I do believe that our system of campaign financing has a dramatic impact on the institution. It perpetuates incumbents in power. It is much easier for incumbents to raise money than for a challenger. There's not tit for tat in this business, no check for a vote. But nonetheless, the influence is there.
Candidates know where their money is coming from.
You know, I'm their friend, and they'll do anything to help me out. I've never seen a member dangling at the end of a string. But what I have seen is in committee rooms, where the lobbyists are camped out in the back, in the lounges, making phone calls and slurping coffee. And I've seen some things that to me would be ignominious. The lobbyists are camped out in what is really committee space, and they hold court back there.