LOD: Strings Attached to Super 12

The so-called Super Congress – the six Democrats and six Republicans charged with coming up with a plan to reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion – all come “with a history of political patrons and connections with special interests,” according to their portraits painted by the Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News. The Associated Press also found that the 12 lawmakers “represent a large swath of political ideology and geography, but they have some things in common: They received more than $1 million overall in contributions from the health care industry and at least $700,000 from defense companies. Those two industries, especially, are sensitive to the outcome of the committee’s negotiations because the automatic spending cuts could affect them most directly.” One of the Democratic members has a major Washington fundraising event set for later this month that will likely be very popular. Meanwhile, the largest donor to the Republican co-chair of the Super Congress is an accounting firm that specializes in tax loopholes; it recently paid $456 million in fines, restitution and penalties for providing shady advise that saved its wealthy clients billions in taxes but put the nation further in the hole.