hobbling impose has a terrific ah... investigative story about how the
democratic
congressional campaign committee
uh... tells the new uh... arrivals in congress
how they have to center schedule now the reason is enormous irrelevant
is a disease shows you the tremendous power
of uh... money in politics position
and great amount of time fundraising in fact they have about financing your let
me show you
the model bailey schedule that they were dead
and remember this is democrats further republicans probably the larger
so three hours and inform raising a call time
two hours this proactive community immense i was that
uh... pleasant
what into our gross of
reactive community events
and now one hour fifty debt which i like that this three hours of fundraising
but only one our strategic outreach
now it gets better
now when they're back at home they have a different schedules
four hours of call time so even more fund raising
what to do as a constituent visits
and by the way they say in one of the notes it's preferable if the
constituents
or also your don't
paid their league as honest truth
two hours on the committee of floor
you know i'm sorry we have at this inverse actually this is when they're in
d_c_ the first one was in the district
uh... so when they're in bc they actually have to spend more time
raising money they do get to do one hour for strategic outreach though
and about one hour recharge time well are they not merciful
okay thank you so much now
when you get in the details if only gets worse you know when they're calling it
with a chronic lung donors
the dollar for dollar cost
and most of the lake uh... are calling for people who armando ni over a five
hundred dollars
so they spent four hours ed
a when they're in less than three hours a day when they're in their back to the
home mysteries
trying to go to a beloved one e
and want to do stuff
so
this is crazy so uh... having imposing sports three or four hours are
designated
for the actual work of being a member of congress
hearings votes in meetings with constituents
itic assiduous our daughters
all the better
now they continue to congressional hearings and fundraising duties often
conflict
and members of congress have little difficulty deciding between the two
the case lee even raising money from the industry covered by their hearings
they step
that's amazing
so here's a hearing millicent says whatever mission to get many or the
questions that i would ask
it's ever
instead i would go meet with a donor
who cares how i bought about that
which way do you think they're gonna vote
allot more
uh... they play it is considered four four in congress
borderline self-indulgent for a freshman to set up length in congressional
hearings
when the time could instead
be spent raising money
sample indulgent
to actually do the work of being a congressman
when you should get back here we'll work which is raising money
this system is sick
is disease
money has taken over the whole system i've got much more
this is an anonymous member of congress he says quote
one thing that's always been striking to me
is even the members play a leading role in specific issues
actually
could not talk about the issues
they didn't have enough knowledge on their own issues
the talk about the midwife
i'm probably guilty of that
thing about that
they're pdfs all busy raising money
you don't know what they're talking about
big into meetings
the staffers novice and john depict you know father legislation setter
and he says a staffer sometimes they collect will pick up the skill of
embarrassing right
is there not at the hearings in our time to read
morning freighter one points as well then
i'm asking you know there's no time to read i i got out of this in our to
relieve
kisses cuisine at an honest member of congress continues
the members were sent around the table having a remarkably uninformed
and unproductive discussion
as visit
brad nellore democratic congressman
from north carolina says quote any member
who follows that schedule
will be completely controlled by their staff
heinous things of their staff prepared
speaking from talking at once they get emailed
from leadership
so that's another huge problem
says they don't have time to prepare and they're not at the hearings are there
not reading
the news
the issues the legislation
avenue at their staff and what leadership tells them they get handed a
note was ok all right with where my body okay i apparently believe this i don't
know what it is but yeah i'm going for it
the leadership says boat this when i get more money but given are booked up
does this sound like democracy to anybody yet
the role houses and this is fastening before we get back to
brad miller
so they don't make the calls
eddie's row houses
because they can't make him in congress 'cause it's illegal to call for money
from crimes
at did a little what a joke that's cuz they as something of a sis was
the royal houses
are technically owned by lobbyists
fundraisers for members themselves
now use recall timings illegal to solicit camping castle official
congressional office
mango ballplayers off
biologics
to raise money
for their reelection
and that's better than staying in their congressional office
because if they send their congressional office it would look so bad
if you raise money from their does this look better
do you get a sense of
what actually drives people if you don't want to go back to brad miller cassius
was a very clear
you end up being nice
to people that probably somebody needs
to be questioning skeptically
it's a fairly disturbing suggested schedule
you want to ask tough questions that hearings
that might displease potential contributors
won't support amendments that might enter them
will turn the boat the way contributes
want you to a vote
this is obvious that if you set up a system
where the main thing that gets you elected is not boats in his money i've
told you congressional races
ninety three percent of the time the person with more money was election
them at every democrat a republican liberal or conservative
your ideas don't matter the linear matters is money
that's why they scheduled a
with their time like this because bait though and concentrate on what is most
important for their reelection
unanimous
memo was and this presentation was given to about a week after the elections
as soon as they come in they liked what i don't know about legislation
priorities
but i i'm gonna tell you
you're gonna work
for the next two years to raise money say here reelected two years from now
this system is sick
i think the whole country realize that
that's why congress is at nine percent congressional approval rating yet who's
doing anything about it
that was the media
out pricing what will look around him
at our government
we continue arming the postcode uh... explains the quality
of the committee assignment is directly related
so that amount of dues boat
as black and white an admission of the connection between fundraising and
policy outcomes
as can be found
so it only gets worse
now it is for the whole time you're not only the royal obvious place by the way
in the senate sometimes i think after their car
as make calls for hours from the car
for fund-raising now i have all of you all that
but you're not gonna get the important committee assignments unless you raise
more money
so the guys who have the most powerful positions
are not the ones that represent their constituents best
those who is the most money from rich people
now do you see what's on the bills that we want in their introduced
well we're gonna have more on that a second time parallel
and other former represent a firm that the state of virginia says
this helps explain
white many from very safe democratic districts
who might otherwise be pushing the congress even to the left
he's willing to be that person take tapos do not
because they get their leadership positions
by raising from the same donors noted bob barr
you'll get nothing for being a good guy
you get nothing for representing your votes
but if you represent the donors you get great committee assignments
positions of power
you get the reelected easier
so they have
jeered the whole system logically so
to raising more more money and doing the bidding of those donors
if you don't understand that
an appellate applies for at least ninety percent of people on television who
cover politics and could consider themselves experts
miss is not just one of the things that drives politicians again there was never
mentioned it on t_v_
this is the primary thing that drives father look at their scheduling you can
tell
this is
the destruction of our democracy
this anybody in their right mind seeing their schedule seeing
compare not as members of congress currently former members of congress
talking about this
ono they probably don't listen to those donors they spent
the day with
they probably listen they're voters anyway you would have to be rediculously
naive to believe that
there is one that's over a line
which is that this is so oppressive
and parallel for example says four hours the conservative estimate be probably
told the new members that
just so they don't scare me away
there is a republican as a setter congressman
uh... for example read rebel from wisconsin and say look i spent an hour
and a half
unopposed but you know he's been in congress for a little bit
he said uh... if i had to spend four hours a day i don't want this job in the
hot knots the want this job
and there we go to congressman john larson
from connecticut
he says
it's the most painful thing about raising money
and their notes at sooner elected
and they're down there making phone calls for the election in twenty four t
and this is our damage
'cause these guys yes if they used to dig in their position
hate this system to in fact
here's the final quote from john lewis
what's my experience with it
you might as well be putting bamboo shoots under my fingertips
so that leads us to war
only possible solution
we have to get a constitutional amendment
that deep actions
fundraising from legislation from these politicians
be if we do public financing of elections you know 'cause service from
time to i was off on well my god will spend more money on these politicians
almost money
because then these guys won't get away billions and trillions of dollars to
their daughters
to get reelected
sand that why do you want to know i should be congressman they'll actually
representatives
because the people who got them elected will be arts
and not their donors
and then it we have to take away corporate president does anything
corporations are not driving on limited money he regain your police lee naive
they're the ones with the most amount of money
and they're the ones that congressmen listen to the most
we've got to do an amendment but the ops ideas
effin amendment gets enough
momenta
a lot of these guys who are eggs
boston from this fund-raising
are getting it all point where they get a break
anne s a you know what idon't want those bamboo shoots under my fingernails
anymore
u_n_
let's actually
get the money out of politics and as incumbents l have huge advantage over
eggs and then regulation
so that's a structural advantage for us
we've got to do everything in our power to make sure that we change the system
otherwise we will ward
by monied interests
for the rest of time we have already lost our democracy we've got to gain it
back
you know how we think we should do it
it's a wall that fact dot com
you can read
the twenty eighth amendment we propose for yourself on that website
volunteer review dhoni would do matching donations
month appt until january twenty first us citizens united
anniversary because
i'm sick of the stories
i wanna cover actual politics i want to cover actual ideology
and policy debates
i wanna live in a democracy
we should all be second up of this whether democrats or republicans let's
flight back and let's win