News and Commentary on Politics, Media and Culture

Finally, a Clue as to what Killed the democrats “Culture of Corruption” mantra! I have been stating for weeks that the dems have quietly dropped the label in preference to what they percive as something a bit safer such as “fear mongering” based themes. This is no surprise in light of the recent luck had by Democrats.

It is fair to say that the dems couldn’t have entirely anticipated a crazy Cynthia McKinney or a hopped up Patrick Kennedy. But they probably did have plenty of insight into the depth of corruption that is being alleged against their own Rep. William Jefferson.

Rep. William J. Jefferson, D-(La) the target of a 14-month public corruption probe, was videotaped accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from a Northern Virginia investor who was wearing an FBI wire, according to a search warrant affidavit released yesterday. – The Washington Post

Jefferson implied that the government’s charges were racially motivated according to TPM Muckraker, comparing the case against him to past prosecutions of African American members of Congress, Rep. Harold Ford, Sr. of Tennessee and Rep. Floyd Flake of New York. If this is true it is a sad statement because race should not be used as cover for every alledged crime.

During a search executed on Jefferson’s home in Washington, D.C., a week later, special agents found $90,000 from that payment in the freezer, “concealed inside frozen food containers” in $10,000 blocks, wrapped in aluminum foil, the FBI stated. The FBI had recorded the serial numbers on the bills before they were given to Jefferson, and the money from the freezer matched those numbers.

Yeah, that’s right, he just happens to get caught with $90,000 concealed in his freezer yet the government is out to get him because of his race. (Does anyone see a pattern here?) You have to start wondering why we don’t hear more from black leaders when high ranking minority democrats diminish real crimes of racism by making up stories to provide cover for their own sorry butts. Insinuation in itself isn’t a crime, but the end result is nearly as damaging as actual incidents.

The same goes for the mainstream media, you know, the protector of the little guy. They neither play into Jefferson’s racist claim nor take him to task for it. This is a sure sign that they are trying to distance themselves from him. Update : I am splitting hairs here – the insinuation isn’t nearly as bad as statements from Cynthia McKinney. However, there should be more emphasis on this issue as it certainly damages race relations in this country. Politicians use race as a political weapon which is contrary to their oath to serve the country; as such it raises my ire.

The William Jefferson scandal should rank up there with the biggest of recent scandals, yet the left, as represented by the defunct media is nearly silent. Long gone are the days of real journalism where reporters of the nation’s elite media outlets would tackle stories of corruption without wearing the partisan hat.

This is much more than a single story about an allegedly corrupt politician who was taking bribes. This is about a member of the House Ways and Means committee who allegedly was planning to use the $100,000 in cash to bribe the Nigerian Vice President to assure success in a business deal. The VP owns a home in Potomac, Md., that authorities have searched as part of the Jefferson investigation. Jefferson is also the co-chair of Congress’s Africa Trade and Investment Caucus. The investigation is still expanding to include many other schemes.

Other revelations include Jefferson’s brazen attitude as caught on audiotape.

At one audio taped meeting, Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., chuckles about writing in code to keep secret what the government contends was his corrupt role in getting his children a cut of a communications company’s deal for work in Africa.

As Jefferson and the informant passed notes about what percentage the lawmaker’s family might receive, the congressman “began laughing and said, ‘All these damn notes we’re writing to each other as if we’re talking, as if the FBI is watching,’” according to the affidavit. …

One would imagine that the main pushers of “credible news” would be frothing at the mouth to feature this story as one of the biggest events to unfold in political crime sagas; they actually have a front row seat, complete with the multimedia wonders of audio and video.

Here is a quick breakdown of all that is involved in the charges against Jefferson:

• Jefferson is the first Congressman to have his Congressional office searched by the FBI
• The money that was handed to him was found concealed in his freezer, probably the same freezer he had the National Guard rescue for him in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina
• Jefferson is accused of taking payouts to bribe a high ranking official of a foreign country
• Jefferson is a ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee
• Jefferson is the co-chair of Congress’s Africa Trade and Investment Caucus
• Jefferson claims the charges are racially motivated yet he is caught on videotape putting the money in the trunk of his car.
• Jefferson is caught on tape laughing at the government as he passes secretly coded notes between himself and the FBI informant to avoid capture.

It should be noted that Jefferson is planning to remain in office. Strangely though I haven’t seen many calls for Jefferson to step down from the various committees he is holding. This seems like a bit of a double standard for the party and the media that was so righteous and outraged at Tom Delay.

Perhaps it is just me. I try to imagine what kind of coverage it would get if the person on the receiving end were a Republican. This is what happens when a major segment of the mainstream media is held captive by an ideological leaning.

There is some good coverage of this story on the left outside of the MSM. Joshua Marshall’s TPM Muckraker covers the story in great detail. I have found that Marshall is more on the sane side of liberal politics because of his professional approach. Harpers Magazine also did a fair write-up.

Amazingly this story has many more twists and turns. The government is also investigating William Jefferson in seven other schemes that have yet to be unveiled. So I have hope. Any day now we should see San Fran Nan, Harry Reid, and the rest of the sacrosanct left get up on their pedestals and demand that we put a stop to this “Culture of Corruption”. Yeah, right.

Others Blogging on this Story

• Morning Coffee – Bribes, Lies and Video Tape
• California Conservative – Caught Red-Handed
• Assorted Babble – Democrat Caught on Tape taking Bribes
• Stop the ACLU – What? Another Dem Caught With His Hands In The Cookie Jar? Say It Isn’t So…
• Wizbang – Rep. William Jefferson on Video Accepting Bribe
• Unpartisan.com – Filing: Tape Shows Lawmaker Taking Money
• Betsy’s Page – The Culture of Corruption
• SoCalPundit – The Dems Said It Best: Culture of Corruption
• Captains Quarters – Caught Red-Handed
• Michelle Malkin – ‘FOILED AGAIN!’
• The SandboxAnother Slick Willie!
• Sister Toldjah – New meaning to the term ‘cold hard cash’
• Moonage Political Webdream – Nancy Pelosi condemns William Jefferson?
• La Shawn Barber’s Corner – Congratulations, Howard Dean!
• Bark of the MoonBat -The Jefferson Equivalency
• The Florida Masochist – Cold cash or sad when you think about it
• Macmind – Conservative Commentary and Common Sense – The Coming Storm – Rep. William Jefferson
• UrbanRepublican – Party of Corruption, Location -DC, BYOB
• Conservative Outpost – Daily Summary
• Iowa Voice – Corruption In The Democratic Party
• Blogmeister USA – Democrats: Contributing to the Culture of Corruption

 Send this post a Friend  

7 Comments »

Trackback URI | Comments RSS