In 1903, journalist William Riordan published a series of interviews with George Washington Plunkitt, who was probably the most famous leader of New York’s Tammany Hall (other than Boss Tweed himself). During a discussion of Lincoln Steffens’ then-new book The Shame of the Cities, Plunkitt told Riordan that Steffens “can’t see no difference between honest graft and dishonest graft and… return to article
-
subscribe to print magazine
-
email this article to a friend
-
Reader Comments (4)Page 1 of 1 pages“The only way to stop this is to create public financing systems whereby taxpayers provide qualifying candidates money that does not come with the expectation of specific legislative favors.”
And just what protection would we have that this would not be corrupted also? Start with “qualifying candidates” without “expectation of specific legislative favors” who would vote for anyone? A candidate is “expected” to simultaneously support/oppose gay rights, military action, abortion, affirmative action....
We are getting what we should expect from our “representatives”. It is widely accepted that an individual cannot be elected by simply giving his honest opinion on any given issue. Any unguarded statement is immediately pounced on by the media seeking sensationalism and controversy — therefore we get parsing, pussyfooting and Pablum.
How many times have we heard, “Unless he/she appeals to the (add special interest adjective here) voter, he will have no chance of being elected?
Our economic numbers are faked, our job losses are spun, patriotism is scoffed at, our sports stars are on drugs, entertainment media glamorized the lowest ethical standards and family responsibilities are nearly nonexistent.
If we could wrestle control away from a congress which votes itself automatic raises and is self policing, we would do as well be choosing our leaders through a lottery. (Which incidentally is now promoted far more widely than the value of education.)If we no longer value individual values…
• Honesty: Clinton—“It was only about sex.” or Libby—“Yes, he lied, but there was no crime.”
• Loyalty: Globalization profits at the expense of own own manufacturing workers.• Education: Imported high-end job seekers
• Thrift: Reliance on consumer borrowing/spending
• Respect for others: Racial, religious, gender, age discrimination
Why should we expect them from groups of individuals in elected office?
Posted by whattheheck on Jul 3, 2007 at 7:05 AM Politics as usual is getting worse by each Administration, it seems.
Rather than a blind trust like whattheheck proposes, I’d like to see donations capped at $2000 and then only from VOTERS who are eligible to vote for that candidate. Plus, have penalties, prison time and forfeiture of funds, that are enforced.
This would eliminate lobbyist’s, unions, 527’s, PAC’s and all other sources of BIG money.
The biggest upside is that we wouldn’t be saddled with all the TV and radio ads near election time.
The politicians wouldn’t be able to self-finance, they wouldn’t be able to hire spin doctor’s...they would have to debate the issues.
And in this Internet age, all politician’s would have access to the web for promoting their ideas.
whattheheck is right that we get the politician’s that we deserve. Too many are so disgusted with politic’s that they don’t pay any attention nor vote. Other’s are too busy keeping up with the Joneses to do more than listen to sound bites and photo-ops.
Congress will never pass such legislation unless we force them to pass these kinds of changes.
Witness Pelosi; she said all the right things...then went to a $10,000/plate dinner. And there went my hopes that a change was coming.
There is nothing in the Constitution, Bill of Rights, nor Amendments that says unions and corporation’s deserve special treatment. It does say that we the people shall be represented in Congress. We the people cannot be fully represented if the legislator’s owe debt’s of gratitude to special interest groups.
There was a time when honest graft could be argued as not being all bad. Sadly our current crops of politician’ s cannot make that distinction.
The other alternative is to take all politician’s and lawyer’s out and shoot them. Then tell the graduating senior’s that if they mess up like that, the same will happen to them. That seems a tad extreme.
Better to call a Constitutional Convention with the narrow goal of reforming the campaign contributions and lobbyist access, plus eliminating the Electoral College, a body that serves no useful purpose and can only be used to circumvent the will of the majority of the voter’s.
As it did in 2000. And look what that got us.
Posted by farmer on Jul 4, 2007 at 6:05 AM Democrats are selling out the economic populism that got them elected in the first place
No shit! And that’s not all that is being sold out.
Democrats are selling out many principled positions they once held:
* Supporting democracy in oppressed states.
* Defending the United States from socialist totalitarians and terrorists.
* Supporting liberal values, including freedom of speech and the right to keep and bear arms.
In place of the democratic ideals that made us strong and free, Democrats have adopted such dubious propositions as political correctness and diversity as their guiding principles. Try defending yourself and your country against terrorists who practice human sacrifice and head-hunting by being politically correct. Lots of luck.
Posted by scorp on Jul 5, 2007 at 11:06 AM no shit the neo-cons sold us out with their so called principals.
small government
no nation building
transparentcy in government
balanced budget
follow the laws of the constitution or what ever we feel like doing,shit channey doesn’t even know what branch of government he is in.
conservatives with no conscience, we are making great strides in iraq,do not worry about wire tapping,fired judges,or committing treason for ousting a cia agent in time of war.
Carl rove speech july 9 said we stopped the navy seal team in route to pakistan to get bin laden because it was illegal to go into a solverant country unless it was for saddam.
Great principals and values that restored the integrity of the white house from the evil bill clinton.
Posted by brian28 on Jul 10, 2007 at 9:14 AM Page 1 of 1 pages -
register a new account »Posting Security
Also by David Sirota
- Saying “No Deal” to This New Deal
- Turning a Wall Street Giveaway Into a Rescue for All Americans
Charting a progressive response to the crisis - Back in the U.S.S.R.
- The $700 Billion Questions
Wall Street and Washington's wrecking crew aim to get the most expensive free lunch in American history - No Time For A Minimalist
- Country First
Popular Discussions
- The 9/11 Faith Movement
Many Americans believe 9/11 was a conspiracy by the U.S. government
1972 posts since Jul 11 06 - What’s the 411 on 9/11?
891 posts since Dec 21 05 - Democrats: It’s the War
659 posts since Nov 1 05 - Was the Presidential Election Stolen?
459 posts since Jun 19 06 - A Fundamental History Lesson
The rise of National Socialism proved politics and religion don't mix
426 posts since Oct 10 05
© 2007 In These Times | Reprint Policy | Privacy Policy | Powered by Expression Engine | RSS Feeds
