Culture of Corruption

One of the uses to which I put this blog is to try to counter BS when I run into it. Right now, the biggest steaming pile of the day is the Right Wing spin that somehow it is the Democrats, not the Republicans, who are mired in corruption.

Now, don't get me wrong, I believe there are corrupt individuals in both parties. But there is a vital ingredient necessary to create true corruption: Power, and this is something which is in very short supply among the Democrats right now, which sort of forces them into more ethical behavior patterns.

Nevertheless, let us compare and contrast the two cases of Democratic corruption that are being much touted in Right Wing circles with their counterparts across the aisle.

First, there's LA Representative William Jefferson, caught apparently red handed taking bribes and being entirely corrupt. No one disputes this. But it is an isolated incident, and what bears comparing is the reaction of his party vs. the reaction of the Republican party as Tom Delay became further implicated in various different corruption scandals. The Democrats have ousted Rep. Jefferson from his committee position while the investigation into his behavior is going on. The Republicans tried to change Congressional rules to allow Tom Delay to remain House Majority Leader even though he was under indictment. That is the basis of the “Culture” of corruption. It's not because one or several among your number are corrupt, you'll find that in any group of people larger than a two-table contract bridge game. It's when you try to change the rules to excuse wrong-doing, try to cover it up rather than exposing it and trying to root it out from your midst.

The second recent case is Democratic Representative Harry Reid, who stands accused of having received free tickets to a boxing match. This is held up as somehow similar to the many perks and gifts Jack Abramoff gave to many Republican leaders, but it isn't so, and in with the smaller reasons why, there's one very compelling one: Harry Reid voted against the interests of the people who provided him the tickets. He accepted the invitation to the boxing match to give those who invited him the opportunity to make their case, but in the end he voted in the way he thought best, not in some quid pro quo response to the tickets he received. By the way, Harry Reid is also elected from Nevada, so unlike a number of Senators who have cast decisive votes in favor of Native American tribes when their home states have no Native Americans to speak of, Harry Reid was dealing with an issue directly of interest to his constituency, the people he was ostensibly elected to represent.

Now, as I said at the start, I do not believe Democrats are incorruptible. One has only to look at the long years of Democratic Congresses prior to the start of President Clinton's time in office to see differently. And I don't even claim that they're lily pure right now, although as I've noted, there is definitely less opportunity for them to engage in shady behavior.

But truth needs to come out, and the truth is that right now, the Republicans, having control of the Executive and Legislative branches and making a pretty good stab at taking over the Judiciary, have got themselves an excess of power that is good neither for their own morality nor for the country, and it is one more reason why it is important to elect Democrats in November. Lessen the absolute strangle-hold on power for either party, you lessen their ability to be corrupt. A Congress with a President who might be inclined to have his Justice Department investigate the Congressional majority is going to have to walk a more careful line. A President with a Congress willing to look into his assertions of power when those assertions are in conflict with the Constitution of our nation is less likely to try to make (or at least to get away with) those country-eroding assertions.

Get out there. Vote for the Democrats not because you like them, but because without checks and balances, we're done as a nation. And make sure all of the votes are counted. Ask your party (either party, if it's going on in your state) why they tamper with election results, and why they think democracy is something to be tampered with and subverted.

But let's break this Culture of Corruption (or at least dampen it) in the only way we can: Bring back the checks and balances of opposing party rule.

Liam.