What amazes me about outbreaks of bribery among high government officials is not just the level of greed involved, but that the take is often so cheesy.

For example, there seems to be no end to the ongoing saga of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas peddling his position and prestige to right-wing corporate titans for… what? Free rides on their jets, golf outings, and assorted baubles. He’s supposed to be an impartial justice, but he consistently supports rich interests who’re picking up his tabs. We taxpayers provide $274,000 a year in salary to Thomas – why wouldn’t he buy his own baubles and protect a smidgeon of his judicial integrity?

Now comes New Jersey’s Sen. Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who has been oddly insistent on giving US weaponry and financial aid to Egypt’s repressive military dictatorship. Why? Because Menendez has sunk butt-deep into influence peddling, using his position to advance Egyptian interests.

In exchange, Egyptian agents have blessed him with huge wads of cash, gold bullion, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and a no-show “job” for his wife. Oh… they also delivered an air purifier for his home.

Seriously. An air purifier. That’s a mighty cheap sell-out! Yet, what a priceless symbol of the whole stinky deal.

Meanwhile, Menendez says that the donations are unrelated to his honest concerns about our Mid-East foreign policy. He proudly asserts that his senatorial assistance is just “the normal work of a congressional office.”

Sadly, he’s right! Most Senate offices today routinely do official favors for moneyed interests in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes. But that’s such an ugly word – so they call the Big Money payments “campaign contributions.” Then they get indignant when we call the system corrupt. But that’s what it is.

To fight the influence of big money in politics, check out these organizations’ work:

* Public Citizen

* Common Cause

* Brennan Center

* Move to Amend

* Tell us about other people doing this work in the comments!

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