The Best Congress Money Can Buy

Wall Street is putting its considerable cash flow behind GOP candidates in the Senate.  They want the old Bush-era practices of looking the other way back while they pillage the country's coffers.  They want the GOP in charge and they will throw unlimited cash at our electoral system until it happens.

Between February and June, financial, insurance and real estate interests contributed heavily to five Senate Republican candidates: Ohio's Rob Portman ($820,000), Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey ($728,000), California's Carly Fiorina ($650,000), Illinois' Mark Kirk ($618,000) and Florida's Marco Rubio ($613,000), according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Republicans say the shift in donations is another sign of growing concern about the Democrats’ agenda, which has included broad new financial regulations.

“We’re seeing a shift in support towards Republicans because the message of restoring accountability in Washington and serving as a check on the Democrats’ agenda of more spending and higher taxes is clearly resonating,” said Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Seven of the top 10 recipients of financial industry contributions from February to June were Republicans, the data shows. New York Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer ($1.52 million) and Kirsten Gillibrand ($788,000), and Connecticut Democratic Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal ($707,000) were also among the top 10 recipients.

Rounding out the top 10 were House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va., $818,000) and House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio, $589,000).

The Center for Responsive Politics first noticed a change in the financial industry's pattern of giving in February, when 17 of the top 25 recipients of contributions were Republicans.

"This was not a blip. There was a dramatic change and it has persisted," said Dave Levinthal, communications director at the center. "We see no indication of it stopping."

Imagine that, Wall Street money pouring into GOP pickups (and well-kept New York Wall Street Democrats).  Big Business is looking to get the best Congress money can buy, and they have the billions to make it so.  They want to go back to no oversight, no accountability, less regulation, and less responsibility to the American people, and a GOP-controlled Congress is just the way to get everything they want again.

After all, the last time the Republicans were in charge went great, didn't it?  Oh not for you and me, but for record corporate profits.

Follow the money.  This year the waterfall of billions is impossible to hide.