The press is on to pass healthcare and the Congressional leadership is more than comfortable to take the entire process behind closed doors and use every little bit of skullduggery and shady legislative loopholes at their disposal. While there is no doubt that President Obama has his own secret agenda, he is only a small part of the problem. Congress has been selling out the United States for years. Some have been doing their dirty work simply to remain in power for as long as possible while others have a more sinister reason for their curious voting record.
91 year-old Robert Byrd from West Virginia has been in the United States Senate for a full 50 years and is not only the oldest current member of congress but the longest serving as well. Ted Kennedy wasn’t far behind having served 46 years in the Senate before he died of brain cancer at the age of 77 earlier this year. 80 year old John Conyers Jr. of Michigan has been a member of the House of Representatives for the past 44 years. 79 year-old Charles Rangel of New York has been in the House of Representatives for 38 years.
I could go on and on but it would just get monotonous. So why would a brilliant attorney turn down a lucrative career in private practice for a congressman’s pay which today, is roughly $175,000 per year for the rank and file? There must be other benefits to the job; benefits that would make these men and women fight tooth and nail to remain in office for decades. There are far too many members of Congress that have served for decades; many of which share other curious ties. Out of just the four gentlemen I mentioned above, two should never have been allowed to serve in Congress and the other two should have been thrown out on their ears.
In 1951, Ted Kennedy was thrown out of Harvard in his freshman year for cheating. He was allowed to re-apply in 1953 and eventually completed his education there. In 1969 he was involved in a mysterious accident after leaving a party held by the “boiler-room girls”, a group of women working on his brother Robert’s campaign. Mr. Kennedy denied alcohol was involved but curiously, did not report the accident to the police until the following morning. The police found the submerged car that still contained the lifeless body Mary Jo Kopechne, a woman who had left the party with Senator Kennedy. The inquest was held in secret at the request of Kennedy’s lawyers and while he was never held responsible for the death of Ms. Kopechne, he did receive a two month suspended sentence for leaving the scene of an accident.
Senator Robert Byrd was a member of the infamous Ku Klux Klan, dropping from its membership rolls just in time to pursue a career in politics. He spent a good portion of his career fighting doggedly against civil rights and equal voting rights legislation. In 1968, he finally voted for the Civil Rights Act citing a change in heart brought on by his participation in a Baptist church however, many feel that the political winds had shifted against open racism and his “epiphany” had more to do with a desire to remain electable than the discovery of any form of morality.
John Conyers Jr. was sited for ethics violations after several former aides accused him of using publically paid Congressional staff members to work on his campaign, forced them to baby-sit and chauffer his children. Mr. Conyers accepted responsibility for “possibly” violating house rules and acknowledged what he called a “lack of clarity” in his communications with his staff regarding their official duties. While he regularly voted against legislation that would force the Federal government to restrain spending and balance the budget, he did proudly author a bill that would have, if passed, provide the religion of Islam with special protection against acts of violence and intolerance. In what appears to be a marriage made in heaven, his 44 year-old wife Monica has recently plead guilty to charges of conspiring to commit bribery while she was a member of the Detroit City Council.
Charles Rangel has his own problems. Recent investigations show that he rents four apartments in the Lenox Terrace complex in Harlem at below-market rates. The newspaper reported that Rangel paid $3,894 monthly for all four apartments in 2007, but that the going rate for similar apartments offered by the landlord in that building would be as high as $8,125 monthly. Three adjacent apartments on the 16th floor were combined to make up his 2,500-square-foot home; a fourth unit on the 10th floor is used as a campaign office, even though that violates city and state regulations that require rent-stabilized apartments to be used as a primary residence.
A Congressional ethics expert cited by The Times indicated that the difference in rent between what Rangel was paying and market rates on the second, third and fourth apartments he rented, an estimated $30,000 per year, could be construed as a gift as the savings is granted at the discretion of the landlord and is not offered to the public at large; if this should be treated as a gift, it would exceed the $100 limit established by the House of Representatives. Rangel was also accused of failing to report income from the rental of a villa he owns in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, a three-bedroom, three-bath unit that has been rented out for as much as $1,100 per night in the busiest tourist season, from mid-December to mid-April.
Additional accounting discrepancies were disclosed on September 15, 2008, including omission in Rangel's financial reports of details regarding the sale of a home he once owned on Colorado Avenue in Washington, DC, discrepancies in the value listed for a property he owns in Sunny Isles, Florida (varying from $50,000 to $100,000 all the way up to $500,000), and inconsistencies in investment fund reporting. Curiously, Mr. Rangel is the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the Congressional committee that is responsible for writing the tax laws that the rest of us “non-congressmen” are expected to abide by or else!
The worst part is that these examples are not the exception. To date there are:
29 members of Congress accused of spousal abuse
7 members of Congress arrested for fraud
19 members of Congress accused of writing bad checks
117 members of Congress either directly or indirectly bankrupted 2 businesses
3 members of Congress have served time for assault
71 members of Congress cannot obtain a credit card due to bad credit
14 members of Congress have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 members of Congress have been arrested for shoplifting
21 members of Congress are currently defendants in lawsuits and
84 members of Congress have been arrested for drunk driving.
Perhaps it is the perceived immunity that their power offers them from prosecution that holds their interest. I’m not saying that none of them have ever been convicted or served time for their crimes. Not even I am that cynical, but they certainly haven’t felt the full weight of the law that the regular citizens of this nation do. The kit gloves treatment they receive is definitely a perk but not the reason that keeps them firmly ensconced in the Capitol building. For many, it is strictly the power that draws them and one can tell by the arrogance with which they treated their constituents during the recent town hall meetings that they now believe that they are aristocrats, a ruling class exerting their dominance over the lowly peasants; in other words, the American people.
That is the good news. There is a darker side to Congress; a side that is dangerously close to seeing the ambitions they have kept secret for decades finally take root. Now the political winds are blowing in their favor; especially since the nation has unwittingly elected a President that appears to be a willing co-conspirator.
Join me tomorrow for a glimpse at the dark side.
Paul
91 year-old Robert Byrd from West Virginia has been in the United States Senate for a full 50 years and is not only the oldest current member of congress but the longest serving as well. Ted Kennedy wasn’t far behind having served 46 years in the Senate before he died of brain cancer at the age of 77 earlier this year. 80 year old John Conyers Jr. of Michigan has been a member of the House of Representatives for the past 44 years. 79 year-old Charles Rangel of New York has been in the House of Representatives for 38 years.
I could go on and on but it would just get monotonous. So why would a brilliant attorney turn down a lucrative career in private practice for a congressman’s pay which today, is roughly $175,000 per year for the rank and file? There must be other benefits to the job; benefits that would make these men and women fight tooth and nail to remain in office for decades. There are far too many members of Congress that have served for decades; many of which share other curious ties. Out of just the four gentlemen I mentioned above, two should never have been allowed to serve in Congress and the other two should have been thrown out on their ears.
In 1951, Ted Kennedy was thrown out of Harvard in his freshman year for cheating. He was allowed to re-apply in 1953 and eventually completed his education there. In 1969 he was involved in a mysterious accident after leaving a party held by the “boiler-room girls”, a group of women working on his brother Robert’s campaign. Mr. Kennedy denied alcohol was involved but curiously, did not report the accident to the police until the following morning. The police found the submerged car that still contained the lifeless body Mary Jo Kopechne, a woman who had left the party with Senator Kennedy. The inquest was held in secret at the request of Kennedy’s lawyers and while he was never held responsible for the death of Ms. Kopechne, he did receive a two month suspended sentence for leaving the scene of an accident.
Senator Robert Byrd was a member of the infamous Ku Klux Klan, dropping from its membership rolls just in time to pursue a career in politics. He spent a good portion of his career fighting doggedly against civil rights and equal voting rights legislation. In 1968, he finally voted for the Civil Rights Act citing a change in heart brought on by his participation in a Baptist church however, many feel that the political winds had shifted against open racism and his “epiphany” had more to do with a desire to remain electable than the discovery of any form of morality.
John Conyers Jr. was sited for ethics violations after several former aides accused him of using publically paid Congressional staff members to work on his campaign, forced them to baby-sit and chauffer his children. Mr. Conyers accepted responsibility for “possibly” violating house rules and acknowledged what he called a “lack of clarity” in his communications with his staff regarding their official duties. While he regularly voted against legislation that would force the Federal government to restrain spending and balance the budget, he did proudly author a bill that would have, if passed, provide the religion of Islam with special protection against acts of violence and intolerance. In what appears to be a marriage made in heaven, his 44 year-old wife Monica has recently plead guilty to charges of conspiring to commit bribery while she was a member of the Detroit City Council.
Charles Rangel has his own problems. Recent investigations show that he rents four apartments in the Lenox Terrace complex in Harlem at below-market rates. The newspaper reported that Rangel paid $3,894 monthly for all four apartments in 2007, but that the going rate for similar apartments offered by the landlord in that building would be as high as $8,125 monthly. Three adjacent apartments on the 16th floor were combined to make up his 2,500-square-foot home; a fourth unit on the 10th floor is used as a campaign office, even though that violates city and state regulations that require rent-stabilized apartments to be used as a primary residence.
A Congressional ethics expert cited by The Times indicated that the difference in rent between what Rangel was paying and market rates on the second, third and fourth apartments he rented, an estimated $30,000 per year, could be construed as a gift as the savings is granted at the discretion of the landlord and is not offered to the public at large; if this should be treated as a gift, it would exceed the $100 limit established by the House of Representatives. Rangel was also accused of failing to report income from the rental of a villa he owns in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, a three-bedroom, three-bath unit that has been rented out for as much as $1,100 per night in the busiest tourist season, from mid-December to mid-April.
Additional accounting discrepancies were disclosed on September 15, 2008, including omission in Rangel's financial reports of details regarding the sale of a home he once owned on Colorado Avenue in Washington, DC, discrepancies in the value listed for a property he owns in Sunny Isles, Florida (varying from $50,000 to $100,000 all the way up to $500,000), and inconsistencies in investment fund reporting. Curiously, Mr. Rangel is the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the Congressional committee that is responsible for writing the tax laws that the rest of us “non-congressmen” are expected to abide by or else!
The worst part is that these examples are not the exception. To date there are:
29 members of Congress accused of spousal abuse
7 members of Congress arrested for fraud
19 members of Congress accused of writing bad checks
117 members of Congress either directly or indirectly bankrupted 2 businesses
3 members of Congress have served time for assault
71 members of Congress cannot obtain a credit card due to bad credit
14 members of Congress have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 members of Congress have been arrested for shoplifting
21 members of Congress are currently defendants in lawsuits and
84 members of Congress have been arrested for drunk driving.
Perhaps it is the perceived immunity that their power offers them from prosecution that holds their interest. I’m not saying that none of them have ever been convicted or served time for their crimes. Not even I am that cynical, but they certainly haven’t felt the full weight of the law that the regular citizens of this nation do. The kit gloves treatment they receive is definitely a perk but not the reason that keeps them firmly ensconced in the Capitol building. For many, it is strictly the power that draws them and one can tell by the arrogance with which they treated their constituents during the recent town hall meetings that they now believe that they are aristocrats, a ruling class exerting their dominance over the lowly peasants; in other words, the American people.
That is the good news. There is a darker side to Congress; a side that is dangerously close to seeing the ambitions they have kept secret for decades finally take root. Now the political winds are blowing in their favor; especially since the nation has unwittingly elected a President that appears to be a willing co-conspirator.
Join me tomorrow for a glimpse at the dark side.
Paul
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