Sunday night CBS News ran a feature on 60 Minutes that every American should watch. You really have to see it to believe it. Called The Lobbyist's Playbook, it features Leslie Stahl interviewing convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is out of prison now and telling it like it was. Not only does Abramoff fess up to his own corrupt misdeeds, he makes it clear he feels that despite some tighter laws being passed as a result of his scandal, little has truly changed in the influence peddling game.
In the piece, Abramoff claims to have had strong influence over 100 Washington legislators. One particularly effective technique he used was to tell congressional staffers he would have a job waiting for them after they were through with the government service, often at triple the salary. They would then become amenable to slipping items into bills that would benefit the clients Abramoff represented.
The 60 Minutes segment also includes Stahl interviewing former congressman Bob Ney, the only lawmaker convicted in the Abramoff scandal. Ney is similarly frank about his own corrupt doings. Despite the disgusting nature of how they operated, it's refreshing to see some honesty from inside participants about how the game is often played. Abramoff also talks about legal dodges around attempts to rein in the industry.
The bottom line is that so long as politicians need large quantities of cash to run campaigns, and so long as they have to get it from private sources, interests with business before the government will find ways to get it to them in exchange for the favors and special treatment they desire. The system is in itself tantamount to legalized bribery.
To see the 60 Minutes segment click here. To see my earlier post including suggestions on reforming this travesty, click here.
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