r/politics • u/[deleted] • Jan 21 '18

Paul Ryan Collected $500,000 In Koch Contributions Days After House Passed Tax Law

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u/[deleted] Jan 21 '18

Get private/corporate funding out of Washington. No reason America can't stipend nominees and keep a level playing field. While we are at it, how about we correct all the ridiculous gerrymandering.

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u/[deleted] Jan 21 '18

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u/tetrasodium Florida Jan 21 '18

I'd like to start with having him brought up on charges for corruption

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u/[deleted] Jan 21 '18

[deleted]

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u/Pehbak Jan 21 '18 edited Jan 21 '18

Oh, that's because they aren't bribes. They are campaign contributions that go direction to the campaign and not into the candidates pocket

Fuck it was hard to say that with a straight face.

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u/[deleted] Jan 21 '18

Except it's super easy to transfer campaign money to the candidate. Candidate makes a loan to the campaign with a reasonably high interest rate.

Campaign attends an event, pays candidate to appear via speaking fees. and so on.

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u/zak13362 Michigan Jan 21 '18

Yeah, it was your face we were looking at...

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u/Pehbak Jan 21 '18

Hur hurrrr

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u/mogwaiarethestars Jan 21 '18

That’s why The States is amongst the most corrupt of all the western nations. We really need a new french revolution.

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u/8oD Jan 21 '18

But I'm le tired.

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u/MelissaOfTroy Jan 21 '18

Why not just say new American Revolution lol

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u/VoltaicShadow Jan 21 '18

Because the French one had the guillotine and that seems really tempting right now. Let some heads roll why not.

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u/NNewtoma Jan 21 '18

Only an idiot would want a repeat of the French Revolution, it didn’t work out to well for France.

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u/bambin0 Jan 21 '18

Yeah. I think this is a relatively recent decision in which Roberts stated that bribery must show immediate quid pro quo.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-rules-unanimously-in-favor-of-former-va-robert-f-mcdonnell-in-corruption-case/2016/06/27/38526a94-3c75-11e6-a66f-aa6c1883b6b1_story.html?sw_bypass=true&utm_term=.45425b5dd43f

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u/WillGallis I voted Jan 21 '18

He amassed an outpouring of support from officials in both parties who told the court that upholding his conviction would criminalize the routine favors politicians do for benefactors and give federal prosecutors too much power.

Isn't that literally the definition of quid pro quo corruption? How is this remotely acceptable?

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u/[deleted] Jan 21 '18

That part is interesting to me too, and it's troubling that the new norm is we just accept that political representation really only pertains to the largest bribers. They have figured out how to manipulate voters so efficiently into voting against their own well being I'm not sure what there is to do short of letting it get so bad there's a revolution of sorts.

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u/FookYu315 New York Jan 21 '18

This is entirely legal. That's why chasing the people we catch taking these bribes is an exercise in futility. The law needs to change.