Some Members of Congress Just Can’t Help Themselves
The Miami Herald has a very in-depth report on connections between Members of Congress and indicted banker Allen Stanford. The federal government is currently investigating the connections. Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX) is highlighted at the beginning of the article. The head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Sessions is is likely to be in a lot of hot water, both legally and in the eyes of the public. Unfortunately, he’s not the only Member who will be.
I first saw this at Daily Kos. Normally, this would be unfortunate, as bad things about Republicans on Daily Kos generally turn into bad news for that Republican and the party. However, in this case I am very glad they are spreading what is going on. Corruption should be stopped as soon as possible, by whomever will do it. Democrats haven’t done their job in rooting out well-known (if legally unproven) corruption with Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) and many others who are suspected of corruption, including Senator Max Baucus (D-MT). Regrettably, Republicans are little better, having failed to hold numerous members of their caucus to ethical standards, including prostitute-utilizer Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and Senator John Ensign (R-NV). Too, while not part of the Congressional caucus, South Carolina governor Mark Sanford is still in power despite the probable illicit taxpayer use for his travels.
Nothing illegal has been proven, as Stanford’s lawyer says in the Herald article. However, American citizens should insist that the Justice Department conduct a thorough review of Stanford’s records, and make certain all information comes to light well before the 2010 mid-term elections, and that arrests are made should the Justice Department decide illegalities were committed.
One last note: Daily Kos hammers Sessions, but neglects to note Democrats were large recipients of Stanford’s money as well. The latter is not their job- they are a liberal blog, after all, not a news source- but I would hope they would go after Rangel and the other Democrats mentioned in the article, if only in the interest of keeping Democrats honest. (Of course, if Sessions hadn’t said he “loved” Stanford, perhaps DK wouldn’t have gone after him quite so harshly.)
Update: Take a look at Judicial Watch’s list of the most corrupt members of Congress. Nine out of the ten are Democrats which, as Ed Morrissey explains, makes sense in the current political climate. However, added to the May 20 Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington report showing 12 of the 16 Members of Congress under investigation at that time were Democrats, perhaps Democratic politicians are just as bad as the corrupt Republicans hammered on back in 2006. (Just a guess…)
