Following Bob Goodlatte's (and Congress') Money Trail

For those wishing to follow the money on 6th District Rep. Bob Goodlatte, here's an instructive piece. You will note that in 2005-2006, his largest campaign contributions came from the notorious Koch Industries (see the extraordinary Rolling Stone expose on these anti-American bullies here).

Goodlatte's campaign two years ago had its largest contribution from the American Bankers Association. A good bit of money comes from the agriculture community because of his committee assignments.

A case in point is that Goodlatte consistently opposes online gambling, but received a $40,000 contribution from the horse racing industry. He supports offtrack betting. Goodlatte remains one of the strongest voices in favor of the slaughter of horses (here), which 72 percent of the public opposes. Guess why?

Here's how Virginia's entire congressional delegation votes when there's money to be had. It's not pretty and it's not partisan. Our Senators are as bad as the Congressmen and Morgan Griffith's extraordinary 71 percent rating is near the bottom. Shameful.

Here's how Congress in general voted on specific legislation in the most recent session. Note how often the monied interests  won and the next time a representative says, "Oh, money doesn't affect MY vote," please retort with the classic American response, "Bullshit!" They are purchased on the open market like cattle and they moo in unison.

And it's not just the money that is problematic with Goodlatte. He didn't respond to Project VoteSmart's questionnaire about his positions on a number of important issues. He left it to PVS to determine for itself (its best guess is a good one, based on voting records).