‘Super Congress’ members have already received $64.5 million in corporate donations

By now, you’ve at least heard of that “Super Congress” they just created in Washington that’s supposed to “cut through all the bureaucracy and partisan politics to devise a clear and effective path toward America’s financial management.”

Should it come as any surprise whatsoever that all 12 appointed members appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction have received more than $64.5 million in “donations” from special interests groups over the past few years? Legal firms bought their lawmakers for about $31.5 million and Wall Street firms secured their puppets for about $11.2 million. And guess which corporations are at the top of the “biggest giver list: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.

The members appointed to the committee are senators Pat Toomey (R-PA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Rob Portman (R-OH), Patty Murray (D-WA), John Kerry (D-MA), and Max Baucus (D-MT); and Representatives Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Fred Upton (R-MI), Dave Camp (R-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and Jim Clyburn (D-SC).

Of the $64.5 million, $43.7 million went to Republicans; and $20.8 Million went to Democrats.

Democratic and liberal groups donated the third most amount of money, with about $9.6 million in political contributions, and the health industry donated the fourth most, with about $9.3 million.

Club for Growth, an ultra-conservative free market group, donated more money than any other organization, contributing a combined $990,066 to the twelve lawmakers. Microsoft Corp. donated the second most, with $810,100. The vast majority of that money went to Toomey, the Republican from Pennsylvania. Care to guess who the GOP says they want to be senior lead of the right-wing on the “Super Congress”?

The six Republicans on the committee have signed a pledge, swearing their allegiance to far-right-wing activist Grover Norquist. The pledge, by Americans for Tax Reform, guarantees that none of the Republicans will vote in favor of any tax increases, closure of tax loopholes or rescinding of temporarily lowered tax rates in “the Bush tax cuts.”

When the “Super Congress” deadlocks (it’s never been a question of “if”), or when Congress fails to approve its recommendations, the debt-limit deal calls for painful automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion to the military and health care for the elderly, designed to be so politically costly to both sides as to compel a compromise. Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has already said that if those “trigger cuts” are ever implemented, it will be because of Democrat obstruction for refusing to abide by the dictates of Republican proposals.

The “Super Congress” hasn’t even convened its first session yet, and already they’re not only deadlocked, but they were bought-and-paid-for years ago.

In other shocking breaking news, water has been found to be wet, cigarette smoking is bad for you, and two plus two equals four.