New Congress members meet big-money donors - CNN.com

"Twenty-two Democrats who will be joining the House of Representatives in January, along with a Democrat who faces a delayed election contest in December, were the invited guests of honor at the '2008 Red to Blue New Member Debt Retirement Reception' at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

The 8:30 a.m. event's invitation -- from House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell and House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall -- told lobbyists and other potential donors that 'as this historic campaign year comes to a close, these newest members of Congress need your help in retiring their campaign debt.'

Along with the invitation came a dance card of sorts -- a list of the names of all 23 alongside blanks on which donors are encouraged to write down the amount they'd like to contribute. The card also lists the names of each candidate's campaign committee -- to make writing the checks easier."

Further down this "WTF?" article:

"'This is all-strings-attached," (Joan) Claybrook said. "They know who gave the money and when key issues come up -- key bills, key amendments -- these members are going to be approached by special interests and asked to vote with them because they gave the money.'

Ric Fenton, a lobbyist who attended the reception, said he was not there to buy access to the future lawmakers.

'No. Absolutely no,' said Fenton, who specializes in mining issues, when asked. He said he planned to give $5,000 to several of the new representatives.

'We're just educators and we provide an important function as an education function,' Fenton said."

"Educators"?! Paying the student $20,000 to "learn"? If school had been like that for Me, I would've flunked every grade. Twice.

A corrupt system, sans doubt.