Access for sale

“Buying access to power,” pundits argue, is what’s wrong with politics today. Yet politicians of any stripe deny that money influences access.

Well, suppose you could demonstrate it in black-and-white?

My New York state District 29 representative in Congress, the Hon. John R. “Randy” Kuhl, specifically links donations to access on his campaign Web site, Kuhl for Congress.

Under “Donate” is a link: Join the Congressional Club. It’s a “secure” link and has a “campaign pledge form.”

Fill that out, and click on the amount you wish to donate [emphasis added]:

I would like to donate:
— $2,000 – Gold Charter Member
Access to all of Randy’s events throughout the year.
— $1,000 – Silver Charter Member
Access to two special events.
— $500 – Bronze Charter Member
Access to a special charter member reception.
— $250 – Club Member

And there you have it: Give more money; get more access. Now if individuals limited to $2,000 per election cycle for campaign donations get this kind of access, what do the leaders of PACs who have given him $485,852 as of March 31 get?

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King Larry? Hell, no …

This morning on the “news” program American Morning, CNN ran clips from an “exclusive” interview on Larry King Live with President Bush and Laura Bush.

The caption under their talking heads said: The President and The King.

I’m not a fan of President Bush, but I find that caption a tad arrogant and disrespectful of the office of the presidency. CNN does cheeky things with its captions too often, and it ought to stop.

Besides, Larry King isn’t “The King.” Elvis was (or is, depending on the depth of your belief in reports of his drug-induced demise).