On Ethics
by Blake on Jun 25, 2009 at 09:29 Political
Yesterday, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford called a news conference to explain his absence from his office for the past week.
He then proceeded to explain that he had had an affair with an Argentinian woman that he had know for eight years. This affair began casually, and later escalated, which brings me to a question; Why can’t people keep it to themselves? What mental defect causes them to think they are above it all? Where are the ethics every one of them so loudly proclaim?
The man was married, with four children, and he was stupid enough to think that there would be no consequences for his actions? Perhaps he thought for a moment that he was a Democrat- that might explain his mistaken temporary insanity regarding consequences- they never seem to have to answer for any criminal behavior- their side just shrugs and goes on with their lives, while Republicans fall by the wayside, doomed by their own admissions and moral lapses.
Why can we not actually have people in office who say what they mean, and do what they say. Why can we not have people in government who are actually good examples, instead of ” unindicted co- conspirator”, or “disgraced former_______” (fill in the blank).
This is not a new problem, nor is it limited to one party or the other. The entire House of Representatives once bounced more than 8,331 checks at their own bank- heck they forced it to close, and then when they had pledged to fix the problem, they promptly kited an additional 4,325 checks. And yet, none of these people had to pay an overdraft charge, as you or I would have.
Thomas Jefferson said, “The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.” And that is just what the politicians are doing, on a scale larger than ever before, racking up a staggering $11,000,000,000,000 in national debt, with each family’s share coming in at $116,000.
Just say no- our interest payment to service this debt will be about $26,000,000,000- that is 26 billion, per month. You might be forgiven for thinking that the head of the Treasury Department could do the math, and tell the rest of the politicians, ” Hey- perhaps we should quit while we’re behind, instead of really behind,” but noooooo. Turns out, he is math- challenged.
He’s supposedly the right man for this job, and yet he can’t figure out his tax bill, even though his employer, the International Monetary Fund, had done the math for him, and even cut him a check for the right amount, and made him sign an affidavit saying that the check was to be used for his payroll tax. How stupid is he?
Oh, and let’s not forget Charlie Rangel, the Congressman from New York who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, the committee that actually writes the tax code. Apparently he’s not smart enough to read the code he writes, and failed to pay taxes ($75,000) in rental income from his villa retreat at the Punta Cana Yacht Club in the Dominican Republic. His excuse was that he didn’t know the tax applied to rental properties in the Dominican Republic. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
At least that is what the IRS tells us ordinary people- if it was we who had “forgotten” our tax obligations, we would be subject to the full might of the IRS in its quest to get “their” money from you.
The fact that there are serial lawbreakers in government today is a sorry state of affairs- why we tolerate them is beyond me. I personally do not care what party they claim to be from, as far as I am concerned, they belong to one class only- criminals. Where are the ethics they profess to have? Why do we tolerate these people working for us? Would you employ a known thief to clean your house? A car thief to detail your car? Why give known thieves the keys to our treasury?
James Madison is rolling over in his grave. “[Congress]… can make no law which will not have its full operation on themselves and their friends, as well as on the great mass of society. This has always been deemed one of the strongest bonds by which human policy can connect the rulers and the people together. It creates between them that communion of interests and sympathy of sentiments, of which few governments have furnished examples; but without which every government degenerates into tyranny… If this spirit shall ever be so far debased as to tolerate a law not obligatory on the legislature, as well as on the people, the people will be prepared to tolerate anything but liberty.”
Ethics, like the Constitution, are not fluid things, but are supposedly the bedrock of our behavior, and should be doubly so for the politicians- after all, they are supposed to be representing We the People, a large group that needs good representation, not just someone who shows up for the perks. If we tolerate these crooks in our midst, we get the government we deserve.
Samuel Adams said that those who prefer the “tranquility of servitude” had best be prepared to “crouch down and lick the hands which feed you.”
He also said, in closing, “May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!”
[tip]If you enjoy what you read consider signing up to receive email notification of new posts. There are several options in the sidebar and I am sure you can find one that suits you. If you prefer, consider adding this site to your favorite feed reader. If you receive emails and wish to stop them follow the instructions included in the email.[/tip]
Tags: deficit spending, ethics, liars, politicians
What is it with these philandering politicians? They are going to get caught, surely they know this by now. Especially if their party affiliation is Republican.
I wonder who forwarded Gov. Sanford’s private emails to the press. If it was a fellow Republican… well, let’s just shoot ourselves in the foot AGAIN!
Everyone seems to want an advantage, and no one has any loyalty to ethics, or people, or causes- they sell themselves and their causes out for the most specious reasons.
What seems astounding to me is the fact that it took as long as it did for the E- mails to leak out. I fear for the future of our society.
As sickening as it is to hear about Governor Sanford, this is even more sickening and more low life, if you know what I mean—-
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. John Kerry must have been channeling his inner Letterman yesterday.
The Bay State senator was telling a group of business and civic leaders in town at his invitation about the “bizarre’’ tale of how South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford had “disappeared for four days’’ and claimed to be hiking along the Appalachian Trail, but no one was really certain of his whereabouts.
“Too bad,’’ Kerry said, “if a governor had to go missing it couldn’t have been the governor of Alaska. You know, Sarah Palin.’’
The difference is, if Palin went missing she would be missed. If Kerry went missing no one would notice.
Or care.
Now Herman Munster had to chime in? There’s a person that could use being kneecapped- but then he’s never been too subtle, as when he told everyone he actually earned those purple hearts- yeah right.
BLK: “Perhaps he thought for a moment that he was a Democrat- that might explain his mistaken temporary insanity>>
DAR
Actually, in the adultery department, it’s a near tie between the demo’s and repub’s.
Newsweek.
“Democrats and Republicans are pretty even in terms of sex scandals since 1976… Current Score is Demos=27, Repubs =26.”
Mates cheating? Terribly boring. The only remotely interesting thing about it is the hypocrisy. Democrat Spitzer provided a breathtaking example of that. Actively going after prostitution while making use of the service. Larry Craig, speaking out against gays while cruising for gay sex in public bathrooms. That was pretty rank.
Republicans get a much bigger piece of the hypocrisy pie because of their false pretense of being the party of “family values.”
And let’s not forget that Sanford, “Mr. Fiscal” runs a net welfare state:
“South Carolina taxpayers receive more federal funding per dollar of federal taxes paid than the average state. Per dollar of federal tax collected in 2005, South Carolina citizens received approximately $1.35 in the way of federal spending.”
LINK.
D.
————–
“Now is a wonderful opportunity to show the country what Democrats/liberals/progressives/unaligned learned from the Clinton era. Whatever personal problems that public officials deal with privately, leave them alone. This could happen to anyone, in any state, regardless of party. Why make the voters of South Carolina suffer while Sanford is skewered? If he wants to resign, so be it. If not, let him deal with it in private.” –Alec Baldwin
You are right, Darrel, the Dems do not even pretend to have the same values as the rest of the population- which makes it a constant wonder why any of them get elected at all- one has to believe in the incredible ignorance of the average person in the US.
This is why we need to become political evangelicals with regard to the people who are trying to destroy our country- the Dems- we need to expose the lies of the left.
BLK: “we need to expose the lies of the left.”>>
DAR
Well, get busy. When are you going to expose one?
Still waiting.
As for the Dems pretending. Yes, they don’t dishonestly pretend to run on a platform of being the party of “family values” while being the party of child humpers (see below). Because of this, when they err, it’s not as hypocritical as when the GOP’ers do it.
But of course, that’s not your party anyway.
Note:
“During former President Bill Clinton’s scandal, Sanford chimed in, “I think it would be much better for the country and for him personally (to resign). … I come from the business side. … If you had a chairman or president in the business world facing these allegations, he’d be gone.”
D.
—————–
Bonus:
“While conservatives fight to “defend” marriage from gays, they can’t keep theirs together. According to the Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract, states that went Republican in November accounted for eight of the 10 states with the highest divorce rates in 2006.
Conservatives touted abstinence-only education, which was a flop, when real sex education was needed, most desperately in red states. According to 2006 data from the Guttmacher Institute, those red states accounted for eight of the 10 states with the highest teenage birthrates.
And, a study titled “Red Light States: Who Buys Online Adult Entertainment?” that was conducted by Benjamin Edelman, an assistant professor of business at Harvard Business School and published earlier this year in the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that subscriptions to online pornography sites were “more prevalent in states where surveys indicate conservative positions on religion, gender roles, and sexuality” and in states where “more people agree that ‘I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage.’”
NYT’s
Let me know if you would like many more examples.
Oh, this is good:
“Republican Offenders dot com” has produced a list of 272 Republicans charged with criminal activity, 60 of which are pedophiles (just 1998-2008). Each name is linked to a group heading of the type of crime. (Among the categories are rape, bribery and “assorted felonies”.)
http://www.republicanoffenders.com/