It's no secret that many in the House and Senate have long been corrupted by money and special interests. The constant need to advertise on TV makes all politicians slaves of the money lenders and other big donors.

The great Mark Twain called Congress "America's only native criminal class." Nothing much has changed.

Members of Congress are held in even lower public esteem than murderers, lawyers and…journalists. It's often cheaper to buy a legislator than a second-hand car.

One of the biggest outrages has been the way Wall Street money lenders swindled the public and wiped out the nation's retirement savings – yet escaped all punishment thanks to their huge political contributions to Congress and the White House.

But then came the triumphant visit to Congress by Israel's rightwing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.