Nancy Pelosi Still Democratic Party's Cash Machine

Though the national Democratic Party often does its best to distance itself from "San Francisco Democrats," the district's representative in congress, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, does the party proud when it comes to political contributions.

Speaker Pelosi managed to collect $23.1 million from donors in 2009, nearly $10 million more than leading house Republican fundraiser John Boehner of Ohio's 8th District.

Better yet, it's not like Pelosi needs that money -- San Franciscans re-elect her every two years with predictably wide margins, often toping 75 percent of votes in the district, meaning she doesn't really have to actually campaign.

Instead, the money gets funneled into national party activities like defending Democrats in hotly contested elections and funding efforts to challenge Republican incumbents.

But as Gawker points out, the Republican Party has effectively outsourced fundraising to corporations as the United States Chamber of Commerce has spent more on political efforts than both national party organizations combined.

And that was before the Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend as much on political propaganda as they darn well please.

Jackson West thinks all this money in politics is a terrible development yet wants to know where to get some.