Dirty Sexy Money

We should start this sordid tale of money in politics with a little history.

Seven years ago, a small band of Republican operatives and corporate lobbyists -- working with Tom DeLay and others -- allegedly used illegal corporate money to swing the 2002 election in Texas. The result was an overwhelmingly Republican House, Tom Craddick's speakership, DeLay's congressional redistricting, and a lot of corporate-friendly legislation (repaying some of the same companies that bankrolled the campaign).

It's against the law in Texas to spend corporate money on elections. Has been for more than a century. To circumvent this law, the players in this scandal exploited a small loophole in the code (there's been much debate about whether these acts were legal or illegal.) Regardless, campaign finance reformers have tried for several sessions to clarify and strengthen Texas' corporate prohibition to ensure what happened in 2002 never occurs again. They've failed every time.

But this session the corporate prohibition bill is moving. HB 2511 passed the House last week and sits in Senate committee waiting for a hearing.

Now, wouldn't you know it, the folks trying to kill the bill are some of the same people who played a major role in the 2002 election.

Some juicy tidbits after the jump.