Corruption?

A story on the UPI wire a couple of days ago claimed that a number of Republican Congressmen have taken large sums of money from banks, insurance companies and oil producers after the recent election. Among the representatives named is Mr. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Majority Leader. Cantor is the recipient of about five million dollars.

As it happens, when I lived in Virginia I lived in the district Cantor represents. I was active, in a minor way, in the Democratic Party there. The Democrats were never able to mount a serious challenge to Cantor, and have not in the years since I moved to Colorado. In the 2010 election, Cantor received nearly sixty percent of the vote, to about 35 percent for the Democrat. It figures that Eric Cantor can be re-elected as often as he wants.

So, why does he need large campaign contributions? As I understand the law, a politician can convert campaign contributions to personal funds if they go unspent for a specified length of time.

Well, young scholars, I've put the problem on the electronic chalkboard for you. Figure out the answer. A hint: Cantor is in the forefront of the effort to repeal the healthcare reform act and will lead Republican efforts to remove consumer protections from the insurance and oil businesses. (He also champions "tort reform" and wants to eliminate inheritance taxes on large estates.)

By the way, in the interest of fairness, Democrats are hardly immune from these same corrupting influences.