Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike P
It hardened the party lines and made bi-partisanship almost impossible. It became more like a cultural war than a political debate.
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Very true, but I'd go back a few years even to after the Contract with America. It was shortly after that the House started to centralize power and change the procedures to virtually eliminate Democrats from the legislative process.
They ramped up "K Street" and completely redefined how special interests would control our government and focus only on conservative interests.
Once Bush was elected the problem got even worse. According to a study by the Cato Institute, the number of lobbyists in Washington has doubled since 2000. Thank god the Abramoff story broke and put a spotlight on the entire affair.
Gingrich, Delay, Boener etc... all helped make this a reality.
-spence