David Larson: Contributors trump constituents

Regarding the April 24 news article “Religious freedom bill dead for the session”: If anyone wondered what effect contributions play in politics, Wake County’s own Gary Pendleton has answered the question.

Rep. Pendleton withdrew his sponsorship of the “religious freedom” bill “at the request of 21 of his campaign contributors.” Not 21 of his constituents or the majority of his constituents or any of his constituents, necessarily, but at the request of a select few who contributed to his campaign.

I’m not a proponent of the bill in question, but I still think it is a sad day in America when politicians freely admit that the only opinions that matter are those that come with a check.

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 6:12 PM with the headline "David Larson: Contributors trump constituents."