From: wolda002@umn.edu
Date: Mon Jan 12 2009 - 22:26:37 EST
Politics and Corruption, Together Again
by David Boaz
David Boaz is executive vice president of the Cato Institute and author of
The Politics of Freedom: Taking on the Left, the Right, and Threats to Our
Liberties.
Added to cato.org on January 6, 2009
This article appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on January 6, 2009.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is the new poster boy for political
corruption, but he is really just the most recent reminder of the
fundamentally grubby and corrupt nature of politics. In Illinois alone,
three recent governors — liberal "reformers" Otto Kerner and Dan Walker
and career politician George Ryan — have preceded Blagojevich in making
the journey from the statehouse to the big house.
Cases like these remind us of the fundamental nature of politics.
Blagojevich showed less intelligence and more vulgarity than most
politicians, but trading taxpayer money for personal or political gain is
the common coin of politicians. In his first post-indictment news
conference, Blagojevich himself strongly hinted that he will defend himself
with the notion that swapping appointments and favors is merely stock in
trade for politicians of the upper echelon.
David Boaz is executive vice president of the Cato Institute and author of
The Politics of Freedom: Taking on the Left, the Right, and Threats to Our
Liberties.
More by David Boaz
That leads to a virtually inescapable conclusion: The best way to limit
such tawdry quid pro quo is to limit the power of politicians and of
government.
Stories of ambitious men being corrupted by the political game have been
plentiful since my youth. It amazes me, here amid many calls for the
government to take an ever more active role in our country’s doings, that
so many of these cautionary tales seem to be forgotten.
Spiro T. Agnew got his start on the Baltimore County zoning board, which is
probably evidence enough that he was a crook from the start. He went on to
serve as Baltimore County executive, governor of Maryland and vice
president under President Richard M. Nixon, taking bribes in return for
government contracts the whole way through.
Agnew pleaded no contest to one count of tax evasion and resigned the vice
presidency. But one of the federal attorneys on the case said: "I’ve
never seen a stronger extortion case. The man is a crook."
FBI investigations and anti-bribery laws will never take the corruption
out of politics.
When I was a college student in Nashville, Rep. Ray Blanton was elected
governor of Tennessee. Four years later, he lost his bid for re-election to
Lamar Alexander, who now serves in the U.S. Senate. On Jan. 16, 1979,
Alexander was suddenly sworn in as governor, three days before his
scheduled inauguration, to prevent Blanton from commuting the sentences of
any more prisoners.
Blanton accelerated his sales of pardons after he was defeated for
re-election and realized his time to profit was drawing short. Blagojevich
is accused of speeding up his efforts to trade favors for campaign funds
before a Dec. 31 change in the campaign finance laws.
Blanton had ordered commutations or pardons for 24 convicted murderers and
28 other prisoners before his signing frenzy ended with Alexander’s
surprise swearing-in. Those 52 last-minute pardons came a month after three
state employees, including two members of his office legal staff, were
arrested by the FBI and charged with extortion and conspiracy to sell
pardons, paroles and commutations. As with Blagojevich, the knowledge that
an FBI investigation was under way just made Blanton double down.
The Blanton pardons were recalled to public memory when another Southern
politician created a pardon scandal as he left office in 2001. President
Bill Clinton’s pardons differed from Blanton’s in many ways.
Blanton’s aides apparently sold pardons and commutations for straight
cash on the barrelhead, though the governor himself did not pocket any of
the loot. Blanton commuted the sentences of convicted murderers, some of
whom had served only a few years.
Clinton’s last-minute pardons involved a broader range of offenses
against decency and good sense. His notorious pardons for Marc Rich and
Pincus Green, who had fled the country and never faced trial, overshadowed
many of the other outrages on the morning of Jan. 20.
In his rush to the door, Clinton pardoned his brother; people associated
with Whitewater and related Clinton scandals; his former Cabinet secretary
Henry Cisneros and Cisneros’ former mistress; several people convicted of
bribery involving another Clinton Cabinet member; former Rep. Mel Reynolds,
convicted of wire fraud, bank fraud and sex with an underage girl; a
Clinton fundraiser who had embezzled clients’ money; supporters of
Hillary Clinton’s Senate bid; a Democratic party activist who had
embezzled money intended for the homeless; several people smart enough to
hire former Clinton staffers as their lawyers; a group of female leftist
bombers, one of whom told the media that she was excited about resuming her
activism; and a convicted defrauder then under investigation in yet another
money-laundering scheme.
FBI investigations and anti-bribery laws will never take the corruption out
of politics. The best way to limit it is to keep government small, with few
jobs to fill and limited money to spend.