re: pork barrel: somebody smarter explain this TPA shite that just got passed

You might be putting the cart in front of the horse on this one.

1.
The money came first, in campaign contributions. That money must be spent on campaigning. It's strictly regulated and oversight is strict. It's not like those guys are putting that money in their personal bank accounts. Could they be laundering money from their campaign? Sure, and if they get caught, they get buttfricked. They are already rich, the risk is too great for most of them to pocket that money personally.

2.
Special interests give money to politicians that align with their goals. They want those politicians elected. This is obvious. If a pro-life group gives $ to a pro-life republican, and the politician votes against some planned parenthood thing, is it because of the donation or did he get the donation because he's pro-life? See where I'm going with this?


3.
Almost everything in Congress that gets voted on has results straight down party lines. All the republicans vote one way, all the democrats vote the other. There may be one or two random guys who switch sides on that vote. It has nothing to do with campaign contributions. It has to do with the party platform and leadership in each party.



The crooked shite that should piss you off is actual pork barrel politics. Do you know what "pork" means in political terms?