Corruption, Thy Name Is Republican!

In an earlier post, I went on a bit of a rampage about Republican corruption, which will be a theme of the 2006 campaign. One of the respondents took me to task for not presenting a positive Democratic message, and it's true I did not. There will be other themes next year, such as good governance, balancing the budget, strengthening public schools, and real homeland security. I'll make a commitment here and now to discussing each of these over the next few months, and some others. The respondent suggested a Democratic version of the 1994 Contract With America, and as a political strategy, that is a good idea. But we should have no illusions. We have been the party of ideas for 75 years, and those are available for all to see. No set of glib bumper stickers, however useful, is going to make our ideas better. Just as the Republican version did not make theirs any better. Just more palatable.

Indeed, part of the frustration so many of us feel about Republican corruption and hypocrisy is that so many either fail to see it or fail to be impressed by it, since they have been afflicted with the cynicism that says that all politics is like that. It isn't. Politics is simply the means by which policy is developed and implemented. If good people don't get involved in that process, then it will be dominated by those who do show up, the self-interested, the self-important and the corrupt. Does that apply only to Republicans? No, of course not. But there is a particularly virulent strain currently rampaging through the Republican Party, and part of what we do here at PTS is to point that out, and call it by name. It is vital that people recognize who is leading the Republican Party, so that there is motive for them to reexamine what Democrats believe.

So, here's some more examples. Here in Texas, we are home to the House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay. Back in 2000, Mr. DeLay found himself dissatisfied with his narrow majority in the House of Representatives, and thought that Texas should have more Republican Congressmen. So, he set out to change all that. Nothing wrong so far, right? He planned a two-pronged attack.

First, he needed a Republican state legislature. He set up a political action committee, which he called Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC). He installed some of his aids and close associates as the organizers of TRMPAC and sent them out to raise money to defeat 5 Democratic incumbent state representatives. Where this all ran afoul of both ethics and law is that the money was raised primarily from corporations, prohibited by Texas law from contributing directly to political campaigns. Now, these aids are under indictment, and are
struggling to defend themselves against some pretty obvious transgressions. But the grand jury also finds out that in at least one instance, one of the companies giving the donation did so explicity (in writing) in exchange for a meeting with none other than Tom DeLay. The latest twist is that the aids are claiming that they didn't violate the law because they received checks, not cash.

The second prong in the attack began in 2002, to get the newly elected Republican majority to redraw the Congressional Districts, so that they could then defeat several Democratic incumbents. Is that strictly illegal? Probably not, but it certainly broke long-standing precedent that Congressional districts should be redrawn only every 10 years, and was an example of the worst kind of gerrymandering, for the express purpose of partisan advantage. It was also during that redistricting battle that Rep. DeLay asked the Department of Homeland Security to find and return Democratic lawmakers who had left the state in order to deny a quorum for the legislature to conduct this redistricting, clearly an abuse of power. These are by no means the only ethical problems DeLay has (click here, here).

Now let's move on to another part of the country. Anybody remember Ohio? According to the Toledo Blade, a major Republican campaign contributor (to both Ohio Gov. Taft and to President Bush), named Tom Noe, whose business is in rare coins and collectibles, has a long association with Ohio politics, mainly because of his ability to pay for access. Several Taft aids are now being investigated for their relationship to Noe by the federal district attorney and by the FBI. Noe has admitted not being able to account for all the proceeds of a sale of collectible coins to the state government. He also bundled contributions of over $100,000 from Ohio to the Bush campaign, and the investigation includes the question of whether any state funds were actually contributed to political campaigns. Noe is known to have met with several political advisors at the White House in early 2003, including...wait for it...Karl Rove. Again, there is question as to whether anything strictly illegal was done, though the behavior of many of the participants suggests they have something to hide. Further, it just doesn't pass the smell test, and even if no one important is indicted, most people who know the available facts will presume that they should have been. And what is going on at Ohio's largest paper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who is currently sitting on stories related to official corruption in state government because they fear having to reveal their sources?

There is also an ongoing corruption scandal involving Republican officials in Kentucky. And this is all aside from the Halliburton war profiteering, the faux news releases, the intimidation of government scientists and civil servants and the propaganda machine that is the Bush administration.

All that said, if you want the positive message, come hear Chris Bell and Charles Soechting next Saturday.

DEMOPHOENIX