One of the toughest obstacles encountered by anyone trying to influence federal legislation is that of access. An average citizen or organization that hasn't made huge donations to a political party or specific election campaign fund isn't likely to get a meeting with a Senator. Lobbyists spend huge sums and hustle their tails off just to get brief meetings with lawmakers or their key aides. Access is gold.

Imagine if you could get access to four Congressmen and two Senators. Now imagine that it isn't just one-time access, but daily access. Imagine that you could basically hang out with these six lawmakers every morning and evening, gently slipping into conversation whatever it is you need. And imagine if they not only listened to you, but were in a position to be grateful to you and considered you to be members, along with them, of a very exclusive club.

Leave it to Jesus Christ to figure out how to pull this off.

There's a not-so-vaguely creepy group of die-hard Christians in the nation's Capital. The goal of this group is to maintain and grow a secret, intensely loyal group of Christians who are all bound together in a "covenant," as they put it, like "the Mafia." Many of your lawmakers are part of this group. And six of them live in a $1.1M house owned by this secretive Christian group, known variously as The Family, The Fellowship, The Foundation and many other names. These six legislators get bargain prices on rent ($600 for a room in the heart of D.C.), and, in exhange, The Family gets to keep them close. Very close.

And, of course, the stuff that we know is likely only the tip of the iceberg, as The Family makes no secret of the fact that it likes to keep the extent of its influence secret.

The AP:

"My living arrangements are totally appropriate and within the House rules," said [Democratic Rep. Mike] Doyle. "There's no direct correlation between the tenants and the Foundation--there are tenants who have absolutely zero involvement, and some do. And there's no benefit to live there, other than the fact that it's convenient."

Other than Doyle and DeMint, current and former lawmakers who have lived in the C Street house refused to comment. "We feel like it's nobody's business but our own," said former Rep. Steve Largent (news, bio, voting record), R-Okla., who lived there before leaving Congress to run unsuccessfully for governor in his home state last year.

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