Uh, yes we will. Every election the corruption and brass knuckle partisanship of the majority party is decried, and the minority party is portrayed as so much more honorable and principled. Until the new guys take control and things go on as usual.
So far the Democrats have fought and resisted every attempt at reform, trying to water down the attempts to reform the appropriations process, especially as it pertains to earmarks.
What about taking a step back from the tactics of Tom delay and the “K-Street project?” Luckily “The Daily Kos” has Devilstower on the case:
What doesn’t make sense? How about this.
“It was former Majority Leader Tom Delay’s golf trip to Scotland — courtesy of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff — that inspired many recent reforms.
Still, that hasn’t stopped Congressman Hoyer from planning his own lobbyist-financed, springtime getaway. He’s headed to the Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort and Spa in Puerto Rico.”
Hoyer would be quick to tell you that, unlike Delay’s outing to Scotland, this golfing trip is strictly legal. And he’s right. Because it’s not really Hoyer that’s doing this retreat. It’s Hoyer’s PAC.
“This is the way the leadership PAC loophole works: Hoyer’s guests give thousands of dollars to his PAC. Because there are few restrictions on how PAC money can be spent, Hoyer’s PAC uses some of the cash to pay for the congressman’s trip to Puerto Rico. The PAC also provides entertainment, golf, even nifty little gifts bags for all the guests.”
In case you’re wondering, Steny’s guests — sorry, I mean the guests of Steny’s PAC — are lobbyists. It’s all nice and legal because, while Delay’s golf outing was disguised as something educational, Hoyer’s trip is supposed to be about the money. Do you understand that difference? Even if you do, do you think the public will?
I hope not, and I hope we don’t have to hear anymore sanctimonious BS about Republican corruption going forward either. We have a problem, and I do blame the Democrats more than the Republicans, though not out of any misconceptions about their morals. It is the very push to make the government powerful, to give it more and more favors to hand out that is the problem. As disappointing as the Republicans are in this area, they are far less embroiled in the effort to expand that state. If you want to really reduce this, shrink the state.
Of course it does sound fun:
The lobbyists and donors who have supplied the cash for this party then pay their own way to Puerto Rico. And in return for their generosity, they get to golf and hang with the congressman in the Caribbean.
Hoyer’s PAC has booked 137 rooms for his May event. Lobbyists who didn’t want to be named tell us it will be a blast.
As for behaving in a manner more considerate of the minority, I see no evidence of it, and frankly, neither does the Washington Post:
Democrats pledged to bring courtesy to the Capitol when they assumed control of Congress last month. But from the start, the new majority used its muscle to force through its agenda in the House and sideline Republicans.
And after an initial burst of lawmaking, the Democratic juggernaut has kept on rolling.
Of nine major bills passed by the House since the 110th Congress began, Republicans have been allowed to make amendments to just one, a measure directing federal research into additives to biofuels. In the arcane world of Capitol Hill, where the majority dictates which legislation comes before the House and which dies on a shelf, the ability to offer amendments from the floor is one of the minority’s few tools.
Last week, the strong-arming continued during the most important debate the Congress has faced yet — the discussion about the Iraq war. Democrats initially said they would allow Republicans to propose one alternative to the resolution denouncing a troop buildup but, days later, they thought better of it.
“It sounds like we’re not doing what we said we would do — I understand that,” House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday. “Here, however, we believe we are very justified in one of the most important issues confronting the country, which clearly was a huge issue in the election and which got bottled up in the Senate.”
Oh, that explains it, as long as such tactics are only used when it is important it is okay. The minority can be treated with respect and good will on unimportant things, such as divvying up pork and legislative logrolling. They all seem to be able to work together when it is time to belly up to the trough.
Let me say it once again, the Democrats are in power and they will use it. Big surprise. It won’t change much when the Democrats are in the minority either. Unfortunately, we will be fooled again. Actually, I’ll exempt me, I expected exactly what we have seen, though it is still disappointing.
Update: Here is Steny Hoyer in 2006:
Mr. Speaker, who do our Republican friends believe they are fooling today with this so-called lobbying ‘reform’ bill? I submit: not a soul. Certainly not the American people. … “The greed and flagrant abuses of convicted felons, former Republican member Duke Cunningham and
Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, hang over this house like a dark cloud. The ‘K Street’ Project proudly promoted by Tom Delay, Rick Santorum and the Republican Leadership – in which quid pro quo was the blatantly articulated standard of conduct – is the most flagrant example of the aptly named ‘culture of corruption.’
Yep, Ole’ Steny’s objection was about the Republicans hypocrisy in wanting reform as opposed to his own desire to avoid it. Shameless.
[tags] Steny Hoyer, corruption, lobbying, congress, Democrats, pork, earmarks [/tags]
