Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his wife, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao seem to be collaborating on blocking laws that would make work a little safer for coal miners. Depressing, but hardly surprising: McConnell is far and away the favorite Senator of the coal mining industry. They've given him over $100,000 in campaign contributions in the last year alone, nearly $20,000 more than any other Senator according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

When it comes to lobbying on behalf of your cause you can present a reasoned argument backed up by data, you can build a coalition of supporters over time to pursue legislation in the public interest, or you can rally a bunch of corporations to spend a huge amount of money to buy a little love from Congress. Guess which tactic coal companies are going with?