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 The Senate’s Strange Double StandardPosted on Oct 17, 2007By Joe Conason For an object lesson in the distorted values of the United States Senate, consider how that august institution is handling the ethical embarrassments created by Republican Larry Craig of Idaho and Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska. As everyone in America knows by now, Craig pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for an indiscretion in an airport men’s room. Stevens, along with his son Ben and a number of other Alaska politicians and businessmen, is the subject of a corruption investigation that resulted in an FBI raid on his home last summer. Every day, Craig’s colleagues apply more pressure for him to resign—and every day, those same colleagues treat Stevens as if he remains above suspicion. The Craig case is currently under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee, yet no such probe of the Stevens matter has commenced. According to the prevailing morality in the Senate, a legislator who may or may not have signaled his prurient interest in another man demands the most searching scrutiny, but a legislator who quite plainly accepted financial favors from a contractor deserves none. Now Craig’s colleagues feel a special sense of outrage because he has violated his promise to resign by the end of September if he was unable to get his original guilty plea withdrawn. Clearly, the senator is given to rash gestures that he later regrets, whether tapping the toe of another man in a toilet stall, entering a plea or vowing to surrender his Senate seat. “I wish he would stick to his word,” complained Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who chairs the National Republican Senate Committee and understandably does not relish the bad publicity that makes his task of re-electing Republicans much more challenging. Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, a freshman Republican up for re-election next year, told reporters that he hoped the Idahoan would step down and “respect the institution.” But the institution is not so easy to respect when its members show so little of it by ignoring the stench that surrounds Stevens. The 83-year-old Alaskan, a powerhouse of patronage and seniority, has operated both his state and the Senate Appropriations Committee as fiefdoms that he can use and misuse at will. When his sponsorship of the infamous “bridge to nowhere” drew condemnation from conservatives and liberals alike as an example of egregious pork spending, Stevens gave a furious floor speech in which he threatened to resign. He stopped a “sunlight” provision designed to reveal the sponsorship of every earmark. Such egotistical displays must be expected from a politician who has the largest airport in his state named after him. A platoon of FBI agents has passed through that airport over the past several months as they probe bribery and corruption that appear to implicate dozens of figures, from the statehouse to the oil industry. (How bad is it? Bad enough that a group of Republican legislators, including the former speaker of the Alaskan House, smugly called themselves “the Corrupt Bastards Club.") These crooks transformed their state into an American version of a Third World petroleum kleptocracy. At the center of the scandal is Bill Allen, a former oil services executive who pleaded guilty last May to bribery and extortion charges. Since then he has become a major prosecution witness in the probe. His sworn confessions include an accounting of the costly renovations made to one of Stevens’ homes by his company, as well as other allegedly illegal favors provided to the senator and his son. The Alaska senator has scarcely deigned to address the Allen investigation, except to insist that he has done nothing wrong and will be vindicated. His son Ben went further, complaining publicly about the prosecutors because they have come from “out of state” and are “not from Alaska”—and presumably also not loyal to the local political machine that has allowed corruption to flourish there. But no matter what Stevens or his son may say, the Justice Department, which has put Allen on the witness stand, must believe that the oilman is telling the truth about the favors he did for the senator. Those favors clearly violate Senate rules—and are by any measure much worse than the toe-tapping indiscretions of Craig. When will members restore the Senate’s own tattered prestige by opening an ethics investigation of Stevens? Their failure to deal with his disgrace raises questions about their own probity—and all the favors that he may have done for them in his powerful appropriations post. Joe Conason writes for The New York Observer. © 2007 Creators Syndicate Inc. Previous item: Gouging Grandma Next item: Campaign Lessons for 2008 Elsewhere: . CommentsAre you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.
By Claire M, October 20, 2007 at 10:28 pm # Joe, you’re dealing with “values voters.” Since Stevens isn’t involved in homosexuality, abortion, and embryonic stem-cell research, he’s good to go. Minor indiscretions like money-laundering (DeLay), cat-killing (Frist), and old-fashioned corruption (too many to name) are just examples of boys and girls being boys and girls.
By WR Curley, October 19, 2007 at 9:10 pm # Mr Bonser, that’s right, that’s good. The Godfather, The Sopranos, Goodfellahs, the Sting. The rape of Santiago da Cuba. The conquests of Mexico and Peru and Texas and California, and Cote D’Ivoire and Swahililand and Congo, and Idaho and Minnesota and Kansas and Manitoba, and Crete and Egypt and Palestine and Canaan...and what’s your point? Exactly? In all these stolen lands, the conquerers fucked the conquered, and produced hybrid offspring more vigorous than thou. The world works this way. God, if you like, works this way. The stealing is the prelude to the fucking. The stealing is the SuperBowl and the fucking is the party after. We bring our swords to the stealing and our cocks to the fucking. The one is deadly serious, and the other is vitally joyfull. The disciples of Jesus (eg.), the disciples of supra-worldly rectitude, are the disciples of celibate martyrdom. They make poor thieves. They make poor breeders. They make poor citizens. The mammoth SUV festooned with celebratory Jesus fish - in chrome - on the tailgate, transporting the fattened children of Mammon from feast to feast to feast without thought for Jesus’s own cherished suffering multitudes - those without bread, those without scrap - well....the devilthief laughs. The rocking car is filled with the happy fruits of theft. Hey. It’s not my fault. I just live here. WR Curley
By Wolf Vorkian, October 19, 2007 at 9:42 am # I live in Alaska and have followed the scandals concerning Stevens and his son. Why the kid hasn’t been indicted is beyond comprehension and why the old man hasn’t at least been forced to resign is impossible to fathom too. The remodeling of the senator’s chalet cost considerably more than the amount he said he paid. If you know anything..anything..anything at all about construction cost, this can be easily deduced. Simple arithmetic nails him, he has no way out.
By Conservative Yankee, October 19, 2007 at 7:56 am # Maybe you missed it, but even under Bush, this is the USA not China (for now) Ted Stevens is guilty of NOTHING under our system until he pleads or is found guilty. Craig (on the other hand) is “guilty” because he said so! Different legal status calls for different reaction. Stevens will eventually answer for his sins (if any) against the people. Craig has already passed that place! A parallel case can be found looking no further than the former pervert-in-chief WJC who lied under oath....oops, no he didn’t not enough Republicans in the Senate…
By WR Curley, October 18, 2007 at 10:15 am # It’s not that strange, really. First, there is no logical connection between Mr. Craig’s smarmy little pecadillo and Senator Stevens distinguished 40 year career spent hauling home the pork from Foggy Bottom. He brought His Chosen People oil rigs among the caribou. He brought the pipeline. He brought huge smoking refineries to pristine shores. He brought the Exxon Valdez and the Gravina Island Bridge. He’s doing his utter damndest to sell the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to the highest - or, at all events, the friendliest - bidder...Please, Lord, just one more big one before I die! And all for the economic betterment and for the greater glory of his constituents. He proudly boasts these fine achievements and more. And who can say him nay. So his grateful constituents pony up for a new set of drapes, some landscaping, I don’t know what all. Where’s the harm? Where’s the foul? But, you say, these donations were from major contractors for whom the esteemed Senator’s God-given talents as Hog Butcher to the World meant enormous profit, huge largesse. These were not the working people, the voters, his true constituents. And right there you’d have it all ass-backwards. Get used to it, folks. It’s the way it works. It’s been the way it’s worked since the beginning of the world. That’s part one of this modest rant. More anon. Yours for the power of realpolitik, WR Curley
By sheila, October 18, 2007 at 9:48 am # Stevens is also under investigation for screwing with the fisheries to benefit his son Ben(also under fbi investigation) to the tune of millions of dollars. Our lone representative, arrogant pig, Don Young is also under investigation for the Abramhoff scandal and the VECO scandal. If it is any solace to you fellow cynics out there, all of the state legislators and VECO lobbyists so far have either plead or were convicted and are jailbound, a fate most Alaskans hope for for Ted, Ben and Don.
By Jim Goodson, October 18, 2007 at 7:45 am # Craig is just hanging on long enough too set himself up to become a Corporate Pimp.or Lobbiest. The money is good and he knows where the skeletons are. Twinkle Toes is smarter than his constituency gives him credit for.
By Kevin, October 18, 2007 at 7:44 am # Nothing but trouble! I heard this morning that a judge ruled that certain political offices won’t have to report their income. (Don’t they get paid by our taxes? So, we don’t know how much we are paying them?)
By rage, October 18, 2007 at 7:32 am # Come now. We know the Repugnican Party is a deceitful two-faced writhing sack of crap. What stuns me is that weak and wimpy Dimwitocracks have yet to take full political advantage of the Repugnican fall from family valued grace. The Dims ought to be all over this like BFEE flies on oil crap.
By John Borowski, October 18, 2007 at 4:04 am # It is a shame that Craig was nominated to the Hall of Fame in Idaho. It is a shame that Clinton and McGreevy of NJ didn’t even receive honorable mention. Stevens had to be shielded from sin because of his involvement with oil and other major robber barons. To expose Stevens would endanger half of those in Washington. Most intelligent people in this country are not concerned about a man sitting on the toilet bowl. They are more concerned that the Republicans (Aka Conservative right wingers) are sitting on their quality of life and living standards. They openly call themselves “the corrupt bastards club” while waving the flag of god, patriotism, and family values. The stench of their hypocrisy can be smelled from one end of the country to the other. It is difficult to believe that the American people would vote for these corrupt bastards. I have to believe the voting is rigged.
By Grousefeather, October 18, 2007 at 3:16 am # Propriety has never been important in politics, only the appearence of propriety.
By thomas billis, October 18, 2007 at 1:19 am # Joe Joe naive Joey if you think the thieves are going to turn on one of their own you must send me whatever you are drinking.When I say one of their own I mean Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.Pork is the favorite meal and winning elections is the way to get it.If you think they are going to police their own then send me what you are smoking.One quick example is when the Senate was investigaring the US Attorneys scandal and Sen Pete Domenici was mentioned calling a US attorney with what looked like an attempt to influence him.Simple logic would say call Domenici and get him under oath and ask him what happened.Did it happen?No.Joe this is all for public consumption and base politics.Since Republicans feel that there is a lot of begatting in the Bible it is okay to make love to a woman who is not your wife. Vitter gets standing ovations for sleeping with a prostitute when he comes into Republican caucauses.Joe I do not know what political body you have been covering but it is not ours if this stuff surprises you. Add Your Comment |
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