Politically Incorrect

My grandmother (and I'm sure some other folks grandparents as well) used to have a saying. She would say "you got some nerve".You can pretty much place anything after that statement, but essentially my grandmother was shocked and appalled that I would have the audacity to do a particular thing. My grandmother's words feel more appropriate than ever when you consider recent actions by today's politicians and media. Mainstream media and politicians wagged their metaphorical fingers at Gov. Rod Blagojevich when he seemed to be playing the "politician's" game. The only problem was he got caught.

With Blagojevich out of the news cycle now is as good a time as ever to look back with sober mind to put the actions of the disgraced governor into proper context. His crime was using his position and influence to get a social and/or financial advantage for he or a family member. With that in mind when we look at some recent actions of politicians.Once we examine these politicians and their actions, we may want to rethink the way we casted Blagojevich to lowest ring in the political inferno.

During the Bush presidency many people complained, and rightfully so, about Haliburton receiving no-bid contracts in Iraq. The reason the complaints are so legitimate is because then vice-president Dick Cheney was once the head of the aforementioned company. Most Americans saw this as despicable crony-ism at its highest most disgusting level. Interestingly enough Robert Murtha (the nephew of Congressman Frank Murtha) and his company have also received no-bid Pentagon contracts. These contracts were valued at about 4 million dollars. It seems that Congressman Murtha used his position and influence to get a financial advantage for a family member.

Congressman Murtha isn't alone in using his perverse use of his office. Congresswoman Jane Harmon may have had one of the more embarrassing and disgusting abuses of power in recent memory. Congresswoman Harmon was in negotiations with the powerful Israeli lobby AIPAC. Two Israelis were being prosecuted for espionage by the Justice Department. In exchange for her lobbying the Justice Department to reduce the charges, AIPAC would pressure Nancy Pelosi to give Harmon a prestigious committee assignment. Again this seems like a quid pro quo relationship. According to transcripts Congresswoman Harmon knew what she was doing was so out of bounds she closed her phone call by saying "this conversation never happened".

Clearly foul play is not new to politics but more and more it seems to be the rule rather than the exception. There are numerous cases where there are family members who either individually or as a member of a company reap huge benefits from their relatives political clout. This murky game of politics doesn't seem to be a partisan issue. It affects Republicans and Democrats alike. Politics is a dirty game and the disgraced former governor got caught. The problem comes when other politicians and members of the media stand by shocked to know this "scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" behavior is consistent throughout the halls of the United States Congress. It's at times like this when people could heed the words of grandmothers all over the country: "you've got some nerve."