To understand money’s influence on politics, use the searchable database of Maplight at http://maplight.org/. Search by bills, legislators, interest groups, contributions and companies. It’s interesting to note, for example, that the National Beer Wholesalers Association has contributed $7,108,000 to members of the House and Senate and has taken a position on nine bills before Congress, making it fourth behind the National Association of Realtors, AT&T and Honeywell.
