High school world history teached David Dewey taught us that "those in power never voluntarily give up power." It was one of his three principles of world history, along with "move, adapt or die" and "There are no sudden, significant changes."
As I grow older and more jaded, I start to see for myself how the politics of power works, and how all three of Mr. Dewey's principles apply. I see corrupt officials immune from prosecution and refusing to surrender their seat, and I get it. I see the Republican machine supporting RINO candidates like Specter and Chafee and I get it. If you control the seats, you control the agenda, and it's all about controlling the agenda.
Corruption? Bah! Corruption is understood. Taking a stance against corruption is politically naive.
“Congressman Ney (R) and his co-conspirators engaged in a long-term pattern to deprive the public of his honest, unbiased services as an elected official. People must have faith and confidence in their elected officials, but, Mr. Ney acted in his own interests, not in the interests of his constituents.”
When Congressman William Jefferson (D) got caught with 90 grand in bribe money in his freezer, he defiantly refused to give up his seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
When Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi went to the airwaves to call for his removal from the committee, not from the Congress, she had a revolt on her hands from the Congressional Black Caucus, who warned her that any action to remove the crook would jeopardize Democrat chances of retaking the House in November.
The day after Pelosi said what any rational person would think was correct, top CBC members, including Charlie Rangel, John Conyers and John Lewis, informed Pelosi that the entire Black Caucus would publicly oppose any attempt to discipline Jefferson: a move that could severely undermine African-American support in this year’s mid term election.
Here we have one party using extortion tactics to protect a thief, and another party
making excuses for thievery. It can hardly be more obvious that political corruption has reached some sort of moral low in this country when political parties find it difficult to punish one of their own, even when exposed by law enforcement as corrupt.
1 comment:
Right on. Perhaps a small glimmer of hope can be found in the fact that Speaker Hastert has said that if the Dems want to start a motion to expel Ney, the Republicans won't oppose it. Still, shouldn't it be the REPUBLICANS who are putting forward the motion and expunging this criminal from their ranks?
DB
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