This has been implicit for some time, but Carl Hulse in The New York Times brings it to the surface — the Democrats’ efforts to run on ethics and a “culture of corruption” are, apparently, undermined by William Jefferson‘s transgressions. Obviously, we are seeing what everyone already knew — that the Donkeys aren’t pure as virgin snow. Certainly, Jefferson been up to no good and richly deserves punishment.
But there’s no serious comparison here.
Jefferson was a corrupt freelancer . . . a more-or-less random member of congress abusing his office for personal gain. Compare this to the case of Tom DeLay, the key mover-and-shaker in the Republican caucus for many years and an important one for years before that. His muck-worthy activities not only accrued to a more significant player, but also bore a direct relationship to the creation and sustenance of the GOP machine.
Beyond DeLay, the salient point about, say, the Dukester is that his cash-for-contracts scheme was in many ways continuous with standard operating procedure for the Republican Party. It was different. But a difference of degree, not of kind. Normally, the cash comes in as campaign contributions or lobbying jobs for yourself and your retainers rather than pocket money or boats. But the public policy auction is happening at all levels. Look at the energy bill, or the farm bill, or the Medicare bill. Legislation is for sale to the highest bidder in all cases. That — and not the fact that this or that Republican may or may not be under indictment — is the point. And it connects up with the pattern of executive branch lawlessness and malfeasance. The overall attitude is that the institutions of government are the property of the people who happen to be holding power; power that can be deployed without constraint on behalf of its holders or their paymasters.
