Corruption

It's great to see the News-Leader continue to hold Roy Blunt accountable for his long, well-documented record of unethical leadership in Washington.  Water under the bridge, kids! 

What's good for Roy Blunt is good for Missouri.

OK, that's an overstatement, but there's a kernel of truth in that a Missourian in a position of leadership within the U.S. Senate Republican Conference could be beneficial to our state...

It should be noted that Blunt lost his leadership role among House Republicans following the resignation of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, in a money laundering scandal. Blunt was part of that leadership team. But this has never proven a handicap for the freshman senator with Missourians. In Washington, D.C., it may be considered water under any Potomac River bridge.

Excuse me while I clean the spewed coffee off my keyboard and monitor...  and then clear my memory of all of following now-irrelevant information. 

From the Associated Press:  "A judge has ordered U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to serve three years in prison for his role in a scheme to illegally funnel corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002. The sentence comes after a jury in November convicted DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. DeLay was once one of the most powerful men in U.S. politics, ascending to the No. 2 job in the House of Representatives."

As most readers know, DeLay and Sen. Roy Blunt were extremely close when they were calling the shots in the U.S. House in the mid-2000's. After DeLay stepped down, Blunt made a $20,000 donation to his legal defense fund, the largest individual donation on record (at the time, anyway). 

When DeLay was first charged with crimes in September 2005, Blunt expressed "great regret that Tom DeLay has had to go through what he's going through right now."  In Blunt's mind, DeLay hadn't broken the law -- he was just targeted by prosecutors "because of his effectiveness as a leader."  Watch it:

From the Department of Great Ideas That Will Never See The Light of Day In Speaker Tilley's House:  Rep. Sara Lampe (D-Springfield) has proposed a two year waiting period for legislators to become lobbyists in Jefferson City. 

A speed bump for legislators wanting to become lobbyists is a very good idea, which spells certain doom for its chances in the General Assembly. 

h/t Show Me Progress

Here's a headline in one of Roy Blunt's hometown papers, The Hill, that he can't be thrilled about: "GOP LEADERS PLEDGE K ST. PROJECT DEAD." 

Bad news for Blunt, and for his core constituency.

As you probably remember, Blunt's rise to power with Tom DeLay was inextricably linked with the development of "legion of Republican lobbyists into an arm of the House whip operation."  As summarized in the Washington Post's WhoRunsGov.com biographical summary for Blunt:

Throughout his time in office, Blunt has maintained close ties to lobbyists. He was a House GOP emissary for Tom DeLay’s notorious K Street Project, which prodded the Washington community to hire Republicans and raise money for the GOP cause. Blunt’s PAC employed Jim Ellis, who was indicted on corruption charges along with DeLay. Gregg Hartley, Blunt's former chief of staff, is now a vice chairman of powerhouse lobbying firm Cassidy & Associates.

Tom Edsall wrote (perhaps) the definitive summaries of Blunt's rise to power in 2006

Roy Blunt embodies the insidious, half-legal corruption that has permeated the G.O.P. majority since 1995. Blunt’s election as minority whip, by a 137-to-57 margin, was a defiant Republican rejection of calls to clean up their act. Warnings by Blunt’s challenger, John Shadegg of Arizona — “We ceded our reform-minded principles in exchange for a ...tighter grip on power” — went unheeded.

In 1998, DeLay put Blunt on the leadership ladder, making him chief deputy whip. Blunt modeled himself on DeLay, creating an identical network of state and federal political committees that raised money from the same lobbyists, corporations and trade associations that financed what became known as DeLay Inc...

In 2003, after DeLay moved up to majority leader and turned the so-called K Street Project over to him, Blunt promptly converted a legion of Republican lobbyists into an arm of the House whip operation. Lobbyists have always been close to Congress, under rule by either party. What DeLay and Blunt did was to sacralize this relationship. In doing so, they transferred a chunk of power from Capitol Hill to business interests.

This unholy alliance was a crucial factor in transforming the G.O.P. into an army of spenders whose earmarks, appropriations and tax cuts rivaled the government largess of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.

A new web video from the Missouri Democratic Party focuses on Roy Blunt's efforts to insert a special provision into a Homeland Security bill to benefit Philip Morris, and the reaction from the Missouri press and Missouri Republicans to his unethical actions. 

Just announced by the DSCC: "The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a new television ad in Missouri today, 'Family,' which exposes Roy Blunt as one of the most corrupt members of Congress.  A nonpartisan watchdog organization, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, named Blunt one of the most corrupt members of Congress for “misusing” his position by inserting special favors into bills."

The DSCC's full press release may be found below the break.

As you've probably seen by now:

FBI agents are investigating Missouri lawmakers in connection with several alleged “pay for play” schemes in which legislative favors are bestowed only after campaign donations are made...

The political culture in the state Capitol, those lawmakers talking with agents contend, has become tainted by pay-for-play activities in which virtually any legislative benefit — from committee assignments to gaining a hearing for a bill — comes with a price tag attached.

The price, they alleged, is typically a campaign contribution to a party or an individual lawmaker’s political committee.

Only one party in Jefferson City has been responsible for committee assignments and bill hearings for the last seven years.  

Maybe the chickens are coming home to roost for former GOP Speaker Rod Jetton and his General Counsel, Don Lograsso?  We'll see.

Pouring through the recently-released Blunt Administration emails, we've stumbled upon a fascinating question from everybody's favorite former Chief of Staff:

From: Martin, Ed
To: John Hoskins
Sent: 9/6/2007 8:43 PM
Subject:

John

Does the chief of staff get a dove hunting permit as part of his position? I am hoping to go on Monday next.

Ed Martin
(573) 751-5261

Does the Governor's Chief of Staff get a pass on paying the taxes and fees that the rest of us have to pay? I'm not a lawyer like Martin, but here's some of what the law says what employees shan't be doing: