[eftychis]

It used to be illegal to bribe. Used to... Make a law impossible to enforce, and you suddenly transform the act to a totally legal one, at the expense of people losing trust in the system (specifically the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress). And at some point, the system breaks.

[mapontosevenths]

> altering your stance on a given position to maximize donations you'd collect

Money exchanged to alter the conduct of a person in position of power... That sounds familiar. I wonder if there's a name for that?

"Bribe: money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust"

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bribe

[Buttons840]

There are "bribes" and then there are "bribes as recognized by the law".

We all know bribes happen, but for the law to recognize a bribe as a bribe basically requires the two parties to have a signed and notorized legal document statating that they are knowingly entering into a quid pro quo, and that both parties are aware it's illegal to do so. Anything less than this, and it will never be prosecuted.

[kevin_thibedeau]

Lobbying involves quid-pro-quo: You pass the bill we wrote for ourselves and we give you a cushy consulting job when you leave Congress.

[z3phyr]

But anything more than 1 vote assigned for your usage is quid pro quo (since you will get to enjoy policies that you "paid" for) when others only get a single vote.