Dishonorable Mention: Joe Sestak's Silence

Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania -- It is my belief that political corruption poses the greatest threat to America than anything else because it impacts everything else-from terrorism to taxes. Believing that, I can't help but to think that Pennsylvania could topple Illinois as the capital of corruption. Much of the reputation for corruption in Illinois stems from Cook County and Chicago.

Corruption in Chicago is well documented, thanks to a February 2010 University of Illinois at Chicago study which called Cook County a "dark pool of political corruption." The 33-page study covered nearly 150 years of Cook County history, and counts 150 Cook County politicians, employees and contractors who were convicted of public corruption since 1957.

President Obama's former Chicago friend and financial supporter, Antoine Rezko, has been convicted of fraud, attempted bribery, and money laundering. Today, the flamboyant former Governor Blagojevich is in court, facing corruption charges. Defense attorneys have attempted to subpoena President Obama to testify that "Blago" was not trying to sell Senator Obama's vacated seat in Congress. Obama aide Valerie Jarrett and chief of staff Rahm Emmanuel have both been subpoenaed to testify, though a judge has already ruled that President Obama would not.

It's no coincidence that a popular television drama series (The Good Wife), in which a main character has been imprisoned for public corruption, locates itself in Chicago. But we're catching up to Chicago here in Pennsylvania, and were given a large public boost when Democrats offered Joe Sestak a White House job if he'd drop out of his party's Senate primary.

Even a cursory Google or Yahoo search will turn up a plethora of stories of Pennsylvania political corruption. On the state level, top ranking Democrat Mike Veon and eleven others were convicted in March 2010 for what had come to be called the "bonusgate" scandal. State employees who worked simultaneously to campaign to keep Democrats in power were paid "bonuses" with Pennsylvania taxpayer money.

At the judicial level, Pennsylvania judges Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella pled guilty in April 2010 to a variety of charges including tax evasion, wire fraud, accepting millions in kickbacks, and sending kids to jail for profit on a per-head basis.

Aside from the criminal prosecutions, some Pennsylvania politicians seem to believe that their chief objective is to get Congress to spend money in their districts. The business of earmarking public money is accepted practice, termed "business as usual," or "normal political horse trading," and for some politicians take that is an article of faith. At the congressional level, Representative Paul Kanjorski has never been charged with public corruption, but Kanjorski was instrumental in obtaining a $10 million dollar federal grant for bankrupt Cornerstone Technologies, operated by his daughter, and by his nieces and nephews. Earmarking money for pet projects run by relatives is not illegal, merely unethical, and overlooked in many cases. Further connection between Kanjorski and Cornerstone technologies was thwarted when Cornerstone filed bankruptcy.

According to a 2007 Politico article, Representative Kanjorski pressed the late fellow Democrat John Murtha, who served on the defense appropriation committee, to obtain the million dollar grant for Cornerstone Technologies. In addition, Cornerstone is reported to have violated a Navy contract and failed to hand over an expensive item of Defense Department equipment. With regard to the million dollar grant to Kanjorski's relatives, the pressure effort of Kanjorski's staff and Murtha's is documented in an email which assures Kanjorski that the grant would be forthcoming.

With important Pennsylvania elections looming in November, pitting Rep. Paul Kanjorski against Mayor Lou Barletta and Joe Sestak against Pat Toomey, the taint of political corruption is likely to surface. The winner of the Democrat's May Primary, Joe Sestak, should not cloud his honorable record of military service by protecting "confidences" of ex-presidents whose role in the Sestak "job offer" was disclosed by the President's staffers.

Before I vote in November, I would like to know how this effort at suborning voter choice was directed. With the news that a similar job offer was made to Colorado Democrat Andrew Romanoff, it would seem that the "most transparent presidency in history" has systematized a system of politics which has made Chicago's Cook County famous.

I was thinking on Memorial Day of the people who fought and died for the liberties claimed in the Declaration of Independence. For most of them, government service was a "calling," not a path to lifelong self-service. George Washington did not return to his estate with a multi-million dollar book contract and offers of $25,000 speaking engagements. Is the United States, with its accepted "horse trading" and "business as usual" attitude, become a Confederation of Corruption?

Sources: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/3/white-house-faces-second-job-offer-controversy/

http://www.politico.com/pdf/PPM43_emailexchange_031799.pdf

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5667.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exXjk_jv9E4&feature=related

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20100322_Bonusgate_jury_deadlocked_.html