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**gkruCRi1** · 02-16-2007, 01:30 PM

Although I'm a liberal, I'm fair enough to admit that as long as powerful jobs are there, some people will take advantage, no matter their political affiliations. What was really "flip-floppy" about the 109th Congress was that they were governed by people who drapped themselves in all things virtuous. The hypocrisy was so thick.

I largely feel the same way. There is plenty of corruption on both sides of the aisle historically speaking and corruption being a human failing there always will be. It also seems the local political scene can really help breed that across party lines too. In Pennsylvania where I live, the areas are so gerrymandered that it breeds corruption from entrenchment of either party in each district. Democratic Philadelphia city leaders have been regularly indicted, and now PA state Congressman Democrat power broker from Philadelphia, Vince Fumo, is under massive indictments as we speak for things down to having taxpayers fix his beach house, follow his girlfriends, buy his farm equipment, maid service, etc. Our famous King Of Pork, longtime retired US Congressman Joseph McDade, a Republican from northeast PA, just got arrested for exposing himself to women in Florida. Of course, from the last Congress, outgoing two Republican US Congressmen got in trouble, one--also a pork king-- being under investigation for corruption and the other, a 'family values man,' having an adulterous affair with a woman over 40 years younger and abusing her. The fact that Reps platform on personal morality and fiscal restraint, though, does come back to smack them harder than Dems in my area when the pork and sex stuff gets exposed so often. Overall though, the net effect is that I often feel like wearing a paper bag over my head and bringing a pen for write-ins (which I sometimes do) when going into the voting booth in PA where voting is something New Orleans Parish politicians could be proud, and often really has no competition locally given the gerrymands anyway.

02-16-2007, 01:30 PM	#10
gkruCRi1 Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 505 Senior Member	Although I'm a liberal, I'm fair enough to admit that as long as powerful jobs are there, some people will take advantage, no matter their political affiliations. What was really "flip-floppy" about the 109th Congress was that they were governed by people who drapped themselves in all things virtuous. The hypocrisy was so thick. I largely feel the same way. There is plenty of corruption on both sides of the aisle historically speaking and corruption being a human failing there always will be. It also seems the local political scene can really help breed that across party lines too. In Pennsylvania where I live, the areas are so gerrymandered that it breeds corruption from entrenchment of either party in each district. Democratic Philadelphia city leaders have been regularly indicted, and now PA state Congressman Democrat power broker from Philadelphia, Vince Fumo, is under massive indictments as we speak for things down to having taxpayers fix his beach house, follow his girlfriends, buy his farm equipment, maid service, etc. Our famous King Of Pork, longtime retired US Congressman Joseph McDade, a Republican from northeast PA, just got arrested for exposing himself to women in Florida. Of course, from the last Congress, outgoing two Republican US Congressmen got in trouble, one--also a pork king-- being under investigation for corruption and the other, a 'family values man,' having an adulterous affair with a woman over 40 years younger and abusing her. The fact that Reps platform on personal morality and fiscal restraint, though, does come back to smack them harder than Dems in my area when the pork and sex stuff gets exposed so often. Overall though, the net effect is that I often feel like wearing a paper bag over my head and bringing a pen for write-ins (which I sometimes do) when going into the voting booth in PA where voting is something New Orleans Parish politicians could be proud, and often really has no competition locally given the gerrymands anyway.
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