Are the USA Politicians Corrupt?

Many of them are corrupt and don't even realize it. Lobbyist who make a career out of influencing elected officials are masters at subtle manipulation and coercion.

Then, of course, you've got fools like Tom Delay who sold his soul to Jack Abramoff. It would be nice if they could share a prison cell in a Federal Pen. Ralph Reed can join them for a game of spin the bottle.

Does a bear . . . ?

Is the Pope . . . ?

A politician who lies to the public is corrupt.
A politician who bargains with his vote is corrupt.
A politician who arrogates special authority or privilege to himself is corrupt.
A politician who will not vote his conscience so he'll be re-elected is corrupt.
A politician who votes the party line despite his own belief is corrupt.
A politician who refuses to represent his constituency is corrupt.
A politician who takes bribes is corrupt.
A politician who caves to blackmail is corrupt.

I could go on.

There are so few politicians with a spine and pinciples that I would have to say that easily most of them are corrupt.

If you lived in NJ, you wouldn't even be asking.

I've always looked at it differently

But the short answer, two words. Hmmmm, Duh!

Long answer is they don't start that way. They start their political careers gaining power in the local chamber of commerce, legal field in their district, county, city or what have you, maybe even as a fairly honest business man. They see a need to fill a position of influence and, for the most part I believe, start out rather altruistic in their goals and aspirations. Then, reality sets in and they start having to compromise their integrity away to reach that position they have started to pursue. In the process, the position becomes much easier to attain if they just look the other way once in a while. Pretty soon, the blinders never come off and you have the Delay types with their hands out constantly. Oversimplification, you bet, but that's how I feel in a nutshell.

More importantly to me, is how they have collectively all become much more corrupt over the past decade. 10 years ago, there was something like 100-200 earmarks (spelled PORK!!!) a year, now there are nearly 15,000 a year. With Hawaii and Alaska spending something like $1000/citizen in their state.

Corruption is running rampant, but they just make it legal by writing new laws. Ethics has nothing to do with our government, or corporations for that matter, nowadays. It's only about the money.

Anyone capable of getting himself elected, should by no means be allowed to do so.

I have an easier Question.
Who was the last Politician who wasn't corrupt? All the Demorats who just got in where going to change the world in 100 hours, other then the minimum wage that will take years to go into effect totally what have they done. Oh yea Pelosi wants a bigger plane thats going to save the country how dumb of me. World saved!

Duh- Do bears poop in the buckwheat?

They minute you be come a politician you'll be spending most of your time working to get money to get re elected. Plus the perks you get pension,health care and so on. Be they Democrats or Republicans and despite what they say state or federal congress don't give a rat's ass about you or me. It's all about the power and prestige of being a senator or congressman.
Remember the adage "power corrupts and ABSOLUTE power corrupts absolutely. These people are OUR servants and "rule" at OUR descrestion.

Here's something from my personal experience.

Get a flyer saying that township wants to go with contract garbage hauler. Up till now, it has been every man for himself.

Go to next meeting, everyone there says no they don't want it( ok about 3 out of 45 people said ok).

Next meeting, was unannounced, everyone there was all of a sudden for it?(they stacked the deck with their cronies).

Next meeting they announced because I wrote the local newspaper. Everyone had three minutes to speak, When it was my turn, I got the gavel banged and was told to sit down. Everyone booed the commissioner.

When they finally got bids in, it ended up that they were gonna charge more than most people were now paying( this was done in the name of saving us money) and I had a calculator ready to do the math and the difference in the bid per year and the actual payment per house hold came out to like 56 thousand more!!!

They never did justify where this money was going so at the next election, I took the day off and stood at the polls with a petition. The petition was just to ask the council to put it to a vote, and not make a decision themselves.

By this time, they got the idea and put it to a vote, of course the people that want to take care of themselves won and we can now pay for our own garbage hauler as it had been for over twenty years.

A month later, the township cops came to my house with "zoning complaints"

Needless to say, they were asked to leave, all the while, my neighbor who is the Township Fire Marshall has had a boat and trailer parked on his property since 1994, directly in violation of the zoning ordinances.

Still there to this day, sits about 10 feet off the road!!

Long story short, if they are this corrupt and petty at local level I can only imagine how corrupt they are where the people can't keep tabs on them.


Ask someone how the Pa legislature went about getting a pay raise last year and the widespread disapproval over it!

Proof You Can Buy an ENTIRE STATE Legislature

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020901918_pf.html

Largess Preceded Md. Vote on Wal-Mart
Two Unions Vastly Outspent Company in Run-Up to Legislative Session

By John Wagner and Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, February 10, 2006; B05



Two labor unions pushing for legislation that could expand Wal-Mart's health benefits made campaign contributions to 48 members of the Maryland General Assembly in the month before the high-profile vote.

The contributions, totaling more than $36,000 in the run-up to the January vote, came to more than a quarter of the state's legislators from affiliates of the Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, according to analysis of campaign finance reports filed last month.

"They were obviously trying to get somebody's attention," Bobbie Walton, executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause Maryland, said of the two unions, which were pitted against the retailing giant on the issue.

The House and Senate decided last month, with just a few votes to spare, to override Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s veto of the bill setting a threshold for benefits provided by large employers.

Wal-Mart retained as many as a dozen Annapolis lobbyists for the fight, which drew national attention, and tried to sway public opinion through radio and newspaper ads. This week, a retailing association aligned with the company filed suit in an attempt to block the law.

But in the weeks before the override vote, Wal-Mart made only seven direct political contributions to lawmakers, one of which was returned, according to Maryland State Board of Elections records.

The final weeks before the legislature convenes are typically feverish ones for fundraising because Maryland law bans contributions during the 90-day sessions.

But donations from SEIU and UFCW, collectively, were more than seven times what the unions had given previously in the month before sessions started, dating back to 1999, the first year that contributions are recorded in a database maintained by the elections board.

Moreover, about a third of the lawmakers who received money in the weeks just before the session had not received any contributions from these union chapters before Ehrlich's veto of the bill last spring. All told, SEIU affiliates contributed $20,570 in the month before the vote, and UFCW affiliates contributed $16,050.

Combined, the contributions exceeded what the two unions gave lawmakers in the final months of the 2002 campaign, the last time state lawmakers stood for election.

"Our members have given in greater amount to our political action funds because they understand the importance of the upcoming election year, due in no small part to what they viewed as a list of unpopular vetoes made by the current governor," said Robert L. Moore, president of the SEIU chapter that serves Maryland and the District.

Aides to Ehrlich (R) suggested that the money was more evidence of the unions' role in muscling through the legislation, which requires employers with 10,000 or more workers to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on health benefits -- or make a contribution to Medicaid, the state's health program for the poor. Wal-Mart is the only known Maryland employer that does not meet that obligation.

"There's no question. If you had eyes, you could see the sea of purple here," said Alan Friedman, Ehrlich's director of legislative relations, referring to the purple T-shirts worn by SEIU members present during debate over the bill, which was also championed by health care advocates.

The union efforts extended beyond campaign contributions. Days before the veto-override vote, the state chapter of the AFL-CIO announced that it would not endorse any lawmaker who did not support the override.

Other groups active in the debate included Wake-Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch, two national organizations that monitor the company's business practices. Wake-Up Wal-Mart is funded by the UCFW, and Wal-Mart Watch receives money from the SEIU.

Among the lawmakers who received union contributions in the month before the session began was Del. Norman H. Conway (D-Wicomico), who said he sided with the unions last spring because of concerns about the state's rising Medicaid costs. But, he said, he was open to hearing Wal-Mart's case.

The day before the House voted to override the bill, he received a call from a Wal-Mart vice president in Arkansas. Conway wanted a guarantee that the company would build a proposed distribution plant with the potential to create hundreds of jobs in the county next to his rural district.

Conway said that he did not get the commitment and that he decided to stick with his original position.

Conway attributed the $1,500 in donations from two SEIU chapters more to his status as chairman of the Appropriations Committee than to his vote on the "Wal-Mart bill."

"Money doesn't influence me," he said. "I look at the issue and try to understand the impacts. I'm going to do what I ultimately think is the right thing."

Just before the session began Jan. 11, Del. Murray D. Levy (D-Charles), who voted against the bill last spring, received $100 apiece from SEIU and UFCW chapters.

Levy said he was bombarded with phone calls and e-mails from both sides of the debate. Despite the pressure, Levy did not change his mind, because he said that going after one company was not a solution to the massive problem of health care.

Wal-Mart delivered just a handful of contributions, totaling $1,650, leading up to the session. And, in one case, the company's check was returned.

Del. Joseph J. Minnick (D-Baltimore County), who did not vote in April, said he was receptive to Wal-Mart's case that "government should not be in business's business."

He ultimately voted to override the veto, however, because he said companies should help pick up the cost of health care. When he realized that Wal-Mart had written him a check for a fundraiser just before the session began, he decided to give it back.

"If I don't support their issue, I shouldn't be accepting a contribution, plain and simple -- not only Wal-Mart, but anyone else."

Stupid question, is the sky blue?

A recent NPR show pointed out that modern presidential candidates need to have about $100 million to run a credible campaign. Roughly $1 million per week for the duration of the campaign. Much of that pays TV advertising. The current crop of candidates was judged in terms of their ability to raise that big of a warchest. It's hard to imagine raising that amount of money without selling one's ideals to the highest bidder(s).

Here's a thought...perhaps the reform candidate of the future will eschew TV-based campaign entirely, and launch a FREE, internet-centered campaign, both for fundraising, AND to get his/her message out. Has anyone noticed how much the mainstream news media relies on internet sources (youtube, et al) for their news stories lately?

Hey, this poll shows 44-0 that politicians are corrupt!!! Where's all the patriots defending the current political milieu; regurgitating the 9-th grade civics book about democracy and how necessary taxes are to build roads etc?

not many

topics get agreement here

~Biker gives CDaddy the Dubious Digit~

Just had ta do it, didn't ya?

Biker

Why yes politicians are corrupt, all Lawyers are unscrupulous, All Police officers are Criminals, Should I continue with bigotted generalizations?
All Generalizations are false........ Um wait a minute
It amazes me how people can continue to post these meaningless polls.
Yes or No, 1911's are junk.......
Yes or No, Polymer frames rule...........
While were at it Yes or No, Luke Skywalker was the greatest Jedi ever.
How about Yes or No, Maxwell Smart was the greatest Super Spy ever.....
My personal vote goes to Lance Link Secret Chimp.
If you want to start a thought provoking discussion regarding the Sad State of American Politics, Give a meaningful set of responses to a meaningful question.
No I don't have any suggestions due to the fact that most of my meaningful and thought provoking conversation requires that I Think Through the Questions I am asking. This Commentary is off the cuff.

I would like to add that Politicians and Bureucrats are the same the world over, Some are Corrupt, some more than others. Some actually want to serve the Public and do good work.
Nikita Khrushchev said "Politicians are the same the World over they want to build bridges where there is no River"

Its a simple fact, they do not represent us, their constituents are no longer the people, not even those that vote them in office anymore. Their true constituents are their own political orginizations, and especially those that contribute the most in contributions and perks, weither that is the a party, interest group, or a company, more money allows them to afford better "consultants" to poll the public to find out what stand on issues will be most popular, what personal information can be useful or harmful for themselves or their opponent, what psycological strategy to best make the public sympathetic to their cause and all but guarantee election. After all their goal is to hold office and this is the way it is done this day and age. But they are still people, and have all the qualities that people would, some want to be a rockstar and hold the highest office with the most power and will sacrifice any scrap of personal ethics they may have to get there and stay, some have good intentions, good answers and genuinely care about people and may never hold an office above clerk of court.

Lordy sakes alive

We seem to have agreement.

Politicians corrupt?

My initial response



A good chunk. But not all.

We already know that some are and some aren't corrupt.

The poll asks about "All", and that's just a waste of bandwidth.

Art