by Jack Lee
The title for this expose’ is, Who Is the Most Corrupt in Washington, but it could have been
“Why We Have a Tea Party”. The Tea Party patriots are fed up with corrupt fiscal practices and they are growing into a force for change. (See the T.P. notice below)
Note: 30% of the top most corrupt are from California, more than any other state. Now without keeping you in further suspense, the 15 most corrupt politicians in Washington according to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, are and in no particular order:
- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
- Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
- Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)
- Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
- Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA)
- Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
- Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
- Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
- Rep. John P. Murtha (deceased) (D-PA)
- Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
- Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)
- Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN)
- Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
For example, Representative Jerry Lewis (R-CA) is a sixteen-term member of Congress, representing the 41st district of California. Currently the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, his ethics issues stem primarily from the misuse of his position as chairman of the committee to steer hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks to family and friends in direct exchange for contributions to his campaign committee and political action committee. Rep. Lewis was included in CREW’s 2006, 2007, and 2008 reports on congressional corruption.
Rep. Lewis has a close relationship with lobbyist and former Congressman Bill Lowery, and his lobbying firm, formerly known as Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White (“Copeland Lowery”). As then-chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Lewis approved hundreds of millions of dollars in federal projects for Mr. Lowery’s clients. In exchange, Mr. Lowery, his partners and their spouses contributed $480,000 to Rep. Lewis’ campaign committee and Future Leaders PAC between 2000 and 2005, often giving the maximum contribution allowed under law.
Federal officials had been investigating lobbyists Letitia White and Jeffrey Shockey and the cozy relationship between Rep. Lewis and Copeland Lowery, now known as Innovative Federal Strategies (IFS).
Despite the continued scrutiny of his earmarking activities, Rep. Lewis has continued to request earmarks for Mr. Copeland and Ms. White’s clients at IFS. In 2008, Rep. Lewis sponsored $55 million in earmarks for IFS clients. In 2009, he requested more than $218 million in earmarks, nearly half of which – $102 million – was designated for projects of IFS clients.
Ear Marks: This has always been a source of corruption and I have warned against ear marks numerous times here on Post Scripts. Most recently I was told by one of Rick Keene’s campaign aids that ear marks are not all bad, now the GOP is saying yes they are all bad. March 11, 2010 – WASHINGTON come this story by Ben Goad , The Press-Enterprise:
– A day after House Democrats announced a ban on certain federal earmarks, their GOP counterparts went a step further Thursday and voted to stop the spending practice altogether.
Republican members of Inland Southern California’s House delegation, which has used earmarks to steer vast sums of money to the region, quickly embraced the plan to impose a yearlong earmark freeze and vowed to fix the system if voters return them to power in November.
“I’m going to enthusiastically support it,” said Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona. “The process needs to be reformed, and we’re going to come back as a majority and reform the system.”
The Republican moratorium on earmarks — spending directives lawmakers insert into legislation, often without a vote or formal vetting — comes as the GOP is seeking to regain control of the House in November. The move is meant to show Americans the party is serious about cracking down on government spending, which they say has run amok under the Obama administration.
Calvert is on the list of most corrupt. In 2005, Rep. Calvert and his real estate partner, Woodrow Harpole, Jr., paid $550,000 for a four acre piece of land at Martin Street and Seaton Avenue in Perris, just 4 miles south of the March Air Reserve Base in California. Less than a year after buying the land, without making any improvements to the parcel, they sold the property for $985,000, a 79% increase. During this period, Rep. Calvert pushed through an earmark to secure $8 million for an overhaul and expansion of a freeway interchange 16 miles from the property, as well as an additional $1.5 million for commercial development in the area around the airfield.
In another deal, a group of investors bought property a few blocks from the site of the proposed interchange, for $975,000. Within six months after the earmark for the interchange was appropriated, the parcel of land sold for $1.45 million. Rep. Calvert’s firm received a commission on the sale.
By using his position to earmark funds to increase the value of his own property, Rep. Calvert violated the prohibition against using his position as a member of Congress to advance his own financial interests and engaged in conduct that does not reflect creditably on the House.