The ethics reforms they passed tell me congressional Democrats did get that corruption was right up there with Iraq in explaining why they got the majority back. I therefore have to conclude at least some Democrats think they can pull this and get away with it. Reyes, as I recall, was asked early this year to explain the basic differences between Sunnis and Shias, like which one Al Qaida came from --- and he couldn't do it. Can we run someone against him in the primary? I wonder if Murtha thinks his anti-war stance mean we'll be quiet about this lobbying crap. He's wrong.

All this useless gnashing of teeth...As long as less than half of the American electorate bothers to vote, these crooks in Congress, whether Gop'ers or Democrats, or otherwise, will continue to play their little sh...y games, bilking the taxpayers by handling out public funds to those who bribe them.

Given the dis-appointments dealt to their supporters by the 'new' majority on foreign policy issues and the war, no one should be surprised that nothing corrective is planned in the ethics sector by Democrats.

Pretty disgusting, eh?

Reye's Spokesperson says: "These are all moving targets..."

Gives fresh meaning to the phrase "dodge and weave".

And doesn’t her choice of words bring to mind a slimy carny inviting we hapless saps to just go ahead and try knocking over the stacked (mother’s) milk bottles?

Actually the central question, the deeper mystery is why, at this point, in 2007, I can go days and days without coming across the phrase “public financing” on any progressive site or program?

Why the concession of defeat? If it takes a Constitutional amendment and 15 years to slay this hydra-headed monster—then that’s what it will take. The neocons had to operate over such an extended timeline to achieve their incredible hijacking of American foreign policy, the credit card companies that long to gut bankruptcy protections, the Walton’s (still) that long to gut inheritance taxes.

Until strategic grown-ups in the progressive arena step up to embrace this generational challenge of achieving the constitutional amendment necessary to eliminate the’ spending as speech’ corruption license, we will continue to descend into this bottomless pit. Only having long endeavored, mass culturally, psycho-linguistically, phrase by catch phrase (e.g. “death tax”), to inculcate into our popular body-politic, the preconceived notions essential to overwhelm the ruthless opposition to this essential amendment—only then, after having so long endeavoring, a decade-plus hence, when game pieces happen to topple into alignment, (e.g. Neocons+9.11)—only then will we save our country from this otherwise terminal corruption.

Until then we can look forward to much of the same--starry-eyed progressive kids being strategically violated with impunity by avaricious post-national corporate grownups.

Umm, Mr. or Mrs. "anonymous", did you even bother to read the preceding solution focused post before launching into your very own 100% unadulterated "gnashing of teeth"?

Hello--It is precisely because "only 50% if the public EVER watch the news" that politicians increasingly find their legislative activities utterly eclipsed by the power of 30 second commercials and meta-marketing--a mega-billion dollar monster that will only be slain by virtue of a Constitutional amendment expressly excluding political spending from free speech protection.

“Gnashing of Teeth” indeed—speak for yourself.

I raised the righteous challenge of a realist—one well schooled in our Constitution’s problematic amenability.