So what do I get for my record of contributions? Well, if corrupt influence was my goal when I make campaign contributions, I’ve been singularly ineffective. I’ve never received any favors or other advantages from my political contributions, which often go to candidates who hold positions on issues like regulation and taxation that my past employers’ lobbyists might object to.

To let you in on a little secret, the Democratic Party and its candidates barely seem to recognize that I exist once my latest contribution is in the bag (maybe that has something to do with the way I block the avalanche of subsequent wheedling email solicitations).

While I understand that rhetoric gets heated in a Presidential campaign, it’s time the Sanders campaign stopped peddling bogus arguments on this issue. Just because you work for a company or participate in an industry doesn’t make your campaign contributions a sign of corruption. People’s political views are not determined by their employer. That’s a ridiculous smear that insults the deeply-held beliefs of a lot of good citizens, and it is damaging to our political discourse at a time when we need all the civility we can get.