Too Many Republicans Lost in Moral Quagmire
I should be home in a couple of days. I've been doing my best to keep up with the news and its astonishing at times. The reversals in Afghanistan and the neglect of North Korea are only two of the stories out there.
Here's a story from George E. Condon Jr. in the San Diego Union-Tribune on the sad state of Duke Cunningham who seemed more concerned with the benefits of being a US Representative in Congress than in serving his district and our country:
When Randy Cunningham decided to accept $2.4 million in bribes from a crook posing as a friend, he completely lost his way. Some of Wade's activities were clearly not in the best interests of the nation despite what Cunningham says. Sorry to say the obvious but too many Republicans in Washington need to have it spelled out.
Even Republicans with reasonably intact reputations are having trouble keeping their perspective. On Face the Nation, Rep. Ray Lahood (R-IL) apparently has drawn the short straw for defending Hastert at any cost; TPM Reader DK of Talking Points Memo has the story of Lahood's weak attempt to paint Hastert as tough on ethics:
No other Speaker of the House has so perfected the art of looking the other way while so much went on under his nose. Only when the courts or bad publicity forced his hand has Hastert acted and in some cases when attention was diverted elsewhere he returned to business as usual. Business as usual is exactly what the problem is in Washington.
Here's a story from George E. Condon Jr. in the San Diego Union-Tribune on the sad state of Duke Cunningham who seemed more concerned with the benefits of being a US Representative in Congress than in serving his district and our country:
...Cunningham pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy and tax evasion charges and admitted accepting more than $2.4 million in bribes in return for helping defense contractors secure federal business.
(snip)
Wade, founder of Washington-based MZM Inc., did more than purchase Cunningham's house. He provided Cunningham with rugs, furniture, jewelry and cash in exchange for the congressman's backing for defense and intelligence contracts for his company. Cunningham was a senior member of the House Appropriations and Intelligence committees.
Wade pleaded guilty in February to giving Cunningham more than $1 million in bribes between 2001 and 2005 and is awaiting sentencing, which has been delayed while he continues to cooperate with investigators.
If there was any doubt that his long friendship with Wade is over, Cunningham uses the letter to dispel it, blasting the man who provided so many of the bribes uncovered during the federal investigation.
“Wade is the absolute devil and his lawyer is trying to save his donkey,” wrote Cunningham, reflecting his bitterness at what Wade has been telling federal investigators and the U.S. Attorney's Office. “I should have said no to the gifts. For that, I am truly sorry.”
(snip)
In the letter, Cunningham clearly blames Wade for those transgressions. And, 16 months after insisting that he was not a personal friend of Wade's, Cunningham's letter describes what was once a close relationship.
“He showers you with gifts, he pretended to be my best friend for 16 years. Taking me to his wifes parents home many times. Taking Nancy and I to Sunday brunches with his wife, hunting together at his father in laws Eastern Shore place. Me taking him to a place where I hunt. When I was in town we were together,” he wrote.
Even while saying he should not have accepted the gifts, Cunningham seems to continue to defend his actions, stating that he only supported funding for programs that were good for the country.
When Randy Cunningham decided to accept $2.4 million in bribes from a crook posing as a friend, he completely lost his way. Some of Wade's activities were clearly not in the best interests of the nation despite what Cunningham says. Sorry to say the obvious but too many Republicans in Washington need to have it spelled out.
Even Republicans with reasonably intact reputations are having trouble keeping their perspective. On Face the Nation, Rep. Ray Lahood (R-IL) apparently has drawn the short straw for defending Hastert at any cost; TPM Reader DK of Talking Points Memo has the story of Lahood's weak attempt to paint Hastert as tough on ethics:
Setting aside Hastert's obviously bad record of appointing good people (or is it good record of appointing bad people?), Lahood knows this version of events isn't accurate. Not even close.
Delay hung on for months, years even, under an ethical cloud. Just this weekend it was reported that Hastert's staff was instrumental in passage of the Delay Rule, which would have permitted Delay to remain as majority leader even after a felony indictment against him, until public outcry forced the GOP caucus to rescind the rule change.
(snip)
Hastert has stonewalled, resisted, enabled, ignored, participated--well, you get the idea. He is the longest serving GOP Speaker in history. One of the most corrupt Congresses in history is his legacy. He built it. He owns it.
No other Speaker of the House has so perfected the art of looking the other way while so much went on under his nose. Only when the courts or bad publicity forced his hand has Hastert acted and in some cases when attention was diverted elsewhere he returned to business as usual. Business as usual is exactly what the problem is in Washington.
posted by Craig at 7:03 PM
2 Comments:
These are cynical hustlers and well-dressed crooks. These are people who win votes by disparaging public service and discrediting people who serve the public. These are people who know the cost of everything, the value of nothing, and who come to believe their own rationalizations.
I can accept that some of these cynical lowlifes will always infest Congress. What I can't accept is their holier-than-thou posturing and insufferable, ceaseless hypocrisy.
S.W., thanks for the comments.
It looks like Hastert is pulling a Bush by blaming his staff.
There's a long history of American politicians accepting responsibility and offering to resign when things go wrong; if they're stubborn, it helps to have a functioning ethics committee which we don't really have at the moment. If this was Hastert's only offense, he would still have some serious explaining to do to keep his job, but he seems to specialize in turning a blind eye to a lot of nonsense in Washington when members of his own party are involved. Tom DeLay made him House Speaker for a reason.
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