Only a truly stupid person would run for political office in search of financial gain. The level of work is extremely high (hours like a startup) but the amounts of money are small. For instance the average House campaign is just a bit over $1 million, and that funds dozens of people working very long hours for almost a year. Compare to capital funding or revenue levels in business. People willing to work that hard could make a lot more money in almost any industry.

As hokey as it sounds, people get involved in politics because they want to change the world. It is the natural end result of activism like we are seeing around SOPA. It's possible that at some point, someone fighting SOPA will decide to work for a candidate or run for office themselves. At that point they'll need to start raising funds. Will that corrupt them automatically? I don't think so.