This is something remarkable. The conservative NRO blog has an article which, up to a couple of sentences, would fit as a diary here at dKos. The author Rich Lowry, one of the National Review editors. Here is how the article goes:
The instruments of this perversion are “earmarks,” special provisions attached to spending bills that direct federal money to specific projects. Earmarks are how Congress diverts spending to pork-barrel local priorities and to other special interests. This practice has long existed, but Republicans have made it part of the fabric of their governing.
The article gives numbers:
The number of firms registered to lobby members on the appropriations committees increased from 1,865 to 3,523 between 2000 and 2004, according to Knight Ridder. For relatively small fees to lobbyists and donations to congressmen, corporations and localities can get a big payoff.
So conservatives were certain what corruption is in 1994. Little did they know… How the current state of affairs should be named, “supercorruption”?
Then a few examples are given, quite telling. As I said, you can just put that full article here as a diary. The only part where we would clearly dissagree is the penultimate paragraph:
Oh no… The difference between the new and old “appropriators” is like a difference between a porno star and a drunk slut. (Sorry, I am inspired by the Rude Pundit.) What is hard to imagine is a Republican congressman who would refuse a fat mutual “contribution”.
Rich Lowry even admits:
Yeah, Cunningham got ashamed too. Not every congressman can be “subtle” for ever.
P.S. The sign off of the article is a stark contrast nevertheless:
Ah, those disastrous terrible Clinton years… What price will we pay for the Bushy “booming” years?
[ Crossposted at dKos. ]
Thanks for posting this. That Rude Pundit might offend some folks but it’s generally just brutal honesty. Always good to read.
I noticed an element missing from that guy’s analysis. The lobbying progressed to a point that’s illegal
There’s a huge difference between honest controlled lobbying and influencing(controlling) legislation based on agreement of personal monetary gain and threats.
Let me ask you, as we fight the culture of corruption that is K Street, what do we do if leads right back to the CIA and other controversial government corporations?
What if we discover one Brewster jennings after another? Maybe that’s the rush on renewing the Patriot Act. Do we risk our own freedom to battle corruption so massive and global that failure is almost ensured? Do we risk the safety of others? What about the influence of global organized crime?