The 200-plus parties being held around the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., this week provide opportunities for rookies as well as veterans of Congress to rub shoulders with lobbyists for the corporations that make or break their political careers, says Keenan Steiner, a staff writer for the Sunlight Foundation.

“… This is where the seeds are planted for laws to be written in Washington and in state capitals all over the country,” Steiner tells Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now!”

The representatives “wouldn’t be here, able to have a good time the whole time, without these corporations. It’s a sort of starting process to become dependent on these corporations. And in Washington, lawmakers require the about 100 lobbyists, over 20 lobbying firms that AT&T hires—they require the work of these folks to get their work done. They’re a sort of legislative subsidy. And they also require these corporations to get re-elected. They want to stay in office, and you better be friends with the Chamber of Commerce, with the NRA, with the big nonprofit groups, the shadowy nonprofit groups … you really better be friends with them, because, if not, they could drop a lot of money in your district, and they could make you lose an election.”

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

“Democracy Now!”: