It's a tough job being in politics.
I was in the back rooms of Canadian politics (at a low level). Many volunteer hours invested. I can see how many political workers would justify a little reward while saving the country from the other party--and the rest of the plebes were in church or watching football games.
You might be interested in the bribe I accepted:
https://medium.com/politically-speaking/my-brush-with-political-corruption-5d8c4c255bc8
I think you need to expose this story and get my book banned!