Political Corruption

To the editor: On November 7, voters rated corruption second only to the war as the most crucial issue facing the country. Well, since then it appears so far, so good for the Democratic majority; not so good for the Republican minority. Democrats denied John Murtha the number two position in the house leadership. It was past allegations of bribery that sunk Murtha. It seems most Democrats recognized that the future of a Democratic majority hinges on avoiding the taint of corruption. Surely, after this vote, which is scored as a defeat for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she will recognize revulsion at corruption as a fact of life and do her duty to the country and the party by keeping the taint of corruption out of government. She can start by denying Representative Alcee Hastings any chairmanship. Representative Hasting’s impeachment when serving as a judge should disqualify him from any place in the leadership of the Democratic party. Maybe Ms. Pelosi and the rest of the Democrat majority can’t do anything about the ethics of those who are elected by voters, but they can do something about placing ethically challenge-able politicians in leadership positions. The Republicans, on the other hand, are not doing so well on the corruption front. For example, they have picked Senator Mitch McConnell as their leader in the Senate. McConnell has consistently led the charge against lobbying reform. If Senator McConnell had his way, no regulations would prevent special interests from paying congressmen whatever was needed to insure favorable treatment. In fact, he has gone to the Supreme Court to overturn the meager campaign finance reforms enacted in the Congress at the behest of Senator John McCain and others. And it may be even worse in the House of Representatives. There, Republicans elected John Boehner as their leader. Representative Boehner is best known for running around on the House floor minutes before a vote on tobacco legislation, passing out checks on behalf of tobacco lobbyists anxious for a favorable vote (which they got). I’m sure the democrats would really like a movie of this for use in the 2008 campaign. I see some chance that Democrats heard the voters on corruption; Republicans, so far, not so much. Michael G. Busche Sussex