Well, Jack may look like a Boy Scout compared to some, but his story sheds some powerful light on the situation, doesn't it? I bet you can count the congressmen who haven't been corrupted by lobbying in some way on the fingers of one hand. (If there are any at all who haven't been.)

In a situation like that, how does one get a government to behave responsibly and serve the people who elected it? I don't know, frankly. I don't think the present form of government even can be reformed without some sort of revolution...but I am not talking about a violent revolution, because that would probably result in some sort of fascist takeover. I'm talking about a completely nonviolent revolution. That requires a massive mobilization of ordinary people who simply refuse to go along with the present system.

It's been done in a few places. I expect it can be done here too, the only question is "when?". Until it is done, I don't see any way of preventing Big Money from tacitly running the government.

Abramoff points out that the feeble legislative efforts that have been made in recent years to prevent lobbyists from influencing Congressmen have been easily outmaneuvered by the lobbyists. I think it's almost impossible to draft a body of law that blocks every possible route someone with a lot of money has to influence the legislative process. There are simply too many different ways of doing it.