Years ago, I first stumbled across that bit of Latin. “Let justice prevail, though the heavens may fall.” It’s an ancient Roman maxim, and it’s often cited as an example of judicial extremism, such as seen in “Les Miserables.” It’s a call for absolute justice, the iron-fisted enforcement of law without mercy.
And last night, when ABC first reported that House Speaker Dennis Hastert was under investigation by the FBI, that was my first reaction.
Despite what a few of my denser detractors like to say, I am no partisan. I belong to no party, owe no one any political allegiance, and one of the descriptions I use to describe my political leanings is “contrarian.” I tend to be suspicious of the majority party, and have a bit of an anti-incumbent bias.
When it comes to Congress, I tend not to think much about parties. I, rather, tend to have the same attitude towards them as a shopper in the meat section of a supermarket, or a high school dance chaperone: the older the subject I’m studying, the more suspicious I am of it. In Congressional terms, the longer they’ve been in office, the less likely I am to have much sympathy for them. For example, Ted Kennedy has been in the Senate for 44 years.
Hastert has been in Congress for nearly 20 years. That’s my entire adult life. He’s had plenty of opportunity to be “captured by the system,” to become ingrained to the abuses of power, the innate corruption of the system. And to my way of thinking, his rise to the Speakership is also indicative that he’s probably done a few shady things. Again, I have no personal knowledge of this matter; this is purely my personal prejudices talking.
Perhaps it’s my further prejudices talking, but as far as Washington goes, I feel like Jack Nicholson hit it right in the first Batman movie: “This town needs an enema!”
So, is Hastert the subject of an FBI investigation or not? I don’t know. Apparently, neither does ABC. But if nearly every single incumbent in Congress were to be defeated in November, I would quite possibly shed a single tear — but only if I stumbled during my happy dance.
“So, is Hastert the subject of an FBI investigation or not? I don’t know. Apparently, neither does ABC.”
LOL if they don’t know, why are they reporting that he is?
If the story is true, it makes his statements about the search of Jefferson’s office all the more intrguing.
Remind me again how congressional term-limits are a bad thing? It’s looking like Claire Wolfe was right about that awkward stage thing…
“LOL if they don’t know, why are they reporting that he is?”
Because it’s a “greater truth” that Republicans are enmenshed in a “culture of corruption.”
Jay,
I can’t help but think back to the S&L scandals – true bipartisanship that.
As both parties grew ever more attached to the growing contributions, there came a point when the entire S&L industry, as a whole, had a negative net worth. Now it took a surge of legislative arm-twisting to get the FSLIC to look the other way, but hey, nothing is impossible as they say in Washington. That one only cost us 500 billion, plus a fair bit for the life savings of a large number of California retirees.
And this is nothing compared to the annual corporate tax bill shakedown, the Indian casino scams, or our modern day alchemists turning grain into gas with the wave of a pen. We are paying billions to giant corporate farms not to grow things and not to milk their cows. None of this would be possible without the gleeful help of almost all of them.
I try to tell this to the young utopians, when they get overly fond of one politician or another. I try to tell them that just as soon as you fall in love they will accept two million dollars for a speech, or pardon an FBI top ten most wanted felon. But, truth be told, they have to learn this the hard way, those anyway that are not so far gone that they retain the ability to think.
And it is the politicians you are most fond of that you must most carefully watch.
Goldstein backstabbed Spinosa!
But seriously it’s nice to see you standing on your own two feet and not being a party whore.
YaY.
Really though one shouldn’t believe a damn word out of a politicians snake hole.
Example;
Israel went out on a limb in the summer of 1954 when it instigated an operation against Egypt that, when finally exposed, became known as the “Lavon Affair,” after Israel’s then minister of defense, Pinhas Lavon. Gamal Abdel Nasser was just coming to power in Egypt, and Israel wanted to discredit him and his government. So agents recruited by Israel set off bombs at the American libraries of Alexandria and Cairo, making it look as if the Egyptians were responsible. The fiasco caused a first-class scandal at the time.==============
What did the US do in Retaliation for this Act?
huh? huh?
Now Why would you EVER trust a Politician left, right, or Foreign?, Especially those lying ass Israelis, and Chalabis? or Wolfowitz?
agree with your article in general though, I just wish people would do a little more looking and less leaping into fabricated traps.
I agree that those guilty should be punished, but right now it looks like Hastert was a victim of the drive-by media. Regardless of the actual facts his reputation is now in tatters, and conservatives — frustrated by the corruption in DC — are circling like sharks.
Hastert is not on political life support. Remember Gingrich and Livingston? All over an apparently ginned-up report by ABC.
Hamster Brain:
Nice cutting and pasting from a column I cited and shredded two days ago, schmuck. Why didn’t you cite your sources, and say you were stealing from H.D.S. Greenway of the Boston Globe?
J.
It’s ABC’s little way of getting ‘payback’. You get one of ‘theirs’ (Jefferson), so we ‘get’ one of yours. Doesn’t matter if the story is true or not, the most important thing when it’s a Republican is that the allegation is made.
BTW, I think Hassert and Pelosi stepped in it big time, when they threw hissy fits in regards to the search of Jefferson’s office. Congressional offices are not exempt from investigations of criminal matters. This and the Patrick Kennedy drunk driving scandal, has demonstrated that Congress is even bolder in their belief that only they are above the law.
My politician computer model just spit out this jewel. “Law Makers = Law Breakers”
So, is Hastert the subject of an FBI investigation or not? I don’t know. Apparently, neither does ABC. But if nearly every single incumbent in Congress were to be defeated in November, I would quite possibly shed a single tear — but only if I stumbled during my happy dance.
Maybe its just me, but isn’t Hastert one of the bigger stumbling blocks to the President and Senate & the Liberal Media getting their way on immigration reform?
It’s interesting this comes out and puts Hastert on the hot seat and undermines his political “moral authority” just days before the immigration reform issue moves to the House. Where Hastert will be in a position to set the initial tone of the debate by chosing whether to ignore or not the Senate proposal.
Hastert may be ‘in the mix’ but (1) that pretty darn vague and (2) the timing is incredible, isn’t it?
I mean we’re all ready with torches and pitchfork to storm Congress and Hastert over this. It will kind of make it awkward to back up Hastert when he becomes one of the lead voices of opposition to amnesty and a guest worker program.
Just a reminder that the Justice Dept. is answerable to the White House, and what is the White House’s position on Amnesty & Guest worker program again?
And ABC’s position on those issues for that matter?
Hastert was not the victim of the drive-by media, he was a victim of his own institutional imperial insensitivity. If he hadn’t stood up for William Jefferson, no one would have taken the story seriously. But it’s looking like these crooks would rather hang together than alone. So be it.
“I belong to no party”
For some reason, you have really been trying to distance yourself from the Republican causes you have been supporting on this blog. It makes sense, since they are crumbling. But this is the 3rd time in the last few weeks you have said the same things. Anyways, please list your votes then.
How many:
Republicans (this includes Lieberman):
Independents:
Democrats:
have you voted for? Who did you support in the last 4 Presidential elections?
“LOL if they don’t know, why are they reporting that he is?”
Seems to be a lot of that going around.
Kind of like how USA today made a big splash recently by re-running the old story of telcos giving phone records to the Feds.
The rule is : ‘report’ the ‘story’ first, find out if it is true later. (if it hurts Republicans)
But if nearly every single incumbent in Congress were to be defeated in November, I would quite possibly shed a single tear — but only if I stumbled during my happy dance.
that kinda comment humor kills me.
jp2, I haven’t been so much distancing myself from the Republicans as reasserting the established separation. I haven’t been a registered Republican for more than 10 minutes or so in my life.
I’ve said all these all before, but I’ll recap for you, because you asked so nicely:
2004 election:
President – Bush (R)
Senate – Haddock (D) (lost)
House – Bradley (R)
Governor – Lynch (D)
2004 Primary: Lieberman (D)
2000 Election:
President: Bush (R)
Don’t recall the other races it was six years ago.
2000 Primary:
Bradley (D)
1996: Dole (R)
1992: Clinton (D) (to my shame)
J.
Jp2.. JT has been saying this for years.
If it seems like he is a republican, it’s probably that he finds the actions and hyperbole of the currently elected democrats more offensive than the other side of the aisle.
Heck, just living that close to Mass is a constant reminder of Dem shenanigans.
there ya go jp2 — you know what you were thinkin, you wanna throw a little can of sorry-ass on JT?