Congressional Appropriators Deserve Are As Corrupt As Third World Kleptocrats

The House Defense Appropriations Committee just released its budget after adding in about $3 Billion in pork (story here). Pork? Why not just call it what it is? Bribery. Because we have created an industry around this practice it's not bribery? Because the legal loopholes in Federal Election Commission law allow this money to be "donated" to a congresscritter it's not bribery? Because the men and women in congress sit in hallowed halls and occupy vaulted positions they are not taking bribes and doling out patronage because of the bribes? The only difference between Congressman Jefferson, who was caught in an FBI raid with $90,000 in his freezer and recently convicted on several counts of fraud, and the rest of the congresscritters is that he had cash in his house from a foreign contact in Africa. That's the only difference. When Ted Stevens, Republican from Alaska, got bribery money in the form of house furnishings from local businessmen, how is that different than what Congresscritter Jefferson did? It's only one step removed from cash, but it's essentially the same thing.

When soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan use money from the Commanders Emergency Response Program (CERP) to help rebuild civic and social institutions, we all acknowledge it is essentially a bribe. We provide a bribe to a local sheikh, who will use the money to pay his guys for jobs they may or may not do, but who will not attack Iraqi government or Coalition soldiers. The polite term is patronage. The bottom line term is bribery.

We need to recognize that our elected leaders are just as bad as any Arab sheikh, Afghan tribal elder, or African strong man when it comes to bribery and patronage. The only difference is our leaders have institutionalized it in legal codes, economic interests, and cultural mores. The third world folks just have tradition.

It makes me so angry to see congresscritters put $200 million in pork spending in the defense bill for 3 luxury Gulfstream G-five jets. These jets are for ferrying congresscritters, their staff and family around the world in safety, privacy, and luxury. The Defense Department did not ask for that many jets to replace the aging ones (they asked for 1, not 3) and have other priorities for defense appropriated money, like healthcare for soldiers, more unmanned aerial vehicles, and better armed ground vehicles.

President Obama and Secretary Gates have done a wonderful job holding back the rabid dogs in congress from getting their rabies infected jaws on the F-22 program that was cut. Now with unprecedented deficits, and the DOD already trying to cut a significant number of high-profile programs, Congress has decided to act like Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe by using taxpayer money to fly themselves in luxury jets after excoriating car manufacturers for taking private jets to congressional hearings.

I do not know where are our country or economy is headed. But I do know that congress buying itself three new Gulfstream luxury jets while our economy flounders we are involved in two wars overseas could at best be described as fiddling while Rome burns, and at worst as criminal bribery and outright neglect of duty.

UPDATE: The figures Wall Street Journal is reporting are much higher (link). Congressnow plans to spend $550 million on eight new Gulfstream luxury jets. These extorionists are out of control and need to be stopped.