Abramoff Goes to Washington...and Then Jail

Congress over the years has been a lot like Rick's Americana in Casablanca; it's clean image on the outside, everyone goes there for a good time and there is a private room where gambling is held. While there is no roulette table in Congress, there was plenty of money exchanging hands and secret deals. Well, just like in the movie when Renaldo finally is told to shut it down and claims that he's shocked by the gambling (then is given his winnings right afterward) Congress is finally cleaning up its own gambling.

This of course is an oversimplification, but there are a few things that are going to mark a change in congress. First, the scandals took their toll on the Republican's in congress and forced them out of office (literally in some cases). Second, with the Democrats in control of congress, they have claimed that they will make congress more transparent and finally, American's are tired of the games of congress.

First, let's look at Jack Abramoff and the various scandals that took their toll on the Republicans. The most famous of these is of course Jack Abramoff, the form K street lobbyist who is serving time in prison for the fraudulent purchase of a Florida casino cruise line. Now, would that be big news if that was the only thing that happened? The answer is of course no. Abramoff was the center of a lobbying organization that was guilty of conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion to hit the tip of the iceberg. His activities highlighted a congress that did not live up to Newt Gingrich's promise in 1994 to clean up Washington. Let us not forget that a major reason that Republican's were swept into congress in 1994 was the fact that the Democrats were not being very ethical in their leadership roles and Newt promised to clean that up. Unfortunately, power corrupts, as the Republican party found out.

Tied to Abramhoff was of course former Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio. Ney pleaded guilty to accepting meals, drinks, tickets to concerts and sports, trips throughout the world and other perks that were worth thousands and tens of thousands of dollars. While all of this was not tied to Abramhoff, part of it was and it highlighted the abuse that some members of congress used to get perks for themselves. Former aides of former Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas have also pleaded guilty to similar charges. Speaking of DeLay, he had to resign for other campaign-finance charges in Texas related to the re-districting of that state and was constantly being dogged by questions to Abramhoff.

What is disconcerting for most Republican's is that Abramoff has been complying with the F.B.I. If you were a representative that worked with Abramoff, you have to be worried at this point and for good reason.

Now, this comes to the second question: are Democrats going to clean up the lobbying mess? The short answer is no. Oh, they will say that they will and already some legislation has been passed, but mostly it is paying lip service. Don't get me wrong, I hope they do, but remember, power corrupts. I don't think that Republican's are the only one's who were doing this, they just got caught.

Now, what does making Congress more transparent have to do with lobbying? Well, if you lobby for someone, you want legislation passed to benefit that person. A good amount of time, that legislation will come as anonymous "earmarks" attached to massive spending bills. We've all heard of this, it is called pork. What is interesting is that most politicians brag about how much pork they got their own district, while blasting how irresponsible congress's spending habits have been. What the democrats are planning on doing, is eliminating the anonymity of those earmarks and force the person who is placing the request to put their names on it. This is a major step that will help clean up Washington, if only for a little bit.

Will Congress ever be clear of lobbying and money? No. However, we can hope that with all of the recent scandals and the Democrats promise to make the spending habits of congress-people more transparant, we can at least not be shocked by the scandals when they come out. Democrats have a chance to change things. They have an opportunity to fix all of the problems out there and campaign over the next few years as the party that cleanup up Congress. Let's hope they don't get influenced by their new found power and revert back to their old ways.