It's a scandal, and a revealing glimpse into the way business is conducted in the nation's capital. Those with the money and connections get special carve-outs to protect (and even enhance) their interests; the rest of us get legislation none of us wanted.
The entire account is a signal warning of the danger to liberty (and truly representative government) posed by a government that is too big, too opaque, too arrogant and too removed from those it purports to represent. It explains why Americans of all stripes -- from the Tea Party on the right to Occupy Wall Street on the left -- is disgusted with the way business is conducted by "our" representatives.
If Governor Romney is looking to connect with voters by tapping into the mood of the country, he could not do better than to propose some structural reforms that might, at least, start to ensure that this kind of appalling behavior -- unworthy of the greatest democratic republic the world has ever known -- never happens again.