THE “WASHINGTON ELITE”

There are 100 Senators in Congress. Of those, 72 have held their seat for longer than 6 years. 62 Senators are over the age of 60, with 5 in their 80s. The “Majority Leader” and “Assistant Majority Leader” are the two persons who decide what laws are presented in the Senate for a vote. They are elected by the Senate itself, and typically the party who has the most Senate seats selects the Senators in their party with the longest tenure. Currently, the “Majority Leader” is Republican Mitch McConnell who has been a Senator for the last 31 years. The “Asst. Majority Leader”, John Cornyn (R) has 13 years. The “Minority Leader” is Democrat Harry Reid with over 29 years, and the “Asst. Minority Leader” is Dick Durbin (D) with 19+ years.

Business, social and political organizations solicit, either directly or through lobbyists, all members of Congress to introduce and pass legislation that is in their best interest. “K Street” is where most of the lobbyists who work for these groups maintain their Washington offices. There are 428 known former Senators and members of the House of Representatives who currently work as “lobbyists” or “advisers.” Their job now is to convince their former Congressional colleagues to pass legislation which favors their current “K Street” employer. .

Mr. Trump, however, is the only one not benefiting from this incestuous, albeit legal, Washington web of financial influence between lawmaker, business/special interest, lobbyist, and candidate. In fact, he has mused publicly that he is aware how the system works behind the scenes, because he has been in the role of “business/special interest”. Hence the outrage on the Right and the Left at the fact that a candidate who has experienced the “Washington Elite” has been nominated without any obligation to “K Street.”

Americans are sick and tired of the backroom deals and backscratching that goes on in Washington. Washington’s governing class has completely lost touch with the governed. Washington has become one big playground for an elite governing class that only cares about enriching themselves, rather than serving the American taxpayer. The ‘Beltway culture’ is a culture that rewards hucksters, cynics and egomaniacs who long ago sold their souls for a shot at power.