Each corrupt country puts its own stamp on corruption, but the fundamentals are always the same. Now Republicans are Shocked, Shocked! that Obama Motors is closing Chrysler dealerships belonging to donors to the GOP, while those favoring Democrats are staying open and supposedly gaining market share (let’s leave aside the question, will anyone want to buy the product?).
Funny, Republicans never inquired into the donations to the GOP from the defense industry and the notoriously corrupt “independent contractors” who stole tens of billions from the taxpayer during the Iraq War. Nor has anyone (to my knowledge) done an arms-length study of the affiliations of the board members and major donors to the “non-profits” that profited so much from the war, and that contributed “scholarly analysis” and other propaganda to the pro-war cause.AEI comes to mind, but so does Frank Gaffney’s Center for Security Policy. Frank was constantly writing “non-profit, expert” op-eds advocating the Boeing tanker deal, for instance — in which Boeing proved to be corrupt, and for which corruption officials from both Boeing and DoD went to jail (please note: I am not making any allegations about Mr. Gaffney in that regard).
I wrote Frank, suggesting that he disclose in his byline the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year that Boeing “donated” to his center, in the interest of full disclosure. I never heard back.
Now that Paul Weyrich has passed away (and may his heroic soul rest in peace), I can disclose that it was Gaffney, who was ardently preaching the virtues of the proposed “Patriot” Act at an off-the-record meeting, to whom Weyrich directed his memorable dictum that should be chiseled into every desk on Capitol Hill: “Never give to your friend any power that your enemy may some day inherit.”
9:05 am on May 28, 2009
