The summary is:
The text is a transcript of a segment from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where he talks about the problem of political fundraising in the US. He criticizes the amount of time and money that members of Congress spend on fundraising events, phone calls, and party dues. He also interviews a retiring congressman, Steve Israel, who shares his experience and frustration with the system. Oliver ends the segment by offering him a bag of Long Island wine as a farewell gift.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. In the 2014 election cycle, candidates for the House and Senate raised a combined $1.7 billion.
2. Much of the money raised by politicians has to be raised by the politicians themselves.
3. Some politicians complain that fundraising is the worst part of their job.
4. The Sunlight Foundation estimates that in the last election cycle, members of Congress held over 2,800 fundraisers.
5. Fundraisers are often held at restaurants, bars, and townhouses in Washington, D.C.
6. Some restaurants derive a significant portion of their income from hosting fundraisers.
7. Johnny's Half Shell, a seafood restaurant, has hosted 948 Congressional fundraisers in the past 10 years.
8. Politicians often spend a significant amount of time fundraising, with some spending up to 50% of their time on it.
9. Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle estimated that in the two years before an election, senators can spend two-thirds of their time raising money.
10. Members of Congress are expected to pay dues to their own party, which can be distributed to candidates in tougher races.
11. The DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) has a spreadsheet showing the amount of money each member is expected to pay, ranging from $125,000 to $800,000.
12. Senator Chris Murphy only calls donors who can give at least $1,000.
13. The Congressional call center is a place where politicians make fundraising calls, with cubicles, phones, and assistants to help with the calls.
14. Politicians often have to make multiple calls per hour to meet their fundraising quotas.
15. The call center is described as a "shitty telemarketing operation" and a form of torture.
16. The real victims of the fundraising system are the American people, who feel they don't have a voice in the system.
17. Steve Israel, a former congressman, had to attend 1,600 fundraising events over 16 years, which is equivalent to one every three days.
18. Israel had a "Long Island wine trip" fundraiser, which was an annual event.
19. Israel was the chairman of the Democratic campaign team and pushed members to hit record fundraising levels.
20. The DCCC out-raised the NRCC by $16.2 million during Israel's time as chairman.