[ilbegone]

In the final analysis, illegal aliens have a corrupting effect on American democracy, although this is frequently ignored.

I'm not so sure that the inclination towards corruption hasn't been there all along:

"An honest politician is one who when he is bought will stay bought".

Simon Cameron - US Senator, Lincoln's Secretary of War

One story about Cameron's reputation is disputed but it was widely repeated during his lifetime. Mr. Lincoln reportedly asked Thaddeus Stevens about Cameron's honesty and was told that "I do not believe he would steal a red hot stove." When the President repeated the story, Cameron was offended and a retraction from Stevens was demanded. The crusty Republican congressman replied that he could have been wrong and thus suggesting that perhaps Cameron might steal a red hot stove. Rumors of political and financial corruption plagued Cameron throughout his career although the financial beneficiaries were usually his friends, not Cameron himself, who maintained that he could have earned much more had he remained outside politics. http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/...85&subjectID=2

Perhaps only the opportunity need arise, as happened in Bell.

As it was explained to me by a Riverside County mayor who is very savvy on law enforcement, Robert Rizzo - American Citizen and former city manager of the City of Bell - might spend 18 months in a white collar prison and walk out with the enormous retirement he achieved by bilking the City of Bell. Per Calpers retirement procedures, MOST OF THAT INSANE PAYOUT WILL BE FOOTED BY THE CITY OF HESPERIA, where he was employed for many years.

As stated in the LA Times article:

Recall campaigns can start for many reasons, but in the cities of southeastern Los Angeles County, a common one is money. "It's my experience it's always some business interest that is funding these recalls," said former Los Angeles City Councilman Nick Pacheco, who has worked on contracts in two of those cities since leaving office. "Sometimes it's a city attorney who has been forced out. Sometimes it's a developer."

Sometimes, business interests use the threat of a recall to get their way.

Council members and others in Bell Gardens and Commerce have told The Times in the past that they were threatened with recalls or told that existing recall efforts could be halted, based on whether they voted to award legal services contracts to the law firm of Francisco Leal. The lawyer denied the allegations. In Commerce's most recent recall, two of Leal's firms contributed at least $17,000 to committees involved in the recall.

The reason the recall has become such a popular tool, political experts say, is simple: Low-turnout contests, especially those on days when there are no other elections, allow groups of disaffected voters or well-funded special interest groups to win relatively cheaply.

"You don't have to talk to as many voters," said Chris Robles, a political consultant who has been involved in recalls in recent years in Lynwood, Maywood and Montebello.

These communities also tend to lack a vibrant local press and civic institutions that can vet candidates and issues, some observers say. In this vacuum, special interests can hire consultants to unleash the tools of modern campaigning — fliers and robo-calls — and turn an election.

"When you have local community people … up against these kind of political professionals, a lot of the time they get outgunned," said Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), a former city councilman who has led the charge to reform government in the area.

"You have disengagement and apathy … but at the same time, hyperactivity among elites," said Steve Erie, a political science professor at UC San Diego. "There is no watchdog function to constrain their behavior.... This is what happens when you can rewrite the rules to produce real payoffs."