One BIG reason this country is in such bad shape

Setting aside the Katrina disaster, the war, the nepotism, the blatant lies I believe this is a huge contributer to what we have evolved into. During the last Senate election the average cost per Senator to run his campaign was $9,473,789.00 or $131,580.40 per month in office. Now there are exceptions. For instance, SD where Tom Daschle and his running mate John Thune spent a total of $35,271,263.00 combined which is equal to $63.00 per registered voter in their state. This is for a job that the pay starts out at $158,100.00 plus benefits. I also wonder how any Senator can be honest or not beholden to anyone and still raise that kind of money even if he is rich to start with. To raise that kind of money how can a Senator or Representative get any work done except raise money? Mention campaign reform and the Republicans run like cock roaches.