Culling the Congressional herd

Mr. Natural at Left Edge North drops a link in our comments, and it is a doozy

(Excerpt)

How corrupt is the US congress? Maybe the recent case of Randy "Duke" Cunningham is illustrative. An 8 term congressman from California, Cunningham was a major promoter of the Iraq war. He has been a longtime proponent of "lock 'em up and throw away the key" style justice for drug offenders (that is, until his own son was caught with drugs), which makes Duke's upcoming sentencing all the more ironic. A wikipedia article on Duke states the following:

In September 1996, Cunningham attacked President Clinton for appointing "soft on crime" judges. "We must get tough on drug dealers," he said. "Those who peddle destruction on our children must pay dearly." He favored stiff drug penalties and voted for the death penalty for major drug dealers. Four months later, his son Todd was arrested for helping to transport 400 pounds (181 kg) of marijuana from Massachusetts to California. At his son's sentencing hearing, Cunningham fought back tears as he begged the judge for leniency (Todd was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, in part because he tested positive for cocaine three times while on bail).

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(My Comments)

The biggest issue in the news yesterday was illegal immigration. I heard a caller to a radio talk show rant about the fact that some of the illegal visitors display an attitude of entitlement about being in this country. If you wonder where that attitude of entitlement comes from, simply think about Tom DeLay or any of the other corrupt Congressional politicians (and there are more than we are likely to find out) who act as if they belong in Congress regardless of their despicable behavior. Acceptance of these political assholes indicates a gaping tear in the fabric of our Democracy, and it needs to be mended.
Start by throwing corporate influence out of our election process, and finish by holding elected officials accountable by the very standards they preach for others. I, for one, would much rather have illegal neighbors than corrupt policy makers.