Jack Abramoff: The lobbyist's playbook

This could be just the begining of additional outrage against our politicians.  You may say that he is just gaining some publicity for his new book but new research released this week says something different.  In a study stock investments by members of the House of Representatives were able to exceed the market’s gains by more than 6 percent a year. An earlier study on Senators had found that they were able to beat the market by 10 percent, owing in part to their ability to delay or block legislation by filibuster.

"The idiot's guide to buying a congressman" as he joked was one of his possible book titles.  From what I understand there are several member of congress that have been trying to get a bill through that would eliminate what amounts to insider trading by congress and their staffs.  What does it say when you cannot get enough support to get this type of legislation passed?





In a seperate piece on 60 minutes, Steve Kroft reports that Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), now the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, bet against the market in the days before the 2008 financial crisis hit — after getting 'apocalyptic briefings' from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and  then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.