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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (9609)	1/4/2007 12:56:56 PM
From: longnshort	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224720

We extend our best wishes to the Democratic leadership in its attempted execution of an ethics agenda for the 110th Congress, which opens this morning. Genuine ethics reform is what's needed, not show trials. But it would take a considerable triumph of hope over experience to expect much from Rep. Nancy Pelosi's promised "most ethical Congress in history," when the leaders suffer considerable ethics problems themselves. Perhaps these scandals place them sufficiently close to the fire so that they know how to put it out. We have doubts. For the record, here they are: m Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, slated to become Senate majority leader and a key player in ethics debates, has clearly violated Senate ethics rules, as we learned late last year. Three months ago, Mr. Reid hung up on a telephone call from a reporter for the Associated Press who inquired about a $1.1 million real-estate deal in which he made $700,000 for land he hadn't owned in three years. Mr. Reid failed to disclose the deal fully, as required by Senate ethics rules. He only later complied. Unlike the brouhaha over Mr. Reid's Las Vegas boxing tickets, in which the Nevada Democrat was found free of transgression, this one shows a clear disregard for rules that apply to all congressmen -- not least when seven-figure sums change hands. m Rep. Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania lost his bid to be majority leader, but he still gets to chair the House Appropriations Committee's defense panel. He is plagued by two scandals, one involving the unfortunately acronymed Pennsylvania Association for Individuals With Disabilities, or PAID, whose chieftains are said to have funnelled campaign money to Mr. Murtha from defense contractors. The other cloud over Mr. Murtha is his role, whatever it was, as the unindicted co-conspirator in the 1980 Abscam scandal. He was videotaped by the FBI being very nice to undercover agents posing as corrupt Saudis who offered him $50,000 cash. He replied: "I'm not interested... at this point. [If] we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't." Mr. Murtha offered the agents the names of investor-friendly businesses and banks in his district. Is this a man capable of cleaning up defense contracting? m Rep. John Conyers of Michigan is scheduled to chair the House Judiciary Committee. For years, Mr. Conyers sent his taxpayer-salaried congressional staffers on personal errands, baby-sitting appointments and electioneering, the latter especially egregious, and several former members of his staff cried foul to investigators. The Republican Congress just closed a three-year investigation into the matter in exchange for Mr. Conyers' admission that he had, in fact, broken the rules. m Rep. Alan Mollohan of West Virginia is slated to chair the appropriations panel that oversees the FBI even though the men in dark suits are investigating him. Forced to step down from the House Ethics Committee in early 2006, the earmarking scandal threatening his congressional career involves five non-profit organizations he founded that have received $250 million in earmarks. The organizations employ his campaign contributors. Further under scrutiny is an increase in Mr. Mollohan's personal assets, from $562,000 in 2000 to $6.3 million in 2004, mostly from real-estate deals. When the New York Times reported the relationships in April, it characterized them as "a cozy, cross-pollinated network" in which Mollohan-recruited executives "provide him with steady campaign contributions and positive publicity in their newsletters." One foundation executive's taxpayer-funded salary was $500,000 annually. m Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida merits a dishonorable mention. Mr. Hastings lost his bid to chair the House Intelligence Committee once Mrs. Pelosi realized how awful it looks to entrust national-security secrets to a man who as a federal judge was impeached for ethical violations. Mr. Hastings described those who were properly and judiciously skeptical as "haters." m Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana merits another dishonorable mention. He is under investigation in connection with the $90,000 in cash the FBI discovered in his home freezer. The Democrats have relieved Mr. Jefferson of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee. But who knows. Maybe this merry band of scofflaws could clean up the place. Maybe Elvis will help.