Scandals Enough To Go Around. . .
Vol: 56 Issue: 26 Friday, May 26, 2006
Earlier this year, it appeared that the GOP and Jack Abramoff had handed the Democrats an election-year gift — a bribery scandal that handed Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi a new mantra; the “Republican culture of corruption.”
When Representative Duke Cunningham was convicted of accepting almost $3 million in illegal gifts and graft, the Dems could scarcely conceal their glee.
For the entire length of the Clinton administration, ‘scandal-ridden’ was the most common modifier used to describe the Democratic Party. Many blamed the litany of scandals for the Dems losing control of both Houses, as well as giving the GOP the White House.
When Bush was elected in 2000, the Democrats swore to make his presidency the least successful in history. The phrase ‘not my president’ graced (still graces) T-shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs, etc.
(Before I go on, allow me to reiterate that every single recount in Florida in 2000 –including the post election recounts conducted by some of the most liberal newspapers in the country — concluded that Bush won the election fair and square. From time to time, that needs to be repeated for the benefit of historical revisionists.)
Since Election 2000, the Democrats have turned over every rock, looked in every nook and cranny, trying to find some scandalous personal episode in Bush’s life to use against him politically. Failing in that effort, they turned their attention on his staff, and ultimately, on anyone or anything remotely connected with the GOP that had even a whiff of scandal.
They hit paydirt with Randy Cunningham. It began to look like they struck the motherlode with Jack Abramoff. Abramoff’s client list included a majority of the GOP’s top politicians, and Randy Cunningham was more than willing to name names in exchange for leniency at his sentencing.
Noted the Baltimore Sun; “The Democrats have been using as election-year fodder the ethics storms swirling around the opposition party: Cunningham, now serving eight years for bribery and tax evasion, and the once powerful and well-connected GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to defrauding clients and conspiring to bribe lawmakers.”
Assessment:
Using ‘ethics storms’ as election year fodder is a risky business — it calls to mind the old adage, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” (For example, among those who got the most money from the Abramoff influence-peddling ring was Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, [D-Nev].)
While the Baltimore Sun cited Cunningham and Abramoff as evidence of the GOP’s moral bankruptcy, it was forced to mention in passing;
Rep. William Jefferson, [D-La] caught on tape accepting $100,000 in bribes, $90,000 of which was discovered stashed in his freezer;
Rep. Allan B Mollohan, [D-WV] who resigned from the House Ethics Committee when the FBI began looking into his personal finances;
Rep. Patrick Kennedy, [D-RI] (Teddy’s boy) who invoked the ‘Separation of Powers’ to evade arrest for drunk driving at 2 am in downtown Washington;
Cynthia McKinney, {D-Ga] who assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer for failing to recognize her by sight. (And those are just in the last month or so)
In Jefferson’s case, an 83-page FBI affidavit released Sunday alleges that Jefferson offered to help a Northern Virginia businesswoman win contracts to install telephone and Internet contracts in Nigeria and Ghana in exchange for a 30 percent kickback.
The Jefferson case resulted in one of the only truly bi-partisan Congressional responses since the Democrats swore an oath to destroy the Bush presidency.
House Speaker Denny Hastert (R-Ill) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) cosigned a letter of protest, complaining that the FBI had no legal right to execute a search warrant on Congressman Jefferson’s offices.
The Congress as a whole is outraged; complaining that the raid violated the separation of powers between the Executive Branch and the Congress.
The FBI executed a SEARCH WARRANT. The FBI is under the Justice Department, which makes it an extension of the Executive Branch, but the search warrant was signed by a member of the judiciary — the third branch of Constitutional power.
“Separation of Powers” was designed to prevent the Executive from using its law enforcement power to interfere with Congressional votes it opposes. That is why the third branch of government, the judiciary, is ALSO independent from the Executive Branch.
So that legislators can’t place themselves above the law, which is clearly what Hastert and Pelosi are trying to do with their protest letter.
The simple fact is, there are plenty of scandals to go around. Scandals (and Congressional outrage over their revelation) are about the only bi-partisan activities to take place in Washington for the past five years.
This, despite the fact America is fighting a global war on terror with troops in harm’s way in Iraq, Afghanistan, and with US civilians in harm’s way right here in America.
The Apostle Paul warned of “perilous times” in the last days, citing a litany of moral failures that pretty much sum up the American political climate of the 21st century.
“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (2nd Timothy 3:2-5)
While lawmakers debate such things as abortion on demand, gay rights, indoctrination instead of education in the nation’s school system, the definition of marriage, and the relative merits of Islam’s ‘peaceful’ majority, Christian ideals, values and principles, when not being openly mocked, are given lip service whenever it is politically convenient.
The rest of the time, being a Christian in America makes one feel like a second-class citizen under constant scrutiny.
“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” (2nd Timothy 3:12-13)
I’ve never been a fan of adding to the Scriptures, but if I were, it would read; “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived . . and subsequently getting re-elected.”
People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Omegaletter 