Political corruption is as old as politics and crosses party lines as easily as the proverbial chicken crosses the road. Everyone knows that except some Internet trolls (see amusing examples in posts below) who assume because you criticize a politician in one party you think politicians in the other are exempt from criticism. Yawn.
I add that preface because I am interested why Charlie Rangel – who happens to be a Democrat – has been able to maintain his position as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, despite being so publicly corrupt. Now admittedly Rangel is a smalltime chiseler – a tax cheat of the garden variety sort, no Madoff by a long shot. But he is the US Congressman who chairs the committee that oversees the writing of our tax laws. Even so, a huge majority of his peers (most Democrats and even some Republicans) voted to allow him to continue in this position yesterday, during the investigation of his malfeasance, however many millennia that might take.
I suppose the excuse given by his defenders is indeed that this is still under (endless) investigation. In such circumstances, however, the normal thing would be to suspend his chairmanship until such time as a final decision is made. I imagine if you polled the public, you would get such a reaction by a large margin. Not from our Congress. Sleaze is fine with them. Is it because they don’t fear the public or have a majority of them been playing the same corrupt games themselves? When will they act like grown-ups? When Burnham Wood comes to Dunsinane? [That happened.-ed. Read your MacBeth. Okay, when Chicago comes to Rio.]
Perhaps the solution is serious public humiliation. Instead of being stripped of committee chairmanships or similar punishments, corrupt public officials should be stripped literally. I remember reading somewhere in Thomas Hardy – I think it was The Mayor of Casterbridge – that in rural England of that time adulterers were stripped and tied on carts, to be paraded naked in front of the entire community. It was called a “skimmity ride.” How about “skimmity rides” for corrupt Congress critters (no, not adulterers – the real deal)?
[We could start with Rangel and Murtha.-ed. Deserved but we need at least one Republican. Too bad Tom Delay’s out of office. He’s been punishing himself, breaking his foot on ‘Dancing with the Stars.”)
What did DeLay do that was corrupt? He overspend horribly, but you seem to want things that are illegal, not things that should be.
How about Duke Cunningham?
Duke Cunningham will do. Initiatives like this must be bi-partisan, I’m sure you’d agree.
While the thought of public humiliation has certain merit, the vision of Rangle and Murtha being subjected to a skimmity ride is too horrible to visit on the American public. I think I am going to have nightmares.
“Too bad Tom Delay’s out of office.”
There is simply no justification to compare Tom DeLay to either John Murtha or Charles Rangle. I am unaware of any serious charges concerning Tom DeLay’s ethics. Prosecutor Ronnie Earle is a left-wing Democratic Party partisan—and he got DeLay indicted in a very liberal area of Texas. Furthermore, nothing significant has happened since then! The consensus opinion is that the case has fallen apart and will ultimately be dropped. Nonetheless, Earle got want he really wanted: DeLay had to resign his leadership post because the Republicans stupidly had a rule forcing their leader to quit if they got indicted. Cynics have long joked that a prosecutor can get a ham sandwich charged with a crime if they find the right grand jury.
Initiatives like this must be bi-partisan
In intent, not necessarily in result. (Actually, I’d say “nonpartisan” – I don’t trust Bernie Sanders.) Get rid of the crooks, whoever they are; but if it turns out the villains are concentrated in one party, don’t condemn the victim of a witch hunt in the other to try to generate some kind of equivalence.
TOM DELAY DID NOTHING WRONG YOU LEFT WING HACK
Public humiliation? I think I am partial to tar and feathering.
The only problem may be that Congressman Frank might like it.
And DeLay was removed because he stuck to the Republican vow that he had to vacate his authority if indited. That guy Earle had to go through (I think) five or six grand juries each more liberal than the last just to get it. It is no wonder that no conviction came out of it. But the damage was done.
This is much the same tactic later used on Sarah Palen as Governor.
By adhering to higher standards, Republicans are easier targets.
IF the comedians weren’t in the tank for the “progressives”, making the scounrels the re-occuring butt of jokes for as long as they remain in office might be enough. Perhaps it might shame their constituents into replacing them.
Perhaps the solution is serious public humiliation. Instead of being stripped of committee chairmanships or similar punishments, corrupt public officials should be stripped literally. I remember reading somewhere in Thomas Hardy – I think it was The Mayor of Casterbridge – that in rural England of that time adulterers were stripped and tied on carts, to be paraded naked in front of the entire community. It was called a “skimmity ride.” How about “skimmity rides” for corrupt Congress critters (no, not adulterers – the real deal)?
I thought the idea was to punish them, not us! Imagine stepping out of your front door, only to be confronted by….
The horror… the horror….