"GOP-crafted bill", now there is an oxymoron if ever I heard one. Jim Abrams of the AP used those words as he wrote today,
The GOP-crafted bill approved 217-213 by the House on Wednesday requires lobbyists to file reports of their activities more frequently, obliges lawmakers to get approval before going on privately sponsored travel and takes away the pensions of lawmakers convicted of bribery.
Wow! Now that's action! Well, kinda, in a washed-out, no calorie, light beer sorta way, ain't it? I mean look at it at face value: lawmakers would have to get the nod from their counterparts before, say,Golf in Scotland, or visits to Russia — that is unless of course the lawmakers in question agreed to take a few hundred colleagues and staffers along. I mean fair is fair, right?
Next is of course the all important "loss of pension" penalty that really holds water when the guilty party gets a potential $70,000 a year gig with the dirty lobbyist partners, probably more, and given that the current average retirement pay for Congress is less than $50,000 annually, well we can all certainly see what a hardcore deterrent that is going to be. Bravo! Reform Lite!
"The sooner the better," said House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, on his preferences for getting a lobbying and ethics overhaul bill through Congress.
Well of course! Let's get it legal and in writing fast - these guys are no dummies! It is unconscionable how this near-miss of a passed bill is so blatantly set out to serve the hundreds of lawmakers at the expense of the millions of taxpayers - and we continue to support these fools? There is a clause whereby Congress members can abstain from pay raises, and many do. Right, like they aren't "getting the raise" on their own?
In my decades in the food and beverage industry, we learned early and remembered always, you will never "underpay" a cook. He will simply eat the difference in what he thinks you short him. My thought is there are too many cooks in Washington's kitchen, and not enough Chefs. Possessing a Culinary Degree, and a certification from the ACF as a C.E.C (Certified Executive Chef), I believe I speak from knowledge on this subject.
Article comments
1 - Dave Nalle
I like this bill. There's no stronger deterrent to misbehavior by a lawmaker than public scrutiny, and that's EXACTLY what this bill provides.
Dave
2 - Paul Jordan, Sr.
EXACTLY, only if you consider something like "timeout" as proper behavior modification for assault and battery! This thing is an insult to intelligent voters, simply lip service to a very important issue. EXACTLY whom in your family is a Senator Dave?
3 - Paul Jordan, Sr.
The missing comma between 'Senator' and 'Dave', is meant to be an insinuation, by the way.
4 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Paul,
You think the kitchen is crowded in DC? You should see Jerusalem. All sorts of types who cook without washing their hands but no chefs at all (excep' maybe in the American Embassy in Tel Aviv).
5 - Dave Nalle
I did have a cousin who was a state representative in Maryland many years ago. Does that count?
Paul, more severe approaches to this issue have been clearly demonstrated to be disastrous. Draconian solutions become too complex to take every possible corruption into account and the result is that they make things worse and even more unfair.
A simpler, more subtle approach like this might just work, because it takes advantage of human nature and doesn't try to impose unrealistic standards. A modest solution like this which works is better than a radical solution which doesn't.
Ever heard of the concept 'less is more'?
Dave
6 - Paul Jordan, Sr.
A couple of points, Dave,
"A simpler, more subtle approach like this might just work, because it takes advantage of human nature and doesn't try to impose unrealistic standards."
Key words here are "might just work", I am all for anything that works. What I am not for is a watered down bill that is supposed to make an issue 'go away' in theory, but which merely masks the inevitable return to the most profitable methods. Which brings me to the second point...
"unrealistic standards."
I do not think total accountability is an unrealistic standard for our nation's lawmakers, the most recent poll shows only a 22% favorable confidence in the House and the Senate, so I am in the majority here, party lines be damned.
7 - Paul Jordan, Sr.
Ruvy,
Maybe those in Jerusalem could benefit from a live correspondance course like "Jack Abramoff's Politcal Sanitation 101". We could syndicate it from his jail cell, with the "Duke" as a contributor.
8 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Paul,
Just so long as we both get a cut for the deal, deal me in...
9 - Bliffle
"There's no stronger deterrent to misbehavior by a lawmaker than public scrutiny, and that's EXACTLY what this bill provides."
I used to subscribe to that theory but abandoned when it proved untrue. We've had several politicians campaign successfully in spite of public exposure of their perfidy. Why, just look at how many voters deny and alibi this administrations deceits to invade Iraq!
10 - Paul Jordan, Sr.
Even to this Day, amazing isn't it. That is the one thing I still can't understand about the Neocons. Their inate ability to never see the light. Nothing is ever wrong, mistakes are never made, amazing.