July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
First step toward cleaning congress (10/10/06)
Editorial
By now, it's safe to say that virtually every American has read more than enough about the scandals involving Congressman Mark Foley.
But there's one aspect which still deserves our attention.
And it has nothing to do with creepy e-mails or any of the rest of that junk.
It has to do with money.
As members of the House of Representatives scurried to distance themselves from the Foley scandal, many of them found themselves in the position of having to return money to the Florida Republican that he had steered their way.
It's all entirely legal.
But it's wrong. And the quicker we make it illegal the better.
Chances are, like most Americans, you're unaware of the situation.
It works this way.
Candidate A collects buckets full of campaign contributions. If Candidate A is lucky, facing little or no opposition thanks to gerrymandering and creative reapportionment, Candidate A has campaign money left over.
So, what does Candidate A do with it? He doles it out to Candidates B, C, D, E, etc., folks who happen to agree with his political philosophy.
That's how former Rep. Foley happened to be dishing out tens of thousands of dollars that have belatedly embarrassed his colleagues.
Think about this for a moment.
Members of Congress are collecting campaign dollars, laundering them through their own campaigns, then steering the money to other members of Congress, assuming along the way that the cash will help get their peers on board when they need them.
It amounts to corruption at its most vile and its most basic. The fact that it's legal should embarrass all of us.
If Congressman A gives Congressman B money Congressman A has raised, two things happen simultaneously: The initial donor is insulated from the congressional voter, and Congressman B has become beholden to Congressman A.
Is this the way our system of government was designed to work?
We don't think so.
If Congress is truly interested in cleaning up its act - and we see no evidence of that to date - a simple, fundamental, first step would be to ban the practice that allows elected representatives to steer campaign money to one another.
Until that happens, most Americans will be justified in their cynical but all too accurate view of Congress as a whorehouse. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
But there's one aspect which still deserves our attention.
And it has nothing to do with creepy e-mails or any of the rest of that junk.
It has to do with money.
As members of the House of Representatives scurried to distance themselves from the Foley scandal, many of them found themselves in the position of having to return money to the Florida Republican that he had steered their way.
It's all entirely legal.
But it's wrong. And the quicker we make it illegal the better.
Chances are, like most Americans, you're unaware of the situation.
It works this way.
Candidate A collects buckets full of campaign contributions. If Candidate A is lucky, facing little or no opposition thanks to gerrymandering and creative reapportionment, Candidate A has campaign money left over.
So, what does Candidate A do with it? He doles it out to Candidates B, C, D, E, etc., folks who happen to agree with his political philosophy.
That's how former Rep. Foley happened to be dishing out tens of thousands of dollars that have belatedly embarrassed his colleagues.
Think about this for a moment.
Members of Congress are collecting campaign dollars, laundering them through their own campaigns, then steering the money to other members of Congress, assuming along the way that the cash will help get their peers on board when they need them.
It amounts to corruption at its most vile and its most basic. The fact that it's legal should embarrass all of us.
If Congressman A gives Congressman B money Congressman A has raised, two things happen simultaneously: The initial donor is insulated from the congressional voter, and Congressman B has become beholden to Congressman A.
Is this the way our system of government was designed to work?
We don't think so.
If Congress is truly interested in cleaning up its act - and we see no evidence of that to date - a simple, fundamental, first step would be to ban the practice that allows elected representatives to steer campaign money to one another.
Until that happens, most Americans will be justified in their cynical but all too accurate view of Congress as a whorehouse. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
Top Stories
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
Chartwells marketing
September 17, 2024 7:36 a.m.
Events
250 X 250 AD