Culture of Corruption?

It might be considered a bit of bad comedy, but the antique media is rich in such things. There has been considerable effort on the part of the major networks, several newspapers and the occasional cable news outlet to push the Dem talking point “culture of corruption” whenever speaking of any scandal they can remotely link to Republicans. This ranges from Tom Delay (who may deserve it) to Jack Abramoff (who seems to have been a serial donator with no significant party affiliation except where he could buy influence). Also included would be “Top Gun” himself, Randy Cunningham. Why, one would think the entire Republican Party was nothing but another Teapot Dome scandal waiting to happen.

While it is unlikely that this phrase, culture of corruption, is used solely to give leftists visions of Sugar Plums mixed in with the hated White House official of the week being frog marched in prison orange off the White House grounds, it is being used with great effect to implement its own portion of an agenda linking only Republicans with our nation’s problems. While I might agree on certain issues (DEFICIT *COUGH*), I have a hard time agreeing. And isn’t it just so terribly inconvenient when a Democrat screws up and is even more blatant in his open bribe-taking than any Republican.

Case in point, William Jefferson, DEMOCRATIC Congressman from Louisiana. I put that in caps because most media outlets seem to have omitted his party affiliation. Newsbusters has an absolutely great list of media outlets that have so far managed to avoid using the word Democrat and any variant of Congressman William Jefferson in the same sentence. So which is it guys? Are you ignorant or purposefully evasive? Have you stopped beating your wife again lately? The question’s as obviously loaded as the antiques’ pathetic attempt to mask Jefferson’s affiliation with the donkey.

The guy was caught on tape more clearly than Marion Berry was when he was busted by the Feds. They found the money in his freezer, hidden in ziploc’s. Dirty money’s so hard to keep free of freezer burn. Naturally, I’m sure Congressman Jefferson will have plenty of excuses for why he took the money, but I’m still waiting for why he commandeered a National Guard detachment to clean out personal effects from his New Orleans home in the middle of Katrina’s aftermath. So we may have to wait a long time.

The culture of corruption, it would seem, knows no political bounds. The culture of corruption is the culture of incumbency. Good people go bad as they are exposed to more and more power or they just come in that way. I’m not a bettin’ man, but I think Willie falls into the latter category.

Nor is he unique. The previous administration was rife with felons. Web Hubbell, Henry Cisneros, Mike Espy and John Deutch (three cabinet-level positions and one associate attorney general) all were convicted, and summarily pardoned under Clinton’s watch and they were just the top of a very big pyramid of convicts. Teddy Kennedy left the scene of an accident, may have been guilty of manslaughter or worse, and retained his Senator’s seat. Robert Byrd is a former Klansman, not only that, a former Klan recruiter. The "Torch", Robert Toricelli was so disgraced he had to give up his next Senate run to the retired and reviled Frank Lautenberg. Party’s got nothing to do with quality of the individual.

Washington D.C. is built on a swamp and not so surprisingly this has led to it being notable for attracting some of the worst vermin imaginable. Nothing new in that comparison. Nor is it likely new that the antiques have attempted to plant all the muck on one political party, in this case Republicans. It creates a picture that is disingenuous, though, that there is salvation only if we choose the OTHER of two political parties. That sound like a workable solution or something from a viable news source to you?