And all open secrets does is compile FEC filings which are provided by the campaign and party, so if the data is wrong, it is the campaign and party that is lying.
After a few years of becoming familiar with Open Secrets my eyes were really opened about who the congressional staffers really are.
Most people have a vision of congressional staffers as young idealistic kids fresh out of college but that couldn't be further from the truth. The bulk of congressional staffers are little more than in house lobbyists with deep ties to various industries, corporations, or special interest groups.
I can't remember her name but one that stuck out at me was a woman who became McCain's chief of staff after leaving a job at Boeing as some kind of executive secretary. After leaving McCain's office she went back to Boeing as vice CEO. Last I knew she was back in DC and GOP chief of staff for GOP staffers working for the armed services committee.
We're paying for literally thousands of these people in DC.
In a rare moment of honesty John Conyers let it slip a few years ago when he told reporters "We can't possibly read all of the bills. Its all legalese and we have staff who write and read the bills." I personally think the background staffers are a greater threat than the congressmen themselves.
I'm not trying to promote the idea that all staffers are bad. For instance, Allen West had a staff made up almost exclusively of Veteran's advocacy types. Some congressmen avoid the DC staffers altogether and bring in their own people from outside the "staffing industry".
