One Swampy Mess (USN & WR)

[struggle4progress]

10/17/05
By Mortimer B. Zuckerman

Republicans came to power pledging--in their own words--to drain the swamp of special interests in Washington and restore integrity to the White House and the Congress. Instead, President Bush's second term is mired in potential scandal and demonstrable incompetence. The reputation of the president as a strong, effective leader has eroded, leaving him susceptible to the second-term collapse that has been the fate of so many presidents. Indeed, at this point, Bush's second term could hardly look worse.

Special interests, did they say? How about the huge tax reductions and tax privileges for Republican constituencies, lobbyists, and corporations? Look at the recent multibillion-dollar tax incentives for the energy industry, while the move to wipe out the inheritance tax primarily benefits the top 1 percent of our wealthiest families--all at a time of monster budget deficits of the president's very own making.

Integrity? How about political appointees, such as David Safavian, the chief procurement official in charge of spending around $300 billion? He's accused of obstructing justice by lying about his mentor, Jack Abramoff, the superstar lobbyist with extraordinary access to Republican power brokers on Capitol Hill like Tom DeLay. It was DeLay who initiated the so-called K Street project, named after the Washington business corridor where most big-time lobbyists have their offices.

Lobbying firms were pushed to hire Republicans, or risk losing traction on Capitol Hill. Hire they did. DeLay transformed the lobbying world into a Republican money machine. The object was to put more Republican bottoms on the seats of the House and Senate--and the bottoms voted for government favors for the contributors. DeLay's headlong drive bumped up repeatedly against ethical and legal boundaries, and he has now been forced to step aside as majority leader. <and more!>

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/051017/17edit.htm

[Xipe Totec]

1. USN & WR Sounding Populist

What an amazing turn of events.

This is like the moment when Walter Cronkite questioned why we were in Vietnam; a real indication that the tipping point has been reached.

[struggle4progress]

2. The business world has many people of conscience with good sense who ..

.. try to stay informed and care about outcomes ...

[Demeter]

4. They do that every once in a while

It's a sucker's game.

[KoKo]

3. Sadly, Zuckerman exposes his true spots with this at the end.

A Pump Up that John McCain can save the day...because not all Repugs are Bad guys :eyes: and then he slings an arrow at us Dems.

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There is, however, at least a shining exception among the Republican clay feet: John McCain. The Arizona senator and former prisoner of war basically opposes the whole idea of mobilizing interest groups to win control of the government in return for political payback. He chaired the Indian Affairs Committee hearings that exposed Abramoff's role. He led the investigation revealing that a Pentagon contract officer was negotiating a $20 billion-plus deal with Boeing to lease refueling tankers--while she was also entertaining a job offer from the company. She went to jail, and the contract was canceled. McCain was also the front half of the McCain-Feingold Act's attempt to cut back corrupt campaign dollars.


With the Democrats once in power feeling so righteous about their public policies that they think they can do whatever they want in their private lives, and the Republicans so righteous about their private lives that they think they can do whatever they want with respect to public policy, is it any surprise that respect for our government has been so diminished? Today, the number of Americans who say they trust government is down to just 29 percent, from 40 percent a mere five years ago.

The only way for Mr. Bush to save his second term from ignominy is to confront the evils now all around him.