Easter had our guy John Oliver taking a week off from his usual post at HBO's truth delivery offices, leaving the nation in absolute turmoil in his absence. However, as the weekend kicked off by April Fools' Day (thankfully) contains no real holidays, Oliver was back in action this Sunday with a spectacularly important bone to pick: Congressional fundraising.
"Washington is like Rod Stewart’s haircut—party in the front, party in the back, frankly too much party and no business anywhere," Oliver explained, noting that American politicians often spend as much as 50 percent of their time raising campaign funds. In fact, in the 2014 election alone, the U.S. House and Senate brought in a combined total of $1.7 billion.
So what's the driving force behind this obsession with "horrifying" fundraising goals? Membership dues, in many instances: "Is it any wonder that politicians are hitting up their customer base harder than a Girl Scout with gambling debts?" Oliver inquired, revealing that membership dues for organizations like the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are sometimes quite massive indeed. Senator and Representatives, already self-tasked with raising funds for their respective campaigns, are sometimes hit with dues as high as $800,000.
So where do we, as citizens and participators in a democracy, turn when the daunting reality of Congressional fundraising really starts to settle into our brains? Straight to wine town, apparently:
Good call.
