ApeBLOG

I am an American, but not a very political one. I am not a registered Democrat or Republican. I vote (sometimes). I believe money corrupts a lot of what Washington does. Until recently, I chose not to do anything about it.

Three years ago, I became irate after watching Senator Fritz Hollings being interviewed on 60 Minutes about the corruptive influence of money in politics. Hollings said not only does the money from special interests and lobbyists buy access and votes but also it enables them to write the legislation that Congress votes into law. How could a senior senator appear on a respected news magazine program, tell America that its government is for sale, and nothing happen?

This particular straw broke this apathetic American’s back. I had to do something. That “something” was to write, produce, and direct my first documentary, Mr. Schneider Goes to Washington. My forthcoming film explores money’s influence upon Washington and its affect upon Americans’ apathy toward government.

To make this movie, I left behind a lucrative career producing America’s Next Top Model, exhausting most of my savings in the process. As difficult as this was, it was considerably more difficult convincing members of Congress to appear in my film.

I contacted every U.S. Senator, as well as many Representatives, and asked to interview them for the documentary. All but two — Representatives Christopher Shays and Danny Davis — declined my request. The number one excuse: “I don’t have time.”

I learned, however, that members of Congress do have time for Washington’s 34,000 special interest lobbyists. In fact, members of Congress commonly spend as much as 70 percent of their time raising money, much of which comes from these Washington insiders and the people they represent.

When you consider that one bill that passes Congress can mean billions of dollars to a particular special interest, and that lawmakers need millions of dollars to pay for their reelection campaigns, you begin to understand the dynamics of this interdependent relationship.
The stakes are significantly higher at the presidential level, where candidates must raise hundreds of millions of dollars in private contributions, mostly from interests that prefer a government good to them over a good government.

As costly as these relationships are, the real cost cannot be measured in dollars and cents. In a 2006 Washington Post poll, 58 percent of Americans said they believed there was widespread corruption in Washington. Yet, only 40 percent chose to vote in federal elections that same year.

How can this be? Perhaps the corruption (perceived or otherwise) in Washington is so bad we actually think to ourselves, “Why bother, what difference can I make?” I know that is what stopped me from being an active participant in the political process. Ironically, it is that very perception that empowers the corruption.

An August 2007 Rasmussen survey found government ethics and corruption to be a top priority to voters. Seventy-eight percent of voters think the issue of government ethics and corruption will have a “very important” impact on their vote in the 2008 elections.

In all of my interviews with an array of powerful Washington insiders, the overwhelming consensus was that, if ordinary people spoke up loudly enough, the political establishment would listen. I believe them. With the 2008 election fast approaching, it is time to make some noise.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007 at 7:09 pm and is filed under Huffington Post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.