Political Futures

Columnist Rich Galen: “According to an article in the Washington Post this past summer, Members of Congress spend ‘4 - 5 hours per week raising money.’ Doesn’t sound like a lot, but if all of your employees spend more than 10% of their 40-hour work week on self enrichment you might get a bit cranky. Four hours per week times the aforementioned 39 weeks = 156 hours, or an entire month that they should have been doing things like passing appropriations bills – or coming up with alternatives to ObamaCare – that they weren’t. They were raising their money to stay in office so they could continue to not make decisions on how to spend our money. Why? Because nothing – nothing – is as important to an incumbent Member of the U.S. House or Senate (who is not planning to retire) as continuing to be an incumbent Member of the U.S. House or Senate.”