Donations, Gifts, Bribes, Lobbyists..

Historically, government has always been manipulated (corrupted) by gifts and bribes..  Historically, all new independent politicians initially proclaim their opposition to that practice - only to fall silent within months.
It sounds like it should be easy to allow gifts while eliminating bribes. It's not..

A thousand top lawyers have spent a hundred years manipulating the law to make it almost impossible for a politician to be convicted of taking a bribe. The said politician would have to be very foolish or extremely drunk.

Question.. What is the difference between a Purchase, A political Gift and a political Bribe?
Answer.. Basically, all three involve a Payment given for a Benefit returned.
No one gives political gifts without expecting a benefit. And, if no benefit is given, then that is the last gift ever given. (That sounds like a bribe - but not quite.)
Any Purchase requires a contract between the payer and the benefit giver. This contract can be simply an Invoice and a Receipt.
The political Bribe is the same.. To be established in law, there has to be a Payment given for a Benefit returned and evidence of a contract.
The political Gift then, is where no evidence of a contract can be found.
Thus, the only way any politician can ever be charged with taking a bribe is if they were foolish enough to have recorded a contract. Otherwise, the Payment given for the Benefit returned might have been a coincidence and legally has to be deemed a gift. Even if they do this a thousand times, the law will deem it a thousand coincidences.
It works like this.. (In 20 days, Springfields Council will be voting on renewing the permit for Mr. Burns' Nuclear Plant.)
Monty Burns to Mayor Quimby.. "I've accidentally built one too many condos by the lake. Because of your loyal support in the past, I'm recommending to the Board that we give it to you! The board will vote on that in 21 days (the day after the council vote). I'm quite sure the vote will be favorable."
Both men know there is an unspoken contract here. Every child watching this Simpsons episode recognizes that was bribery! Sadly, every judge in the land must call it a gift.

Donations to Political Parties.
The western world is infamous for its tolerance of the many billions of dollars given as 'gifts' to political officials or parties.
No one doubts that "Big Money" has a strong influence on the political process..
Its time to call a referendum on this issue..

No civilized nation believes it is OK for the Police to receive 'gifts' from criminals or 'shady characters'. (From those they police)
Who polices criminal corporations like Enron?? Only congress! No other body is so empowered! So, why is it legal for Enron types to give lavish 'gifts' to Congress?
How do we justify allowing Senators to receive gifts from those they police?
Who polices the criminal Enron types on Wall Street? (apart from nobody?) Only the Senate!
After 2008, hundreds of CEOs on Wall Street SHOULD BE IN JAIL..  Wall Street PAYS THE BILLS of both sides of government! Does anyone imagine the Senate will allow them to be thrown in Jail? Maybe one scapegoat if we are lucky.

We propose..
•  It should be illegal to give significant gifts to any individual official or politician.
•  Spending on election campaigns should be capped and subsidized to reasonable levels that are within the means of any popular party.
•  Large donations to any political party should only be made via a single national trust account. The source and amount of these donations should be anonymous for a set time and the funds only be released to the designated party after that set 'cooling off' period - during which, the donation can be canceled.
A policy like this would remove the 'blackmail' power of large donations while allowing regular contributors to support their preferred party.