by Douglas M. Bloomfield

December 18, 2008

The man who once had visions of residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. may soon be residing in very different federal housing.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s ambition, greed, and bleepin’ vocabulary have made him the latest poster boy for political corruption. If even a fraction of what federal prosecutors allege is true, from selling a U.S. Senate seat to shaking down a children’s hospital, he will be following in the footsteps of three recent predecessors who went to prison.

His “pay to play” scheme had the bidding up to a million dollars for Barack Obama’s Senate seat, according to prosecutors, and that was only the most outrageous part of it.

Pay to play is an old part of the political game, but what Blagojevich allegedly did went so far over the line that it was out of sight. However, even the good guys, including the proponents of Jewish causes, can skirt close to the line.

Money is the mother’s milk of politics, and the election cycle just ended cost upward of $5.8 billion, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics; final figures could go much higher. Nearly $2.5 billion was spent on the presidential election alone.

Where does the money come from? More than one million individuals each contributed $200 or less, but that amounted to only half of 1 percent of the staggering total.

The biggest donors — about 72 percent — represented business interests, with ideological, labor, and other interests making up the rest.

Where does all that money go? Sarah Palin’s wardrobe is miniscule compared to what is spent for campaign consultants who conduct polls and prepare ads, to the media to carry the ads and, of course, to raise all that money.

And why are these interests willing to foot the bill? Pay to play means buying access. Sometimes it is the only way to have your case heard by a powerful senator, a fact pro-Israel activists have known for decades.

Call it the “Ker-CHING” factor. Even white-hat lobbyists representing charitable, religious, educational, and other nonprofit causes complain that lawmakers look at them and hear cash registers.

Over several decades of lobbying on behalf of Jewish causes, I have found it common for some lawmakers to offer to help and then expect to be rewarded. It is not unusual for a congressional meeting to be followed by a call from a campaign committee.

Incumbents have a clear fund-raising advantage. Lawmakers often solicit ideas for legislation from lobbyists so they can go back to the group’s members with “see what I’ve done for you” solicitations — and the politicians ride the results to the bank.

Sometimes all it takes to get a fat check is an invitation to the White House, a night in the Lincoln Bedroom, or a private briefing from a senior lawmaker, but sometimes the check comes with expectations for legislative favors.

Campaign contributions by defense industry lobbyists buy the access and clout to have laws written ordering the Pentagon to buy weapons systems it neither wants nor needs.

(If you want to see who is giving how much and to whom, check out the Federal Election Commission website, www.fec.gov.)

Business interests aren’t the only ones playing the game. Philanthropic, religious, and other interest groups stack their boards with wealthy people not only for what they contribute to the organization but also the political access they can buy.

It’s hardly an accident that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby, requires its top lay leaders to also be big-time campaign contributors. AIPAC may not dole out money itself, but it understands how money opens the doors for its citizen lobbyists.

If money taints the system, sunshine is the best disinfectant, and full disclosure is essential. What we have today isn’t glatt kosher, but it is legal. It could be so much better.

Until there is full public financing of campaigns, politicians will continue soliciting contributions in staggering sums.

Actually, we do have some public campaign financing. Unfortunately, only 10 percent of U.S. taxpayers check off the $3 contribution to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund on their Form 1040.

Campaign finance reform will not be high on the agenda of the new 111th Congress; however, many politicians say they dislike fund-raising and consider it a corrupting influence. And of course Obama did the cause no favors when he chose to forgo the system.

Jews are rightfully proud of the lobbying prowess of the organizations that represent them in Washington. But before we become too smug, we have to understand there is a connection between that game and the more extreme version that may give Blagojevich a long-term lease in federal housing.

Douglas M. Bloomfield is the president of Bloomfield Associates Inc., a Washington lobbying and consulting firm. He spent nine years as the legislative director and chief lobbyist for AIPAC.

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