Well, it looks like one porker has replaced another:
And far from trying to put the brakes on lobbyists and the money they channel into Republican coffers, Mr. Boehner, who has portrayed his ties to Washington lobbyists as something to be proud of, has stepped on the gas.
Let’s stop giving these congress critters our money to dole out to the highest bidder.
Via Kevin Drum who probably doesn’t agree with cuttinng off congressional access to our wallets.
There appears to be a good chance that abramoff will rollover on his former associates:
Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist under criminal investigation, has been discussing with prosecutors a deal that would grant him a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony against former political and business associates, people with detailed knowledge of the case say.
Mr. Abramoff is believed to have extensive knowledge of what prosecutors suspect is a wider pattern of corruption among lawmakers and Congressional staff members. One participant in the case who insisted on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations described him as a “unique resource.”
Other people involved in the case or who have been officially briefed on it said the talks had reached a tense phase, with each side mindful of the date Jan. 9, when Mr. Abramoff is scheduled to stand trial in Miami in a separate prosecution.
What began as a limited inquiry into $82 million of Indian casino lobbying by Mr. Abramoff and his closest partner, Michael Scanlon, has broadened into a far-reaching corruption investigation of mainly Republican lawmakers and aides suspected of accepting favors in exchange for legislative work.
It would be a good thing if this snares some dems as well. Perhaps people will begin understanding the kind of culture that evolves when you create a mob wealth transfer machine the size of the us federal government and that the smaller wealth transfer operations at the city, county and state level are simply breeding grounds for the scumsects at the federal level.
Via Raw Story.
Well, there certainly has been a lot of electrons spilt over some proposed rulemaking by the FEC. You can find many, many more without looking very hard.
An excellent evaluation of the whole fiasco comes from the Coyote Blog:
I have come to the conclusion that arguing over who gets the media exemption is like arguing about whether a Native American in 1960’s Alabama should use the white or the colored-only bathroom: It is an obscene discussion and is missing the whole point, that the facilities shouldn’t be segregated in the first place.
Typical responses to the proposed rulemaking in the blogosphere come from
While this is too pleasing an activity to apply to the folks on the FEC the sentiment is right on.
If the FEC makes a ruling inappropriate to free individuals or unconstitutional (not necessarily the same thing) and it is likely that they will as they are a creature of the federal government then, rather than be cowed by these twits, we should all simply ignore them. Yea, there will be allegations, subpoenas, cease and desist orders, prehaps even arrests and court cases, etc., as federal thugs swoop down on free speaking individuals. There are, though, lots of us and even the feds can’t build jails very fast.
That this kind of stuff is even possible makes a telling case that the folks at the top have access to too much of our treasure and are either feeling threatened or believe they can get even more but need to cut off uncontrolled channels of potential challenge. It is long past time to take back control of our own wealth.
Both dems and repubs participate in corporate shakedowns, you know, something that was once called extortion. But that doesn’t make it right.
I suspect that the bushies actions related to Inter-American Telecommunications Commission meeting are not unique:
At least four of the two dozen or so U.S. delegates selected for the meeting, sources tell TIME, have been bumped by the White House because they supported John Kerry’s 2004 campaign.
The State Department has traditionally put together a list of industry representatives for these meetings, and anyone in the U.S. telecom industry who had the requisite expertise and wanted to go was generally given a slot, say past participants. Only after the start of Bush’s second term did a political litmus test emerge, industry sources say.
The Left Coaster notes:
Remember, to the Bush White House, unquestioning loyalty to George W. Bush always trumps what’s good for American business.
And I wouldn’t conflate what’s good for American business with what’s good for the American people.
An excellent way to eliminate this kind of administration behavior would be to eliminate all corporate contributions from the election process. The US government is, after all, supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Update (4/26): Mark Kleiman puts a related post in his Corruption in Washington category.