The Public Interest

The congressional brainwashing machine

James L. Payne

Summer 1990

WHY DO CONGRESSMEN support all those spending programs? At least among conservatives, the popular theories rest on the assumption that congressmen are, in one fashion or another, corrupt. Some say that voters in general want spending programs, and congressmen acquiesce in order to keep their seats and all the related privileges. Others say that the electoral pressures come from special-interest voters. Still others point to campaign donations or to simple bribes.

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