So let me get this straight...

If job offers and bribes are not appropriate and warrant an investigation on for ethics violations in a campaign race...why are there no investigations into what it took to get the votes to pass the Health Care Reform bill?

Payola to get what you want is payola, is it not? I mean especially when we are talking about a bill that is expanding the federal government's power over individuals compared to which crook was running for a congressional seat?

Where is the line of distinction here? Do people really believe that is was a darn helicopter ride that changed the votes of some members of the House? We are talking about people that can afford to buy a helicopter.

An ethics committee, please. If you want to enforce things by committee make the committee be armed and angry to see how well the politicians start conforming to ethics and rules. That, while an extreme, would get results.

The seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee today called on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Sestak's suggestion that he was offered a White House job in exchange for dropping his (ultimately successful) challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa, who has been pressing this issue for months, called for a special prosecutor in April. He alleges that the White House may have violated anti-bribery provisions of the federal criminal code as well as prohibitions on government officials interfering in elections and using federal jobs for a political purpose if it made the offer.

link


edit to add the word "is"

[edit on 26-5-2010 by Ahabstar]

reply to post by Ahabstar


You are correct sir, a bribe is a bribe.

But thats the "American Way"

Never going to change, the folks who are giving Bribes, the folks who

are Receiving bribes are quite happy with the system.

Saw recently that the Oil Platform Inspectors were on the Receiving end of

several "gifts and junkets" , By guess who ?

Oil Companies.

But that's ok, what can go wrong.

Had a professor in Business School awhile back that told a story... went something along the lines of:

Company A (that he was a VP/CFO in was being supplied product (nuts, dates, etc.) from Iran. Cheap and reliable. Word was Clinton (Pres. at the time) was contemplating embargo on Iran so Company A sent a couple (very hot) female lobbyists to have a "chat" with the man... next thing ya know, no embargo on Iran... Lol.

I'm not sure if that was a true story, a watered down version of the story or completely made up, but it is an example - corporate bribes, political bribes, they're all the same and they're all the rage. It's business as usual...

reply to post by LadySkadi


I had a professor at business school who asked something similar:

Basically, if you get a buyer to purchase goods from your company by giving them a "kickback" it's seen as unethical. However, take the buyer out for a lavish lunch once a week, and it's just seen as a business lunch (or a game of golf, etc)

Sometimes the lines are very nice and blurry hey?

I was thinking lately, I wish we had a greater interest in politics...I wish we had a TMZ for politics...following the president and congressmen around, finding out what they are doing and blasting it all TV and magazines...

They make their own rules and ethics committees...they only use themwhen it looks good for them

reply to post by TortoiseKweek


Right. All the while, ensuring that they all take place as a tax write off.
Tricks of the trade...

Bribes are bribes, but there are very, very specific laws written about offering and/or accepting bribes for federal jobs, and it is a jailable offense. Hence this controversy.

Then why in the hell is there ANYone left in Washington, DC? Ugh! The whole place needs to be surveillance cameras from one end to the other where the citizens could tune in at any time from the internet.
Or maybe THEY ought to have a chip where we could listen in on their every word & track every place they go.