Republicans Don't Just Steal from Us -- They Steal from Each Other Too; It's in Their Political DNA

What most Republican politicians have in common is a sense of entitlement mixed with a sense of righteousness that is overlain with an ideology that extols unlimited, unregulated greed and selfishness. For Republicans it was a moment on the road to Damascus when Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas' Oscar winning character in the 1987 movie Wall Street) intoned his famous lines: "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind."

Tomorrow's Washington Post reports on the ongoing investigation into massive fraud inside the Republican Party. Earlier today I read about how Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who John McBush plans to make Secretary of Defense, was systematically robbed by one of his assistants over a 5-year period. She got away with over $200,000 from Graham, who made national headlines when he boasted about finding $5 bargains while shopping for carpets in war-torn Baghdad.

But that's small potatoes compared to what Christopher J. Ward, the "gold standard" among GOP accountants has been up to in the same time period. He was the treasurer for 83 Republican fundraising committees over the last 8 years. "In the past five years alone, he oversaw the accounting for committees that raised more than $400 million, $368 million of it at the National Republican Congressional Committee." About a month ago he was fired and the NRCC called in the FBI who say it appears that "a significant amount of money" is missing. Money also appears to be missing from the accounts of dozens of GOP lawmakers. You wonder why these clowns have "lost" untold billions to greedy Republican contractors in Iraq?

In an election year that holds dismal prospects for congressional Republicans, possible financial problems at the cash-strapped NRCC are the last thing the GOP needs.

"The House Republican brand is so bad right now that if it were a dog food, they'd take it off the shelf," said retiring Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), who chaired the NRCC for four years earlier this decade.

The recently indicted Rep. Rick Renzi (Ariz.) and now imprisoned former congressman Robert W. Ney (Ohio), as well as less controversial lawmakers with minor accounting problems, are among the many members of the GOP delegation who turned to Ward to keep them out of trouble with FEC regulators.

Yeah, greed is good... real good.

(Cross-posted from DownWithTyranny)

Comments

[ld]

Most accurate, succinct description of Republicanism (since Reagan) I've maybe EVER seen. Your first sentence is perfect.

[ranchobob]

The problem is the electorate is so PROFOUNDLY stupid and myopic, they vote for republicans for slogans like "free trade" "national security" "Liberty", etc. which are all good, and are all things we are supposed to be about as a nation. But the Republicans have subverted everything they touch in their desire to have all money and all power right now, before the next quarterly report. They don't care about abortion, security, morals, they just use the religious sector of the electorate who are to busy thumping their bibles to notice how they are being fleeced.

[Pdubya]

your partisan piece is exactly what is wrong with politics.

sorry, but next time my paycheck notes federal income tax, social security tax, medicare, state tax et al, I'll think about who is stealing from whom...

as if ...the democrats don't rape one another and the citizenry. ha.

its called a plutocracy, run by lobby whoring politicians who call themselves D or R just to patronize us into thinking we are making a difference. meanwhile, they shake hands on back room deals, stuff their pockets and point fingers at one another to give us something to do.

silly boy, partisanship is for sheep.

[CatfishJohn]

.... you have to be oblivious to politicla reality for the past 30 years to deny that greed, racism, misanthropy, relentless lying is at the core of the modern Republican modus operandi...but you have to give the modern repubs mucho credit for the way their fearmongering, mixing in uttelry empty patriotic symbols and vilifying the modern quiche and brie spineless democrats has conned dumb bubba and betty sue into thinking that the republican "party of the plutocrats" somehow represents 10 dollar an hour bubba's interests....of course., the ever obliging corporate media has been the greatest ally of the Bushco. agenda, just like it will be the dottering John mccain's presidential campaign.. ignore the 1/2 trillion dollars in tax cuts bush has already handed the top 1% as bubba struggles...pay no mind to the emergence of hundreds of new billioanires in the context of serious fiancial crisis and declining longterm prospects for america's bubba's... dumb bubba will STILL vote Repubic in '08...because, easily manipiulated loser that he is, he has been conditioned relentlessly by the corporate media that indeed "greed is good" and whats good for exxon/mobil and the billionaire class is somehow---inexplicably - good for bubba too....

[biglover]

All repugs and rethugs like Pdubya are divorced from reality. Did anyone see the prez speak before the New York Economic Club today - now that is a class example of someone divorced from reality !!!

[Silpat]

Kinda like how racism and intolerance is in the DNA of the Democrats. lol

[BOfever]

It's not left, it's not right, Government in general steals from us. Next time you get a paycheck take a look at it, how much of that do you give willingly to the Government? How much do they just take because they can?

They steal everytime they build a wild turkey museum, hippy museum or fly to DC to get a $4,000 prostitute.

[darcy]

Eactly right, BOfever.

[SamThornton]

Ah, the Republicans. First, they tell us they're going to destroy the Republic and steal everything that's not nailed down. Then, they destroy the Republic and steal everything that's not nailed down. Then, they tell us they've destroyed the Republic and stolen everything that's not nailed down. Then, they laugh like hell.

What's not to love?

[LeftRight]

Eh, I'm not happy that it's happening, since it is also happening to us. I'm still trying to understand the logic of "rob from the poor, give to the rich" mentality of republicans...

[Sparhawk]

IS that any different than 'rob from the rich and give to the poor" ? Stealing is stealing. It can't be good for one group and evil for another group. Ends don't justify the means. Situational ethics are a outcropping of situational morality. It's been that way since the New Deal. If Government interventions works so well (as controlled by a Democratic controlled Congress for most of the last 60 years), why are there MORE poor as a percentage of population now that ever before ?

Can't blame Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy.....They are but one person. Congress controls the purse strings of America. Always have always will. Root out Corruption there it wouldn't matter who is President, they would not be able to earmark, set aside or patronize Lobbys.

[LeftRight]

I'm not saying that I support the ideology of rob from the rich to give to the poor, but at least the rich have more to rob and give to the poor. The poor don't really have anything, but the republicans have been robbing from them to give major tax cuts and grants, and simply giving money to the rich for the last 30 years!

[LeftRight]

And by the way, as to there being more poor than at any other time since the new deal, do you think that might have something to do with the fact that bushco(tm) is president? And has been for the last 7 years!!

And you're right, Congress controls the purse strings, but the president has 2 things going for him:

1) He writes the budget that Congress amends, so when HE includes a large increase, they are likely to keep it!

2) He has the veto, which only Bill Clinton had the courage to use against a pork filled budget. He shut down the government until the people had enough and the republicans sent him a budget WITHOUT major pork. In the aftermath of this, we had a reasonable tax policy (sort of) and a reasonable spending policy (again, sort of) which resulted in the first budget surplus in DECADES!!

[darcy]

Republicans are sociopathic. They can't empathize with other humans, and when it comes to animals, they're relentlessly cruel.

[munkeyfuk]

It's good if you enjoy schardenfrude, or believe in karma!

[wolfgangmo]

To get biblical for a moment ... "as you reap, so do you sew" and "as he thinks in his heart, so he is."

Evil men do evil deeds and the GOP is full of ....

[Oldchef]

I think that goes "as you sow, so shall you reap". You have to plant before you can harvest. But I know what you mean to say, and totally agree. Those who have been in power for a while, republican and a few notable democrats seem to have a feeling of entitlement, an "I deserve it" mentality because I am where I am, or have been born into, or "it's my turn, damn it, back off!"