ELITES DIG IN TO DEFEND WASHINGTON’S CULTURE OF CORRUPTION

Here we go again. Both political parties are digging in for what they hope will be an undiscovered secret defense of Washington’s culture of corruption.

There will be hearings, of course, and endless press conferences laced with promises to get to the bottom of the scandals that threaten to destabilize the stock market. But the elusive details that would actually send someone to jail are unlikely to be disclosed.

Unlikely, however, does not mean never. The Devil and his details occasionally bubble to the surface and seriously burn the miscreants, rather than the usual case where ordinary Americans lose their pensions, and are often laughingly referred to as political collateral damage in the sophisticated salons of Washington.

Consider, for instance, the videotape that is safely sequestered at an undisclosed location showing a big political contributor recreating with the taxpayers’ money, despite the fact that his $100 million corporation with Justice Department contracts went belly up. And, no, he’s not being slammed on the trunk lid of a police cruiser.

These corrupt elites may also be somewhat dismayed to learn that the art of photography shows other festivities being enjoyed by crass lobbyists who lighten the burden of the taxpayers by relieving them of their money. Maybe a picture really is worth a thousand words.

And, finally, the court system. This last bulwark of protection for these malefactors is attracting the attention of those average working folks who are getting a little more than annoyed at being robbed by these self-appointed elites.

The revelation that Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson had made a career of representing the sleaziest credit card oppressors of middle- and lower-income citizens may be a wake-up call to the most sluggish intellect.

The fact that President Bush would have this character chair his corporate corruption task force tells us a lot more than White House press releases.

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