Yesterday I read the news that the FBI has videotape of Congressman William Jefferson (D- La.) taking bribes. I am sure you will agree with me that taking bribes is probably not the smartest or most legal thing for a Congressman to do. This morning I wake up to the news that members of Congress from both parties are furious, absolutely furious, over this latest bribery scandal.
I was getting ready to write Congress to thank them for their newfound zero tolerance policy toward criminal behavior until I actually read a little more about why Congress is so upset. Apparently Congress is upset that the FBI raided the Congressional offices of Representative Jefferson. Apparently the Executive branch has overreached and is challenging the separation of powers laid out in the Constitution. Lions, Tiger, and Bears, Oh My!
Congressmen and Senators are tripping over each other to get to the microphone and denounce the Bush Administration for endangering the Constitution.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert is outraged and ready to wrestle:
House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) expressed alarm at the raid. "The actions of the Justice Department in seeking and executing this warrant raise important Constitutional issues that go well beyond the specifics of this case," he said in a lengthy statement released last night.
"Insofar as I am aware, since the founding of our Republic 219 years ago, the Justice Department has never found it necessary to do what it did Saturday night, crossing this Separation of Powers line, in order to successfully prosecute corruption by Members of Congress," he said. "Nothing I have learned in the last 48 hours leads me to believe that there was any necessity to change the precedent established over those 219 years."
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist wants an investigation:
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said that he is "very concerned" about the incident and that Senate and House counsels will review it.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was a little less outraged and more circumspect:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that "members of Congress must obey the law and cooperate fully with any criminal investigation" but that "Justice Department investigations must be conducted in accordance with Constitutional protections and historical precedent."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich however saw the end of the Republic:
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), in an e-mail to colleagues with the subject line "on the edge of a constitutional confrontation," called the Saturday night raid "the most blatant violation of the Constitutional Separation of Powers in my lifetime." He urged President Bush to discipline or fire "whoever exhibited this extraordinary violation."
Why are Republicans so outraged about the President of the United States overstepping his Constitutional bounds? Shouldn’t they be jumping up and down and rejoicing that finally a Democrat has literally been caught red handed? Perhaps they fear the Police State is now about to turn on them?
Where were these same Republicans when this Administration played games with the 1st, 4th and 5th Amendments of the Constitution? Where were these same Republicans when this Administration wildly abused the President’s Article II powers? Where were these Republicans when this Administration asserted its right to violate the Constitutional protections of American citizens?
Could it be that the Unitary Executive does not taste nearly as sweet when it hits close to home? Perhaps the members of Congress are now a little concerned that the Executive branch might be tapping their phones or reading their email. It is a joke that these Republicans are now screaming about the Constitution when they have remained silent for so long as it has been trampled in the name of National Security.
I say to Senator Frist, Speaker Hastert and the rest of the Constitutionally challenged Republicans that the entire Constitution matters – not just the part that protects Congress from the Executive branch. Outrage about the "speech or debate" clause of the Constitution should be equally matched by outrage about the tearing down of the Bill of Rights. If Congress wants the American people to defend their Congress then Congress needs to do its job of defending the American people. Otherwise go whine about this in your Cloakrooms and at the House Gymnasium.
:-w
well said!! I know I couldn’t have said it better myself. Truth is only convenient for the thugs in DC when it suits their own purposes… Sort of like the ‘rule of law’ that we used to hear so much about… great thing, if they can manipulate the ‘truth’ to suit their purposes: but when the truth snaps them in the pants, the thugs run away. We can’t let them do it anymore. too much is at stake. Stand Up Everyone… Now is the time to demand the truth about EVERYTHING that has been done in the name of this Country. The Truth WILL set us Free…
dag nabbit, i just got done writing a comment and firefox cloncked on me!!! grrrrx(~X( stoopeed 1.5.3 vs sucks!
ok, so, here we go again. i was just fuming.griepeeing.raging.tooearlytodrinkmoaning about how in the US what we call bribery elsewhere is called “fees & charges”.. grrrr..
if you are paying someone to do what they are already, i.e. you have already paid them, supposed to do, faster, quicker, or at all, then its bribery.
the big difference is: 1) scale, your ave. 3rd world traffic cop is going to use the piddlysquat he asks to let you go on your way to buy food or other basic needs, whereas his CO is buying dvd.vcd player, and his superior is paying for a bmw, and the head guy is putting 3 kids thru ivy league schools or tuition at oxford. corruption here is called special interests, or lobbying, dealing in 100’s of millions/billions. corruption elsewhere is called ghoosh, boksheesh, halis, you name it.
i think i have mentioned i have a politician in the family, and we have been in politics over 2 generations, the 3rd getting groomed. and they ALL are better off after getting into gov. then they were before.
after the morning spent being cluster#@*&ed myself with charges fees and rates, bribery is a growing phenomena, i myself try to get the dudeling (thanks mash for that moniker, been using it stead of dudester ever sinc eyou said it on a comment) to eat.sleep.not poop/pee.stopcrying.etc.
the reason it is so prevalent and growing EVERYWHERE, and part of daily life, is apathy, or wanting a piece of the pie oneself.
look, not to be cynical, but i have yet to meet, hear of an honest politician, or a businessman who doesnt bribe said politician when.if they can and get away with it.
so i say, its a matter of scale, accpet it, as a part of the human malaise. we, almost all of us, do it, some consciously, some naively.>:d< embrace the darkside, fight battles you can win, the rest, leave it to karma, everybody gets their cummappence (sp?).. many a republican has a hippy son, and a daughter who lives in chealsea or SOHO (nyc), it is the great balance.
The only reason why they stepped up is because they’re afraid they’re next. That’s my guess.
Ok, I think dude just came up with the “Bribery Pyramid”:
I love it. I’m going to see if I can draw up a nice pyramid in Visio in dude’s honor. ^:)^
As for the darkside, I leave you with this memorable line from Spaceballs:
>:)
i know of atleast one person on earth, who bribery is yet to affect..
the bribeless one, aka, dudeling…
%$#^%$&*^$&*(%:((:-l@-)b-(x(~X([-o<#-o:-ss:-??8-} because no matter what, though we try, the dudeling is beyond corruption... and force, it's almost uncanny how we cannot make the little bugger do squat, more powerful than us, the dudeling uses the dreaded barf.star to cover all around in mucuosy vomitises.. brrrr... makes me shiver to think an entire army of the dudelings, marching, wabbling, crawling, running, noses dripping, hands dirty, up the capital steps... and thugh that 50 cfa.taka.yen.rupee.frank.euro may mean little to many of us, corruption in any scale, almost always hits the poor man.women.child hardest... they are the brickmakers.breakers.carryers that build the corruption pyramid ever so higher, by force, so the elite may rise, like gods, to the skys... (sorry, they had 10 commandments on a few weeks ago)...
Great to hear Republicans have discovered the Constitution. Now, I’m still waiting for the Democrats to discover their own spines.:-w
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