House ethics committee foxes guard the corruptocrat henhouse
Guess how many members of Congress — a swamp teeming with tax cheats, conflict of interest-laden wheeler-dealers, and corner-cutters– have been punished by the House ethics committee?
Zero, zip, nada:
Nearly three years after Congress approved sweeping ethics rules to “drain the swamp,” as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, no member of Congress has been punished for wrongdoing.
In that time, allegations of sexual misconduct and financial impropriety have been lodged against lawmakers. The most serious rebuke in the past year: a “letter of qualified admonition” to Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., after the Senate ethics panel concluded he misled lawmakers and inappropriately offered to raise campaign funds for then-governor Rod Blagojevich as Burris sought the Senate appointment. “Three years later, it’s the same old, same old,” said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in January 2007 and quickly approved ethics rules that barred lawmakers from taking gifts or meals from lobbyists and their clients. The action came largely in response to the scandal of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to providing gifts to public officials in exchange for favors.
Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said lawmakers are held to the “highest ethical standard” and pointed to the independent Office of Congressional Ethics as one example.
The office, authorized in March 2008, vets complaints and sends them to the House ethics committee for final action. It launched 25 investigations during the first nine months of 2009, the most recent data available. Nine were sent on to the ethics committee for further action.
The committee has acknowledged 10 pending cases, including an inquiry into Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and whether he failed to disclose rental income and improperly solicited donations for a public service center named in his honor. Spokesman Emile Milne said Rangel “looks forward to the conclusion of the review he himself requested.”
On the right, Judicial Watch recently named its Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians, including House Reps. Barney Frank, Charlie Rangel, Nancy Pelosi, Jack Murtha, and Jesse Jackson, Jr.
On the left, CREW’s most corrupt list includes Murtha, Rangel, Jackson, Jr., Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV), Rep. Laura [Deadbeat] Richardson (D-CA), Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN), Rep. Maxine [OneUnited Bank] Waters (D-CA), and Rep. Don [Pork King] Young (R-AK).
The Culture of Corruption boomerang has returned to smack the donkeys right back in the face.
Countrywide Sen. Chris Dodd won’t be the last to lose his office.
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Commenter Flyoverman quips: “The only ethics committee with any clout is an informed electorate.”
Amen.
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They all need to be voted out! Criminals everyone and enough with robbing the American tax payer coffers. What I would like to see done with these people, I’d be arrested for saying..but I’ll say it anyway. They all need to be lined up in a firing squad and shot for being the traitors they are. Since we can’t shoot them, vote them out!
“Birds of a feather……”
The only ethics committee with any clout is an informed electorate.
Why would they punish anyone whose conduct is no different than theirs? If you expect Congress to police itself, you are expecting virtue among whores.
Term Limits
Now they need to serve the rest of their terms in jail as well as a few more for good measure.
OF COURSE there’s been no punishments! There’s nothing to punish since this is the “most ethical Congress evah!”
/Pelosi-bot mode off
Well said Fly.
Thanks for the lists Michelle
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Did the House “Ethics” Committee ever take any action against former Louisiana Congressman William “Dead Fish” Jefferson? Or was the only action taken against him legal?
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But it’s O.K.–since the evil republicans also do this stuff–they are just “gitten some for themselves”–to “hep out the poor people”!
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TERM LIMITS NOW–and vote out all democRATs, corrupticans, and RINOS. An Equal Opportunity Texas style pointy toe cowboy BOOT IN THE A** for these crooks.
***
John Bibb
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puhhhleese; you want these crooks to start pointing fingers at themselves? how many lawyers sue other lawyers for malpractice? 95% of these congresscritters are lawyers. they all know that they hang together, or they hang separately. they won’t even slap a crook like jefferson on the wrist until he is convicted despite overwhelming evidence of bribery and corruption. the only way to drain that swamp is for americans to start doing their duty, and voting these corrupt (_*_)s out, even if they are your congressman and your party. IF THEY STINK, FIND A LESS ODIFEROUS LIAR AND PUT HIM/HER IN FOR A WHILE. THIS CROWD REEKS.
I don’t remember where I read it, but someone mentioned that Congress-critters should be limited to 2 terms: 1 in Congress, 1 in prison.
House ehtics
is added to
Republican leadership
as my favorite oxymorons
The corruption is so wide and deep they dare not get too involved, probe too deeply. Now there is plenty of time and interest in smacking down Joe Wilson for his You Lie outburst-that they will not tolerate. In a House of liars lying must not be noted. That Obama had just referred to his critics as Liars was not noted.
I fear there are all too many Republicans afraid to pry open this can of worms. Every two years the people have a chance to replace a House member-it is up to them.
There’s got to be a way the states can do an end around the statists in DC. This is nuts. We have to shut them down. Their actions are tantamount to a soft coup of the US government.
On January 11th, 2010 at 10:08 am, Flyoverman said:
“Birds of a feather……”
The only ethics committee with any clout is an informed electorate.
Why would they punish anyone whose conduct is no different than theirs? If you expect Congress to police itself, you are expecting
virtue among whoresnegro dialect form a light-skined Obama.FIFY
The way I understood it, the so called House Ethics Committee took bribes from Charlie Rangel just before they were to investigate him. Corruption runs rampant in this government and this is the year we should vote every one out of office. Vote all incumbents out even the ones that are not corrupt because they allow this corruption to exist.
AKA: the Illinois plan
They are moving the Governor’s mansion next to Stateville prison to save gas.
In other words, “Once you lose integrity, the rest is a peice of cake.”
This years bumper sticker:
“Re-elect No One 2010.”
Another day, another corrupt Democrat.
Add Gary Ackerman to the list.
Vote them all out! It’s just not hard to vote against the incumbent. Even if the Dems don’t do it, if Republicans do it, they end up with a better party. That’s the key problem with “our side” at the moment. They are just as bad.
“The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.”
Jean Giraudoux
(French diplomat, dramatist, & novelist (1882 – 1944))
I know this is off topic but.
My Medicare premium just went up 325%. Thank You Mr President.
It would seem more efficient to simply put them all on the list and then identify the few that are not corrupt.
You know, like finding ten righteous people in Sodom.
A Herculean task finding the Democrat who isn’t corrupt.
true…..true….
I have never understood why our representatives are not viewed the same as the military; If you serve for 20 years you get a pension of half of your highest salary. If you commit a crime, you are released. If you are released for committing a crime you forfeit your pension.
Cutting the pensions to 50%, even before instituting the 20 year rule, would save a lot of money in itself and is something we could do immediately.
That would look just peachy next to my Dump McCain bumper sticker.
From Zazzle and ScurvyDawg
SAVE AMERICA!RE-ELECT NO ONE! BUMPER STICKERS
Note:
Got to get a bigger bumper.
It’s long been true; Dems don’t punish other Dems and Repubs don’t punish other Repubs. I don’t know any other solution besides voting them out. Problem is, there are too many sheeple in this country (and especially here in PA) who just keep voting in the same old stale names.
Not true. Repubs get run out of town when they get caught in a scandal. Dems get protected.
Thanks for staying with this, Michelle.
Continue holding their smelly feet to the fire!
I just do not know if that is 100% accurate; but, it sure is close enough for me to say, “Correct”.
…and there is a marriage penalty built in too.
…sorry. Not in Medicare but into the health “care” bill.
And yet the gays still want to get married.
Bizarro World indeed.
That’s because they bring home the bacon to their respective districts. It’s corruption of the voters. Term limits won’t help, because Congressmen with clout will simply appoint successors and confer their clout on them. What we need (besides voters who refuse to give away their birthright for a bowl of porridge) is a President who’ll declare all-out war on pork. That’s part of why I “held my nose” in 2008 and voted for McCain. As atrocious as he is on so many other issues, he at least seemed to put his money where his mouth was when it came to stopping earmarks.
The truly IMPOSSIBLE task is finding a politician, Democrat, Republican or Independent, that doesn’t have at least SOME of each of the following traits:
1) Liar
2) Thief
3) Philanderer
4) Compromised morals
5) Low-priced integrity
I’m surprised it’s that many.
None of them is ethical, since the bar was set at ground level. Vote them all out! None of them should have a pension plan. That is one of the reasons that we have career politicians. They don’t deserve a retirement plan when it comes out of our pocket. They screw us when they are in power and they screw us when they retire.
What’ll ya bet that left-wing pundits in the not-to-distant-future will use that fact to praise Nancy Pelosi? They will point to the statistic that no members of Congress were punished as proof that it WAS the most ethical Congress in history.