was involved in the discussions with congressional staff members.
Both Ms. Orthman and the spokesman for Mr. Bonderman said it would be wrong to presume his contributions to Mr. Reid had played any role in the help his companies received."
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/21/us ... ntent=link" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
