This pretty much lines up with what I’ve read about how the insular, continuing status quo culture of DC perpetuates itself. It’s not that everyone becomes maliciously corrupted, it’s seeing other Congress critters as coworkers and not wanting to rock their boats. Like, Bernie doesn’t call Biden his friend as a moral judgment, it’s literally they’ve been working together for decades and developed the work-friendship relationship that happens at any job. The establishments are good at leveraging these sort of personal relationships to keep the gravy train going for themselves and their donors.

And this is why the saying “If you want a friend in DC, get a dog” exists.