Joe Wilson's reprimand by a corrupt Congress is an affront to common sense

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Just days after millions – yes, millions- of Americans gathered in cities across the country to protest the massive expansion of government, encroachment on their Constitutional rights, and the rampant government corruption of recent years, our esteemed elected officials have come to the conclusion that the most pressing issue that must be addressed by Congress is to officially reprimand Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) for calling President Obama a liar during his speech last week. And they did: 240 yea to 179 nay.  As amazing as it sounds, it appears as though Congress is still not paying attention to what millions of Americans are trying to tell them. Imagine that.

In an ironic twist that literally turns common sense and sensibility completely on its head, the leadership of what is perhaps the most corrupt Congress in the history of this republic has decided to officially punish the South Carolina Republican for his outburst by bringing to the House floor a vote on a “resolution of disapproval.” This resolution is the mildest form of punishment for a member who has violated established rules. Kristie Greco, an aide to House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, ( D-SC) said of the outburst and subsequent necessity of a resolution: “It was a breach of decorum and it can’t be accepted.” She added: "Ignoring the issue sets a precedent for bad behavior." Other Members of Congress and their aides have expressed outrage over Wilson’s remarks, calling it an affront to the dignity of the House.

An affront to the “dignity of the House?” “Sets a precedent for bad behavior?” “A breach of decorum?” Are you outraged yet? Are these people that far gone, or do they just believe the old adage that if you repeat a lie often enough people will eventually believe it? To make such assertions clearly demonstrates just how far removed from reality these people truly are.

Since when in recent memory has either House of the legislature demonstrated itself to be in any way and by any measure dignified? Was it the Congressional investigation into steroid abuse in Major League Baseball when Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) questioned Roger Clemens about the size of needle holes in his buttocks? Was it when the House was rocked by the banking scandal of 1992 and subsequently whitewashed the careers of several members implicated, John Conyers among them, who continue to serve in Congress? Was it when members of both parties dragged their feet and sat on the clear evidence of blatant corruption implicating Tom Feeney (R-FL) in the Abramoff scandal that brought down Tom DeLay (R-TX)?

Was Congress dignified when it forgave Barney Frank’s unbelievable ignorance of his boyfriend running a male prostitution ring out of their Washington apartment? Or how about when John McCain was all but absolved of any impropriety in his dealings with the Keating affair? What about the whitewash that was the 911 Committee where many of those responsible for the lack of response and/or detection were empowered to find “solutions” to prevent such an occurrence in the future – and Congress’ inaction in implementing said solutions? What about Sen. Diane Feinstein steering millions to the FDIC and then purchasing thousands of shares of common stock in her husband’s company just prior to the same company being awarded a multi-million dollar contract with the FDIC. Of course, it was all a big coincidence. Dignified actions, indeed.
 

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

More recently, one could bring up members blatantly unethical relationships with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Countrywide Mortgage, and a veritable potpourri of other institutions that are documented as donating vast sums of money to influential politicians in the House and Senate for special treatment and political favors. The names of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama come to mind. Certainly, we cannot omit Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel’s failure to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxable income as he continues to write the tax codes that he and his ilk are privileged to ignore while we must pay.

Let us consider the case of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) who was found to have over $90,000 in cash stored in his freezer. Very dignified - no corruption there. Or the case of Speaker Pelosi who accused the CIA of lying to Congress about water boarding suspected terrorists then abruptly dismissed reporters who questioned her for evidence of the allegations- and then admitted that she had indeed known about water boarding. And despite last night’s Senate vote to stop all funding to ACORN, we would be remiss to omit the House Democrat leadership’s refusal to investigate or even comment on the obvious and overt corruption of this organization even as hidden camera exposés on ACORN become all the rage. Let us also remember how Congress writes and passes the most wide-reaching legislation: groups like APOLLO Alliance, directed by Jeff Jones – a founding member of the Weather Underground - wrote the stimulus bill; the Medicare prescription drug bill was passed in the middle of the night when everyone except corrupt politicians and lobbyists were sleeping. The President’s healthcare proposal in the form of HR 3200 was largely written by SEIU, a partner in crime with ACORN.

Let us not forget the most dignified refusal of both House and Senate leadership to bring to the floor HR 1207 and S 604, bills to audit the Federal Reserve – arguably the most important bill in recent memory, the passage into law of which would doubtless reverse the course of our interventionist and inflationary economic and monetary policy to the betterment of all- when the House bill has 287 co-sponsors and the Senate bill has 24.

And certainly, one must include in this short list of affronts, how so many members of Congress in both houses and both parties voted to give President Bush authority to use military force against Iraq in 2003, yet later claimed that they never believed Bush would actually go to war.  And who could forget Ted Kennedy's secret overture to the Soviet Premier Andropov in the early 1980s when he still thought he had a shot at the presidency?  Some would call that dignified.   Others would call it treasonous.

The above examples are not merely affronts to the institution of Congress and the Constitution, but are an insult and a backhanded slap to the American people. And deliberating and voting on a “resolution of disapproval” is only the latest gimmick in the warped mind of a Speaker who seems oftentimes to be living in a parallel universe, to create a new boogeyman and distract the people from what is really happening to their country by charging that everyone who disagrees with this President and his agenda is a racist. And while throwing out the racist card, could we make mention of Robert KKK Byrd, once an active member of the Ku Klux Klan, who fought to stop the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which, ironically, was likely one of the few times in recent history where Congress actually did something truly dignified.
 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Let us also not forget the time when members of the House audibly booed former President George Bush in mid-speech. That was certainly dignified – at least they didn’t shout, “You lie!” One wonders if any of those who shouted were disciplined… likely not. One wonders if perhaps Wilson should have simply shouted, “Boooooo!” Apparently that is acceptable behavior, that is if one is going to interrupt the President.

Indeed, the idea of the likes of real criminals like Rangel, Pelosi, Frank and Conyers standing on the House floor pontificating about how disrespectful and undignified Wilson is for merely shouting is enough to make one want to shout, “You lie!” at them.

But, the point of the story is this: all of these people who purport to “represent” us in Congress, with very few exceptions on both sides of the aisle, are liars, cheats, cowards and criminals. They are out of touch, growing more out of touch with each passing day, and they don’t care. Some Republicans are trying to jump on the “patriot” bandwagon, but don’t think we don’t see through you as well. After years and years of contributing to the problem of corruption and government encroachment into the private lives of the citizenry under Bush, now they are suddenly outraged. After years of laughing at truly consistent, dignified, knowledgeable and principled men like Dr. Ron Paul, now they are rushing to stand behind him as public sentiment turns decidedly against the rampant corruption and overt violations of the Constitution. For years they stood together, Republicans and Democrats alike, opposing any meaningful reforms like: limiting access and influence of lobbyists and transparency of dealings with them; writing bills so that people (even Representatives and Senators) can actually read and understand them; eliminating waste, corruption and punishing ethical violations; simplifying the tax code; engaging in the legitimate oversight mandated to Congress by the Constitution instead of abdicating that role to bureaucrats and unaccountable “czars.”

Democrats and Republicans still don’t get it. This is all just a game to them, where they seek to attract the attention of the public to scandals that aren’t really scandalous so that the public will either not see or will ignore the real problem, and right now the real problem with Congress is not Joe Wilson’s outburst; it is a culture of corruption built on the privilege of incumbency. And that is something that can be readily addressed come November, 2010. That is when the people can remind the Speaker and her “loyal opposition” that in many, many districts across this country the weeds have been torn up and replaced… with Astroturf.
 

AP Photos:  Top, Mary Ann Chastain; Middle and Bottom, Harry Hamburg

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