The Astonishing D.C. Republican Culture of Corruption & Immorality

Seems like every headline lately makes me more satisfied and grateful to be a Democrat. But even I was astonished this past week by the depth of depravity of the D.C. Republican Culture of Corruption, immorality and obvious lying exemplified by three stories:

Jack Abramoff Had 485 Contacts with the White House
Before recessing on Friday for elections, the House Government Reform Committee disclosed that convicted felon Jack Abramoff had 485 contacts with the White House in a three-year period during the Bush Administration. Abramoff pled guilty in January 2006 to five counts of corruption of public officials and fraud.

Ten of the contacts were directly with Karl Rove, Senior Advisor and closest confidant of the president. Of the 485 contacts, 345 were in-person meetings, 71 were phone conversations and 69 were emails.

President Bush has famously said that "he doesn't recall meeting convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff," although Abramoff himself commented in February 2006, "The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids..."

And AP reported on January 22, 2006 that Time and Washingtonian magazines "have reported the existence of about a half-dozen photos showing the two together."

Sexual Predator Rep. Mark Foley and His House Republican Enablers
Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL), Chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, resigned on Friday, "after ABC News questioned him about the e-mails to a former congressional page and about sexually suggestive instant messages to other pages," per AP.

AP continued, "The boy who received the e-mails was 16 in the summer of 2005 when he worked in Congress as a page. After the boy returned to his Louisiana home, the congressman e-mailed him. The teenager thought the messages were inappropriate, particularly one in which Foley asked the teen to send a picture of himself." (Link to email exchange transcript at end.)

And... frankly, this next revelation shocks shock-resistant me... "GOP leaders admit their offices have known for months that a Florida Republican congressman was sending inappropriate e-mails to a boy who had worked as a page in the House of Representatives," per AP, and did NOTHING to protect the boy or other pages, or confront or stop Rep. Foley.

When the story first broke, Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) claimed that he learned only last week about the e-mails. But AP reports that "Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-NY) said Saturday he told Hastert months ago about concerns Foley sent inappropriate messages to a teenage boy.

Per Kathy Gill, About.com's Guide to US Politics Current Events, "Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA), who sponsored the page from his district, told AP he learned of the e-mail exchanges 10 to 11 months ago and that he passed on the information to Rep. Thomas Reynolds (R-NY)."

No one yet knows the full depth of this deeply sick story. Per ABC News in the last few minutes, "A Republican staff member warned congressional pages five years ago to watch out for Congressman Mark Foley, according to a former page."

Watch Group Names 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress
In late September, The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released its annual listing of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress.

17 of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress are Republicans, and 3 are Democrats.

And that listing doesn't even include Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA), who is now serving an 8-year prison term for bribery and Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), who recently agreed to plead guilty to charges of fraud and conspiracy.

"CREW compiles its annual list of those it considers to be the 'most tainted' members of Congress based on their analysis of the members' compliance with federal laws and congressional rules and ethics," writes Robert Longley, About.com's Guide to Government Info.

Yet Republicans Still Claim to be the Party of "Values Voters"
I participate in several bipartisan political forums on and off the internet, in order to be part of efforts to bridge the bitter partisan gap... to listen and be listened to.

But lately, it's getting harder and harder. When D.C. corruption is brought up, Republicans won't honestly own it. They blithely claim that all politicians are corrupt, and that current corruption problems affect both major parties equally. That's simply not true today in D.C.

Republicans then invariably move on to reiterate their James Dobson-inspired mantra that Republicans are the party of "values voters" . I ask you... What values would those be?

It's as if Republicans obsess about the speck in Democratic eyes, but fail to notice the depraved log in their own eye.

There's no hope for changing the Republican Culture of Corruption until they admit the problem, and work publicly, diligently and honestly to replace their corrupt leaders in Washington D.C.

Until that time, the only viable moral values ballot-box choice is to vote Democratic.

As Rep. Sherrod Brown, 2006 Democratic candidate in Ohio for the US Senate, proudly proclaims, ""Democrats are the party of values... the Democrats are the party of social justice.. the Democrats are the party of morality in politics."

Amen, Congressman Brown.

Related Reading
Democrats Mourn Republican Bill Approving US Torture, Unexplained Imprisonment
Foley Resigns Amid Scandal with Male Minors, About.com's Guide to US Politics Current Events
Group Names 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress, About.com's Guide to US Gov't Info

NOTE: Here is link to an ABC News transcript of emails exchanged between Republican Rep. Mark Foley and an underage male Congressional page. WARNING: EXPLICIT!