The Gift that Keeps on Giving

That McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Law really took the big money and corporate influence out of politics, didn't it?

It didn't.

It just changed the way corporations, unions, and rich folks funnel money to politicians.

A lot of that money is pouring into something politicians call "527s" after the section of the tax code that regulates them. They're independent political groups hell-bent on a specific political bent.

Most of them support Democrats, such as the Media Fund and Americans Coming Together - which happen to be the two 527s with the most money.

And The Hill reports they are spreading the wealth amongst political consultants and media buyers.

There's still plenty of conventional givers to political parties. The Seattle Times ran a list of the 50 biggest players so far this year.

And the Center for Responsive Politics keeps track of political money all the time.

All this money to politicians buys access. Being able to shake hands with a politician and say something like, "I gave your party a million bucks in the last election," can help you get what you want out of Washington.

Don't think so?

Look at some of the legislation in Washington. How much of it really deals with changing rules for banks, insurance companies, and drug manufacturers? A lot.

Look at bills spending your tax dollars. How much of that money goes to big companies who gave big donations? Again, a lot.

Think about what Washington passes for special interests and how little really deals with the public interest. You might find some interesting results.

Look at history and you'll find you can't really take money out of politics. You can only move it around. But it always ends up in the same place.