Cut off the corrupt

I always suspected that coming back to graduate school wasn't the way to get ahead in the world. It seems that getting indicted for federal campaign law violations is the way to go. It's working for Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. \nDeLay, who was forced to resign his position as majority leader in the House of Representatives in early January after being indicted on federal campaign finance charges, was just named to the House Appropriations Committee, one of the most sought-after posts for members of Congress. \nEven better, DeLay will chair the subcommittee responsible for monitoring the Justice Department, which is currently investigating the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. In case that's not enough sleaze for you, the Appropriations Committee slot became available because Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif., had to vacate it after pleading guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes.\nBasically, we have someone under indictment for campaign violations replacing someone found guilty of accepting bribes on the committee that decides how your tax dollars are spent, with a special focus on how money is spent by the department tasked with investigating a major political corruption case. And anyone wonder why people are disillusioned with politicians and the way things are done in Washington?\nI'm not just disillusioned; I'm disgusted. The Republican Party believes that because it is the majority it can do whatever it wants without regard for the rules. While it's the Republicans who seem the guiltiest right now, I have no doubt that many Democrats would behave the same way if they were in power. It seems to me that the U.S. Congress operates under the same delusion that led corporate executives at Enron, WorldCom and elsewhere to think they could get away with anything. \nThe difference is that unlike corporate executives, who are appointed, you and I elect members of Congress. Every member of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate will be up for re-election this fall. Primaries to select the candidates for the general elections will be held in the next few months. If you want to change the culture in Washington, this is your chance.\nCollege-aged adults are one of the most under-represented demographics in politics. But we shouldn't be. It's our future these corrupt politicians are working out. Do you want Social Security to be solvent when you retire? Interested in how and why so many people our age are being sent to Iraq? Concerned about the government listening to your phone calls? How about the tax burden we'll face as the baby boom generation retires? All of these are issues of direct interest to college students.\nWhile it's a lot of fun to mock the corrupt behavior of our politicians, in the end, in a democracy we have only ourselves to blame. When being indicted lands you a plumb congressional job, it seems that the corruption is getting out of hand. It's up to us, the citizens, to change that.