Essay On Corruption
In the Wake of War-Hero Duke Cunningham’s disgrace, and inspired by a frequent visitor and commenter, I am going to take a foray into the soul of a corrupt politician.
You see, I am a Conservative Republican because I am first a Born-Again Christian. I wear the “Religious Conservative” label with pride. Why do I blog? Why do I canvass precincts, hold titles in volunteer clubs? Advocate Causes?
It is out of conviction, because I believe in what I am supporting. My Conviction comes from my faith and the moral code by which I live my life is outlined in the Bible.
I am sure that Duke Cunningham at one time ran for office out of a desire to serve.
Advice to anyone reading this blog, if you are going to run for office… be grounded in your values. The Power and the Ego Trips of being in Power are seductive, and many good men get taken down by it.
The problem is that Duke’s values obviously were not rooted in anything. Someone whose values were solid would not have taken a $2.4 Million Dollar Bribe.
So goes the saying, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.
Democrat Goobenor Gray Davis got recalled, Democrat Kevin Shelley resigned as California Secretary of State in Disgrace. Republican Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush resigned and narrowly escaped jail. The irony is that Quack was gone within 30 days of the news surfacing of his corruption, it took six months before Shelley was held accountable.
During the Clinton Years, when Larry Flynt was on a rampage, any Republican that had any sexual skeletons was outed and forced out of office. (Newt Gingrich comes to mind) Sexual immorality of the Democrat side of the aisle is given a pass.
What I am saying is that to have honest accountability in politics, there has to be an even standard of accountability.
When a Democrat is accused of corruption, it is a vast right wing conspiracy. When a Republican, Doolittle is accused… not of corruption but of having ties to abramoff, Liberals have him tarred and feathered already. Those are the same kool-aid drinkers that propped up Shelley for six months.
When Democrats speak up, such as Senator Dean Florez over the $93 Million Contract to Oracle after a $70,000 donation to Gray Davis, Florez was kicked off of all committees. The same fate was meted out to uber-leftist Senator Jackie Speier when she started asking to many questions about the Democrat budget plan.
You want to be intellectually honest for a change, withhold judgement on John Doolittle until the investigation runs its’ course.
John Doolittle is my Congressman and I will support him until he is proven guilty of violating the public trust. Until them, I will defend him, vote for him and drill his primary opponent into the ground.
Written by Aaron F. Park