The Democratic Culture of Corruption
In 2006, one of the Democrats’ main campaign themes was the “Republican culture of corruption.” Upon winning back the House, Speaker Pelosi said that she’d run the “most honest, most ethical Congress in history.” They’re well on their way of totally obliterating that claim, thanks in no small part to Charlie Rangel’s ethical lapses:
The House ethics committee is expanding an investigation of Rep. Charles Rangel, chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. The ethics panel issued a statement Tuesday saying it had voted to expand an already far-ranging probe into the New York Democrat to examine whether he protected an oil drilling company from a big tax bill when the head of that company pledged a $1 million donation to a college center named after the congressman.
The move means the Rangel inquiry will likely stretch well past early January, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had previously said she expected the matter to be resolved.
Republicans have called for Rangel to step down from his chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means panel during the investigation. The expanding investigation means the ethics cloud hanging over Rangel is likely to follow him and Democratic leaders into the next Congress as they seek to pass major stimulus legislation and buoy the sinking economy.
The committee will now investigate contributions or pledges of money made to the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York, particularly one made by Eugene M. Isenberg, CEO of Nabors Industries, Ltd.
It isn’t hyperbole to say that corruption is rampant within the Democratic Party. I’ve said in the past that John Murtha’s office should be officially converted into the Corporate Welfare HQ when he retires because that’s what it unofficially is under his ‘leadership’.
The news this week that Gov. Blagojevich tried selling President-Elect Obama’s Senate seat is only surprising in that someone actually got arrested for that type of Illinois corruption.
John Fund’s WSJ column outlines the tip of the iceberg of Chicago politics. It’s also a fine indictment of the media’s disinterest in anything that might tarnight their latest Golden Boy’s image:
What remains to be seen is whether this episode will put an end to what Chicago Tribune political columnist John Kass calls the national media’s “almost willful” fantasy that Mr. Obama and Chicago’s political culture have little to do with each other. Mr. Kass notes that the media devoted a lot more time and energy to investigating the inner workings of Sarah Palin’s Wasilla, Alaska, than it has looking at Mr. Obama’s Chicago connections.
It’s too late to prevent Obama from becoming the 44th President but it’d be nice to see reporters doing their job. Unfortunately, I’m not certain it isn’t too late for modern journalism. If traditional journalism wasn’t dead this year, then it was in a deep coma this year. Mr. Kass is right. They spent more infinitely more time investigating Gov. Palin than they spent investigating then-Sen. Obama. That’s because traditional journalists didn’t investigate then-Sen. Obama.
The only journalists who investigated then-Sen. Obama. were David Freddoso and Stanley Kurtz. Their reporting was found on the NY Post’s website and on NRO.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention William Jefferson’s defeat in LA-2, in which the people of LA-2 removed him from the U.S. House of Representatives. That’s before I mention Paul Kanjorski’s ethical dilemma.
Technorati Tags: Corruption, Rod Blagojevich, Tony Rezko, John Murtha, Paul Kanjorski, William Jefferson, Charlie Rangel, Nancy Pelosi, Scandals, House of Representatives
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
December 11th, 2008 at 11:59 am
McCain can still be president! And so can Palin! Impeach Obama because of his connections now.
December 11th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Now, now, Liem! The ship of state just made a minor adjustment of course to port only to find another iceberge at a rather embarrassing moment for the oncoming watch is all, no need to get all hyper.