Sex, Lies and Politics

Venal, political hacks is a study in redundancy. In past couple of days we have been treated to sex scandals: One in senate and the other in house.

Maria Cantwell (Democrat, Washington) has been identified as the other woman in messy divorce case. This came to light when an intrepid blogger questioned her financial statements, regarding loans of $15,000 to $50,000 to Ron Dotzaur.

Mark Foley (Republican, Florida) has a yen for underage male pages. This came to light when emails, instant messages and text messages revealed a very sick and twisted mind.

Eleven years ago, Mel Reynolds (Democrat, Illinois) was convicted for sexual assault, obstruction of justice and child pornography. Bill Clinton pardoned in the wild last hours of his second term.

Last year William Jefferson (Democrat, Louisiana) had $90,000 salted away in his freezer. When Katrina hit, he came back to his New Orleans district to make sure his cold cash didn't float away on Katrina's flood waters.

In 1983, Gerry Studds (Democrat, Massachuetts) admitted to having a homosexual affair with the a male page. He served another thirteen years before retiring from congress.

And the king of all, is Ted Kennedy (Democrat, Massachuettes), got away with murder almost forty years ago. He is still sitting in the senate.

In most jurisdictions, these guys would be busting rocks. In Washington D.C. they get vote on the weighty issues of taxation, foreign policy and national defense. There is nothing new about the latest scandals, besides their novelty.

People spend millions of dollars to get to Washington, and then they spend billions to stay there. What do we get for all this money? A bloated government run by people who focus on self interest and not the national interest.