Search This Blog

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Congressman admits to opposing a bill in order to receive a political contribution

The contribution was $1200.

Story HERE.

The political party doesn't matter, as that sort of thing has nothing to do with a propensity towards graft.  More on that in a moment.

This does, however, raise an interesting question:  what is the Congressman's price list?  For example, I can imagine something like:

$1,200 to oppose a bill
$2,400 to actively promote a bill
$5,000 to propose the naming of a post office
$8,000 to start a rumor about a fellow member of Congress
$10,000 for an intimate dinner and photo opportunity
$15,000 for an intimate dinner, photo opportunity, and lingerie show afterwards
$20,000 for...well you get where I am going with this...

For the record, I made up the list, well all except for the $1,200 part.

The truly sad part of the above?  Well there is a lot of sad noted, but it's discouraging that some on the opposite side of the political isle will try to turn this into a case of "See, they are all like that!".  The truth of the matter is this:  corruption isn't a political ideology, rather it's a set of behaviors.  It's also a mindset.  For every Republican "on the take" there is no doubt a Democrat in equally sleazy water.  Both political parties enjoy the privileges associated with political interest group contributions.

If anything, this is a call to voters to remember that the actions...not just the words...of their elected officials matter.  It's not enough for someone to say the right things, they actually have to do the right things.  Whoring oneself out for a vote is what an electorate gets when it closes its eyes to the money in politics and instead simply basks in misguided rants of world described as being black or white, a notion that big lobbyists on both sides of the political isle actively encourage by the way.

No comments: