Extortion, bribery and ethics
Did I really just hear this right?
Senator Nelson of Nebraska abused the powers of his office to extort(1) money from Congress and Harry Reid called it a political "compromise"?
I suppose if Senator Reid is offering a bribe(2) to Senator Nelson in order to buy his vote on the Health care bill it would be difficult to call it what it is - extortion and bribery.
Whatever you call it- and however you frame it - what just happened in the Senate is wrong, unethical and an abuse of power. It is a clear demonstration of why so many people are weary and angry about what happens in Washington.
In corporate America, this where the SEC and the Justice Department would come in, investigate, prosecute and throw somebody in jail. At the very least somebody would get fired... and this is the same Congress that whines about corruption in corporate America? They need to look in the mirror.
www.iangilyeat.com
"Extortion: the crime of obtaining money or some other thing of value by the abuse of one's office or authority."
Senator Nelson of Nebraska abused the powers of his office to extort(1) money from Congress and Harry Reid called it a political "compromise"?
I suppose if Senator Reid is offering a bribe(2) to Senator Nelson in order to buy his vote on the Health care bill it would be difficult to call it what it is - extortion and bribery.
Whatever you call it- and however you frame it - what just happened in the Senate is wrong, unethical and an abuse of power. It is a clear demonstration of why so many people are weary and angry about what happens in Washington.
In corporate America, this where the SEC and the Justice Department would come in, investigate, prosecute and throw somebody in jail. At the very least somebody would get fired... and this is the same Congress that whines about corruption in corporate America? They need to look in the mirror.
www.iangilyeat.com
"Extortion: the crime of obtaining money or some other thing of value by the abuse of one's office or authority."
*Bribe: Something, such as money or a favor, offered or given to a person in a position of trust to influence that person's views or conduct."
--American Heritage Dictionary
Although I agree with you 100% that this is wrong, unfortunately it is the normal way the House and Senate operate. This may be an extreme case, but not unusual. Almost every bill that gets passed, has some other politician's pet project, or latest bill attached to it. Often if one can't get a bill through on its own merits, he gets it attached to another. Often one Senator will agree to vote for a bill he doesn't like, if the author of the bill promises to let him add his bill to it. It's the old, "I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine", theory. Or, senator "A" will vote for senator "B"'s bill, if senator "B" promises to vote for one of senator "A"'s bills that he is having trouble passing. That's politics. It may not be right, but it's the way it is, and I doubt that you will be able to change it, nor will you get much of your bills passed unless you play the game. If you don't play their way, they'll just vote no on everything you want.
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Well said. Politics, using the old definition of the word, is dead - just as traditional media is dead. The power our congressmen have is theirs only as representatives of the people in their districts, and their wishes. Any other effort to pursue special interests, amend much-needed legislation to satisfy the needs of those that have financially supported campaigns for professional or personal reasons - must stop. Power needs to be returned to the people. Everything, and everyone else must go.
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