A former candidate for Congress explains how it works:
Back in [REDACTED], I had been moved to righteous anger to run for political office, Congress, in my [REDACTED] district which was being weakly held by a non-progressive Democrat. There were a number of Republican contenders, but the local party had picked one of their donors, an unfortunate blockhead with inherited money. I took exception to this and pulled a Trump-to-Jeb! on the dude at every public engagement, which only earned the ire of the local party for my uppitiness and Ron Pauline views on government.
At a fundraiser dinner, I had a small coterie and the other candidates had theirs, larger and smaller, and I was surprised when a delegation of state Republicans – well known and connected – came over and asked me to join them at their table. I obliged. They showered me with compliments – how they liked my style, how I was clearly the one with the brains and ability to win etc – and then asked what path I was taking, where did I want to go: executive branch, senate, state politics, or if Congress was my goal. I told them Congress was where I felt I could be most useful, and they pulled out a diagram that had my name on [a state organization] for a number of years, then county supervisor, then Congress. They told me that this was not only the path they envisioned, but the path they could guarantee. Their words. All I had to do was drop out and endorse the blockhead. But he’ll lose, I argued, and explained exactly why. They nodded in agreement and said, we know. That’s how we know you’ll win here in [REDACTED].
They were offering me a seat in Congress if I played their game, changed my views, endorsed their loser, and then they would rig the system to ensure victory. Not MY victory, but THEIR victory with me as their puppet. I told them no, thank you, I was my own man and I’d rise and fall on that merit. They said the doors were always open and then went to the next table where a woman was also running for the same seat. They showed her a different diagram. Two years later she was the Republican nominee for US Senate.
God was looking out for me. But the point is that you are absolutely right – there are people who will buy your soul and they roam about like wolves preying on the ambitious, vain, or naive.
I’ve personally seen this sort of thing play out in music, media, politics, and publishing. I’ve heard about it from those who were offered the ticket in Hollywood, both in television and in movies. David Chapelle has spoken openly about the latter… hence Africa. And the modus operandi is always more or less the same. One little knee, one little submission, is all they initially ask of you to give you whatever you want and more.
They are success dealers, and the first hit is almost free….
Keep this in mind if you’re tempted to accuse people of being jealous of those who are wealthier, more famous, or more successful. I can only speak for myself, of course, but I’m not jealous of anyone who has taken the ticket. I know the price they are paying and it isn’t one that I was willing to pay.