Jonah Goldberg recently wrote about the Democrats' claim that they were going to clean up the culture of corruption in Washington. How well are they doing? Here are just a few of the things he commented on.
Let's start with Timothy Geithner and all the other tax cheats Obama appointed to key positions in his cabinet.
Charles Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is under investigation for, among other things, failing to report income from his Caribbean villa.
Senator Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, got some deals from subprime lender Countrywide that neither you nor I could have gotten. He also has had a little trouble explaining the deal on his million-dollar cottage in Ireland.
Representative Jack Murtha has a record for delivering big chunks of federal money to his cronies and lobbyists.
And let's not forget John Edwards, former Presidential candidate. Not only did he cheat on his wife -- it appears he also cheated on the use of his campaign funds in attempts to keep his "baby mama" silent.
And did Jesse Jackson, Jr. try to buy Obama's senate seat from Governor Blago?
According to ABC's Jake Tapper, Obama's car czar, Steven Rattner, has threatened to use the White House to smear a Chrysler creditor if it refuses to back the administration's Chrysler bankruptcy plan. This is in addition to the questions about the pension fund scandal he may be involved in.
Goldberg questions the media response to all this. They are hailing the Democrats as inspirational leaders taking bold steps and pondering whether Obama is a greater President than FDR. He speculates that, were this a Republican controlled government striking deals, rewarding cronies, punishing opponents, and rewriting policy, we'd be hearing a lot of "gate" suffixes. I think he's right.
"Trickle-down corruption." The Dallas Morning News; May 8, 2009; p. 23A.
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