Lots of money gets thrown around on the Hill. And, according to an editorial in today's Washington Post, the booty isn't limited to just Senators and Representatives. It extends to their staffs.
The E Channel has a show called "It's Good to Be....", usually reserved for the very rich or super stars. They need to do an episode titled "It's Good to be a Congressional staffer for Conrad Burns and Tom DeLay." The Post editorial examined the lobbying behind a budget earmark Burns got for a wealthy Native American Tribe. It highlighted the perks made available to staffers, then questioned the ethics behind it:
Nor, the senator's spokesman adds, did the Super Bowl weekend enjoyed by two aides to Mr. Burns, one his chief of staff (who later departed to work for Mr. Abramoff), the other the staffer who pressed Interior officials to let the tribe get the funds, have any effect. The trip, which several staffers for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) also made, featured travel on a private jet and an outing to a gambling ship partly owned by Mr. Abramoff. Will M. Brooke, the former Burns chief of staff, said he understood the trip was allowed under Senate ethics rules, which make an exception for gifts -- including travel -- from government entities, including tribal governments.Super Bowl, private jets, cruises on gambling ships, that is life in the lap of luxury. Probably, and this is just a guess, not many of the actual constituents of Mr. Burns or Mr. DeLay live like that, but it doesn't matter. They are in power and they are making the rules.
In fact, the trip was paid for by Suncruz, the Florida casino cruise line partly owned by Mr. Abramoff, which would have made it impermissible. But that's not really the point. The point is the revolting mind-set, all too prevalent on the Hill these days, that says it's fine to take lavish gifts from lobbyists seeking favors simply because the loot can be crammed through a loophole in the ethics rules. "Senators and Senate staff should be wary of accepting any gift where it appears that the gift is motivated by a desire to reward, influence, or elicit favorable official action," the Senate Ethics Manual advises. Too bad that it's the earmark for the Saginaw Chippewas, not that maxim, that better reflects business as usual in the halls of Congress these days.
We are watching the manifestation of the saying "Power tends to Corrupt. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely."
