Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Think Obama Will Bring Change? Look at the "Most Ethical" Congress in History...

The Seattle Times makes an excellent point. Remember Nancy Pelosi, that Botox frozen grin on her face, talking about how they were going to reform Congress and make it more transparent, more accountable...well, not so much:

No matter who wins, the next president promises to take back Washington from powerful interests and lobbyists.

It is the same stirring promise Congress made last year when — rocked by scandal and under new leadership — lawmakers passed what they trumpeted as some of the most significant ethics reforms in years.

Key among those reforms: rules requiring lawmakers, for the first time, to disclose their earmarks — federal dollars they were quietly doling out as favors.

But time after time, Congress exploited loopholes or violated those rules, a Seattle Times investigation has found. An in-depth examination of the 2008 defense bill found $8.5 billion in earmarks. Of those, 40 percent — $3.5 billion — were hidden.

And Congress broke its pledge — and President Bush's challenge — to cut earmarks in half.


Keep this in mind when you hear Mr. Obama (Rezko, ACORN, questionable fraudulent donors, foreign donors, George Soros) make some of those promises about ethics and transparency you are hearing.