The Party of Corruption

I know that a lot of people think I'm excessively partisan. But frankly, I only consider myself "one half" partisan. I do not believe I am excessively pro-Republican. In fact, one of my posts a couple months ago had some very harsh things to say about the Republican party establishment. I consider myself to be a Republican, but there are plenty of Republicans that I don't like very much and I don't blindly vote the party line. My loyalty is to specific (mostly conservative) principles, not to the Republican party. However, it is true that I am partisan when it comes to Democrats. I am passionately anti-Democrat, especially the Democratic party as it exists today. Here are a few reasons why I think the Democratic party deserves to be known as The Party of Corruption:

1. I am amazed at the way the Democratic party and black leaders have rallied in support of Harry Reid. Reid made an inexcusable statement -- one that is demeaning and insulting to all blacks and also insulting to the American people as a whole. I can't even find a leading Democrat who will condemn Reid's comment at all. Everyone from Obama to Democratic senators to the NAACP keeps saying Reid made a "mistake" or he "misspoke," and then rushes on to say how great Reid is on "civil rights issues," whatever that means. That is not condemning him. It's excusing him. I heard a clip on the radio of Al Sharpton speaking out to defend Harry Reid, and he was laughing and cracking up with people around him while he was speaking. Apparently Al Sharpton thinks it's funny that the Democratic leader in the Senate makes racially insulting comments.

One of the worst hypocrites in the bunch is Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who back in 2002 said this about Trent Lott's racially insensitive comments: "If a Democratic leader said such a thing, they would not be allowed to keep their position." Of course, Senator Landrieu has no comment about Reid and thus is implicitly supporting him, just like every other Democrat in the Senate. This tells you all you need to know about the Democratic party. They don't care if their leader demeans African-Americans. They act principled when a Republican makes an inappropriate comment, but when one of their own does it they prove that they don't really believe those principles. All they care about is getting their agenda passed. And since Reid is necessary to get health care passed, they will support him no matter what he says.

(Let me a make a side comment about the comparison of Reid to Trent Lott, who was forced to resign as Senate Minority Leader in 2002 after making comments about how our country would have been better off if Strom Thurmond -- who at the time was a segregationist -- had been elected president in 1948. Despite what some are claiming, I think Reid's comments were significantly worse than Lott's. Lott was joking around at Thurmond's 100th birthday party. He had probably had a few beers and wanted to flatter his friend. He never said anything about race or segregation at all, and there's no reason to think it was on his mind. The only way you can find Lott's comments racist is to read into them some sinister intent that was not stated. Reid's comments, on the other hand, were explicitly racial and were in the context of a serious private discussion. If anyone "misspoke," it was Lott, not Reid. But I would note that most Republicans made no real effort to defend Lott, and their lack of support forced him to resign. Note the contrast between how the two parties handled the situation.)

2. Harry Reid is not the only person in a position of Democratic leadership in Congress who is a disgrace. Charlie Rangel has been under investigation for years for various types of corruption, including flagrant tax violations. Rangel is one of the key leaders in the House of Representatives, chairing the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Of course, Democrats rallied around him and allowed him to keep his chairmanship, refusing even to censure him. (Even though they voted to censure Republican congressman Joe Wilson for a much lesser offense of violating congressional decorum.) Again, Democrats don't care what their members do. They can be frauds, cheats, and lawbreakers; as long as they help "advance the agenda" they are welcomed as top Democratic leaders. It is the ultimate "end justifies the means" mentality.

3. Tim Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury, was nominated by Obama and confirmed by Democrats in the Senate, despite owing $34,000 in backtaxes that he failed to pay (until after he was nominated!). Obama also nominated two other people to Cabinet-level positions who were guilty of tax evasion. Again, for the Democrats this is no big deal. It doesn't matter how you break the law, as long as you can advance the agenda.

4. The health care debacle in Congress really shines a spotlight on the Democrats' corruption. As the debate has unfolded, it has become clear that the Democrats will stop at nothing to pass their bill. They paid off various senators for hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in order to secure their votes, and flagrantly violated their pledge of transparency by excluding cameras from the conference deliberations. They showed shocking indifference for the actual content of the bill, forcing quick votes before senators had even had time to read the entire bill, and inserting and deleting provisions at will. They refused any attempt at bipartisanship and displayed complete contempt for the concerns of the American people (as illustrated by townhall meetings and polls). Again, this shows that to Democrats, principles, promises, and even voters don't matter. The only thing that matters is keeping their power and passing their agenda.