It's a far cry from today's lobbying. Sleazoid lawmakers like Tom
DeLay gulp down the graft from sleazoid lobbyists like Jack Abramoff,
who took Mr. DeLay, the House majority leader, to play golf in Scotland
in 2000 as part of a $70,000 trip with Mr. DeLay's wife and staff, and
for a six-day "fact finding" trip to Moscow in 1997.

If there are any ethics questions, Republicans helpfully gut the House
Ethics Committee, while DeLay & Co. try to gut the New Deal.

Before he became a $750-an-hour superlobbyist accused of defrauding
Indian tribes of tens of millions of their gambling dollars and pitting
them against one another to pay for lavish trips for congressmen,
"Casino Jack" had never been a White House wise man or spent years in
public service. He produced B movies like "Red Scorpion" and "Red
Scorpion 2."