Felony pork
by Miki SaxonImage credit: ~Megs CC license
Convicted felons may not be able to vote, but when they’re just under indictment they can run for office, win the primary and maybe even win in the general election.
I’m not talking about some local or even state office; I’m talking about the US Senate.
I’m talking about 84 year old Ted Stevens; the Republican Alaskan’s have elected the last seven terms.
“Federal prosecutors allege Stevens lied on Senate disclosure reports to conceal more than $250,000 in home renovations and gifts from oil industry executives. He was caught up in a federal investigation of corruption in Alaska politics that has seen three state lawmakers sent to federal prison and two more awaiting trial. All five are Republicans.”
But I understand why he garnered 63% of the primary vote—as a friend said, “He does for constituents what he did for himself.”
Although what Stevens did for himself pales in comparison to the amount of pork he’s brought home over the years.
“According to Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington watchdog group, Stevens sponsored a total of 1,452 pork barrel projects worth $3.4 billion between 1995 and 2008, making Alaska the No. 1 state in pork per capita every year since 1999.”
Stevens House compatriot Don Young may even be worse. His achievements include
“…a $223 million check from the federal government, the bridge will connect Gravina (20-mile-long island, home to fewer than 50 people, has no stores, no restaurants and no paved roads) to the bustling Alaskan metropolis of Ketchikan, pop. 8,000 and $231 million for a bridge that will connect Anchorage to Port MacKenzie, a rural area that has exactly one resident, north of the town of Knik, pop. 22.”
Legal or not, the abuse of power is stunning. Pork like this may not be a felony, but it should be!
What do you think?
