From the Washington Post:
On the day the new Congress convened this year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to route $25 billion in taxpayer money to a government agency that had just awarded her husband's real estate firm a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms.
This from the Yahoo/AP:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Taxpayers are increasingly exposed to losses and the government is more vulnerable to fraud under Obama administration initiatives that have created a federal bank bailout program of "unprecedented scope," a government report finds.
In a 250-page quarterly report to Congress, the rescue program's special inspector general concludes that a private-public partnership designed to rid financial institutions of their "toxic assets" is tilted in favor of private investors and creates "potential unfairness to the taxpayer."
And this from CQ Politics:
Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most
powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington.Harman was recorded saying she would "waddle into" the AIPAC case "if you think it'll make a difference," according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript.
...
In exchange for Harman's help, the sources said, the suspected Israeli agent pledged to help lobby Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections, which the Democrats were heavily favored to win.
And from CBS:
Spring in Washington is "earmark season" - a busy time for Congressman John Murtha.
"That's my business," Murtha said. "I've been in it for 35 years."
As head of a powerful Defense committee, Murtha controls hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, reports CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. And he's not shy about directing money to those who give generously to his election campaigns.
CBS News has learned that this month, Murtha is steering new earmarks toward 10 companies that recently donated to his campaign. Murtha wants $8 million for Argon ST, a defense contractor whose CEO gave Murtha the maximum allowed by law - $2,400 by an individual. He's directing a $5 million earmark toward Advanced Acoustic Concepts, which also gave the max - $5,000 for a political action committee - to his campaign. In all, 10 recent Murtha donors are slated to receive $31 million in Murtha earmarks for 2010.
Taxpayer watchdogs may not like how it looks, but it's not against the law unless donations were required in order to receive the earmarks. Looking for evidence of wrongdoing, the FBI has recently raided offices of two other companies linked to Murtha.
...
Murtha wouldn't comment for our report. He did recently tell a home state newspaper that he's only trying to bring home the bacon.
[Hat tip for all links: Drudge]
So while ACORN is a problem, the real issue here is that Democrats know how to game the system. They get the big donors. They obviously play the behind the scenes game a little too well. It's corrupt, but it wins.
The problem for Republicans is that they still have the stench of complacent corruption on them. But in the current climate, absent a real grassroots change, it seems to be the way to stack the deck in favor of your side and it's stacked against the GOP. The choice for the GOP is to play the game to get the money to get the message out and win, while succumbing to corruption OR cleaning house and trying to win on principle from the ground up.
The path of least resistance is to join in on the cheat. That's the path politicians are prone to take. But if the Tea Parties continue to build momentum they may become the path of least resistance because it's cheaper to win on popularity than on back room deals.
The real reason Democrats win, is not the way that is good for the country. Maybe it's the Chicago way, but it's not the American Way. This may be the year of crossroads for the GOP. Let us hope they choose wisely.
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