Blog
Power Corrupts…Again
August 31, 2010
In the wake of Speaker Pelosi’s declaration that she has successfully “drained the swamp” despite two high-profile flaps, Dallas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson has found herself in bit of a pickle recently as it’s been discovered that she’s been doling out scholarship money to family members and close associates’ children like it was candy on Halloween.
Apparently, as the Dallas Morning News has reported, last year Johnson had awarded 8 scholarships from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to her grandsons and the children of a top aide, bringing the tally of her nepotistic generosity to a grand total of 23 awards since 2005 that have been in violation of the Foundation’s eligibility rules (15 of which went directly to family members or employee’s children).
The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that over the last five years, the Dallas Democrat has awarded up to $20,000 in 15 scholarships to two grandsons, two great-nephews, and aide Rod Givens’ children between 2005 and 2008. The 2009 awards – reflected in a previously undisclosed list provided Monday by the foundation – push that above $25,000. – DMN
EBJ’s defense, while in sort of a rambling prose, basically said this: I’m proud of my service. I’m surrounded by Republicans. I help everybody. It was unintentional. I didn’t know. I will make it right. (Congresswoman Johnson has said that she will repay the funds by the end of the week) – I remain unconvinced.
Other news suggests that Congresswoman Johnson could find herself embroiled in a House ethics investigation examining her actions in regard to anti-nepotism rules. However, the Dallas Morning News reports that it might be “politically dicey” for the House ethics committee to investigate another member of the CBC while having both Reps. Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters face hearings in the fall. So goes politics…
Another day, another ethics quandary for longtime serving members of congress… Sadly, this comes as no surprise to the majority of us. We’ve become accustomed to our political leaders (especially those who have been in the game for awhile) having a slight case of the “Whoops! Looks like I’ve been unintentionally funneling money and favors to family, friends, buddies, and back-scratchers” and then apologizing and going on about their business.
What I find most interesting and perhaps telling is the relationship between tenure, influence, and corruption. It seems, while this is not always the case, that the longer a politician is in power and the more influence they gain the more apt they are to become entangled in ethical quandaries. Now we could get into several reasons why this happens, but I believe that the simple statement “power corrupts” is explanation enough.
Reps. Johnson, Waters, and Rangel have between them 68 years in Congress, countless appointments to committees and sub-committees, and dozens of chairmanships. At some point each of them stopped serving the people, and began serving themselves – and that’s the problem. Currently we have a system that rewards and further entrenches self-interested politicians. The same politician who once ran for election promising to fix the problem has become the problem, and sadly it’s our fault. We have not been engaged enough in the nomination process, nor have we been active participants holding our elected officials accountable.
That changes now. The surest way to limit congressional corruption is to limit the time they are there to do the damage.
Amen!!!! I agree there needs to be a time limit, and not to long. The payday needs a drastic cut also. If they paid their taxes as we have to pay ours and cut the salary to what we Make in a year, we could pay our debt off. The money that is spent on ads at and for elections would be very helpful elsewhere.
Sad to see, of course some of that is “human nature”, in that I believe most politicians have good intentions when they are first elected, but as they enter the “D.C.” scene, they are soon surrounded by others, who long ago were corrupted themselves and it’s a vicious cycle and hard to break…the sad part is that they are like most other “criminals” and they just don’t think they’re going to get caught!! When all is said and done they are standing there with egg on their face! However, America has a short memory and usually intentionally or unintentionally there is some other “Breaking News” story that takes it’s place, and eventually we forget all about it. Since the U.S. is so hot to criticize the French and it’s become quite fashionable in recent years, I would actually like to see us “hit the streets” the way they do, when something we don’t agree with happens or some politician behaves in a clearly disgraceful way, you can criticize their politics but when the shit hits the fan they get out on the streets in droves and generally they get a lot of attention, we have become way too complacent in this country,too worried about hurting someone’s feelings and basically accomplishing nothing.
It is called ethics. I am not a politician,but I do know that in your position if it benifits you in any way,shape, or form it is unethical. The Whoops doesn’t cover it. That is our problem there is a double standard in this country and no one does a thing about it. The law is the law and Whoops doesn’t cover it. All funds that were given out needs to be paid back and used for what it was intended for. But we all know that will never happen. God help us all.
I agree. We are to blame for not being involved. But that can change. I think also that their salaries should be cut drastically. It should be how it was when we were a young country. The politicians had a job out side of their duty in office.
I, along with many people, are not surprised at yet another of our Washington politicals breaking the laws and regulations and yet it is another “caught you” and a ho hum response to “I’ll make it good” and nothing ever changes.
I’m not sure when being a politician became ones CAREER. It use to be serve for the good of the people with small reimbursement for out of the pocket expenses. Harry Truman serving as President of the United States, did not take a salary, even paid for his own meals when entertaining and when mailing letters (even White House business ones) bought his own postage. It was later told, he was reimbursed for $16,000 for stamps he bought. When leaving office, he and his wife Bess got in the same car he had at the beginning of his term and drove back to the same house they lived in, in Missouri. There were no Secret Service folloiwng him, nor were any stationed at hims home later. And on another note, between he and Ike (next president, they deported thousands of illegal aliens so the soldiers coming home from WWII would have jobs.
Is there ANYONE in the White House, who has integrity?
With such a weak president, and trying to erase God from our nation by the other clueless individuals, I fear God has already started to raise His hand of protection. God help America, we are crumbling before our own eyes. ONLY GOD CAN SAVE THIS NATION!
Term Limits need to be set for all, no more than four for anybody. Get paid while there doing the job and if you made it through an election then you know you have money to live on.
If the American people weren’t paying the one time politicians for the rest of his or her lives then we would not be broke, if they had to get there own insurance, just like we do we wouldn’t be broke.
If all the pork in the bills that are signed was taken out we wouldn’t be broke.
If we would just pay attention,
I would say impeach but then Biden would take over so where would we be then?
You REALLY expect them to vote themselves term limits. Yeah, That’s like expecting them to vote themselves pay cuts, inclusion into Obamacare, Stopping the instant lifetime retirement bennies upon election? Hold your breath and you’ll be pushing up daisies long before that happens.
Speaker Pelosi’s declaration that she has successfully “drained the swamp”could not possible happen until she “the plug of the swamp” is pulled and then the swamp will be drained!
EBJ you should be ashamed of yourself. You know darn well if this was a White Republican who did this, you would be the first to cry “Racism” and want an investigation in the anti-nepotism rules and ethics. Again I say the swamp won’t be drained until all the scumbag,leaches are gone.
I think November will be the start of the swamp draining. Who do these people think they are? And for her to say she didn’t realize blah blah blah. . . really? Her family received scholorships and wouldn’t say “thank you” to her for paying for their education? And its just typical to blame the republicans. Well, the ethics committee will be busy now trying to cover up yet another debacle. Hope Pelosi is the first swamp monster to go!
Let’s not obsess over whether we have an honest candidate to vote for; They are going to turn into a crook eventually anyway. The secrete to good farming is to rotate the crops.
Let’s not obsess over whether we have an honest candidate to vote for; They are going to turn into a crook eventually anyway. The secret to good farming is to rotate the crops.