HispanicVista Columnists
Are US political contributions and campaign fund usage legalized corruption?
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By
Patrick Osio, Jr./HispanicVista.com - December 7, 2005
- Watching Rep. (R.CA) Randy Cunningham’s tearful $2.4-million obtained in bribes confession to steer lucrative defense contracts to his co-conspirators, brought to mind Mexican corruption topic conversations throughout the years with Mexico City businessmen most who had made varying degrees of fortunes contracting with Mexico’s federal government. One such conversation brought out a comment – Mexican politicians are mostly corrupt, but so are US politicians.
- “How can you equate the institutionalized corruption that saturates every level of government throughout Mexico with the low levels of corruption in the US?” was my retort. And, reminded him that one well known Mexican politician who had held numerous high ranking and cabinet positions remarked, “Show me a poor politician and I’ll show you a politician who is poor.”
- My friend said that Mexican officials don’t care who knows, while US politicians go through great lengths to hide it including enacting legislation decriminalizing what otherwise are considered acts of corruption.
- As an illustration, he related that a Scandinavian country’s historical high rates of sexual crimes plummeted from one year to the next by over 50 percent simply by repealing most violent and exploitation sex laws such as “date-rape.” In similar fashion, in the US election contributions in return for (though denied) favorable treatment is legal; and expenditures that having such wide legal latitude makes personal use possible.
- Though not as uncommon as we would like it to be, Cunningham’s bribery is nonetheless an aberration in the greater picture of US politics, but a far greater concern is the remark that US politicians changed campaign contributions and expenditure laws to accommodate what was once considered acts of corruption and that most Americans still consider acts of moral corruption.
- It is illegal to use campaign funds for personal use while legal to hire family members who are supposed to provide bona fide services to the campaign, but the only judge as to services rendered and salary is the candidate. This potentially unashamed use of expenditures was exposed with the disclosure that Tom DeLay, himself facing charges of illegal diversion of campaign funds, from campaign contributions paid his wife and daughter over $500,000 in salaries. The San Diego Union-Tribune that broke the Cunningham story, reported that Rep. (D-CA) Bob Filner’s campaign has paid his wife, Jane, over $500,000 under a fictitious business name, which name apparently is not registered as such either in California or Washington, D.C.. Filner’s campaign disclosures do not indicate it is his wife who is contracted. But Filner says it’s legal, and sadly it is.
- A potentially more bizarre “legal” usage of campaign contributions are listed on some of Rep. Duncan Hunter’s (R- San Diego, CA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, filing statements. Hunting trip in Colorado $5000; Charter boat ocean fishing in San Diego $1600; Golf tournaments and meals with supporters ranging from $16 to over $1200 per payment amounting to over $50,000; Flowers gifts to supporters $3000; Picture framings over $9000; Gifts for supporters purchased at Robinsons May, Sea World, Sees Candies, Costco, Bath & Body Works, Capital Hill Club (D.C.) payments amounting to well over $40,000.. There are also ‘fundraising’ events expenditures in Tennessee, Florida, Texas running into tens of thousands of dollars; a Baltimore Orioles ‘fundraiser’ payment of $9600. There is an $186,000 reimbursement to himself detailing expenditures of meals with and gifts to supporters, golf games with supporters, hotel accommodations, car rentals, gasoline, airfares all well away from his own district.
- Where does “gifts to supporters” cross the line becoming ‘buying votes.’? With hundreds of such expense paid entries on disclosure forms, how does anybody ascertain the ‘supporters’ are the candidate, family and friends? But if they are, would it be legal as they are surely ‘supporters’?
- And, it’s not just DeLay, Hunter and Filner, it’s endemic will all multi reelected candidates in both Houses.
- In one of the Mexico City conversation, one businessman said that Mexico could modernize corruption along the lines of the US by legalizing direct to candidate political contributions and allowing candidates to use those funds for their campaign and other uses while clamping down on open bribery just as is done in the US. But, never mind my friend’s wishful thinking that would eliminate their problem.
- What we in the US need to do is go back to basics – it must be legal and it must be the right thing to do and we must start to vote out of office those who do not understand that simple moral principle.
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(The opinions expressed by Patrick Osio, Jr. are solely his and do not necessarily reflect those of HispanicVista.com, editorial board of advisors or it’s contributing writers.)
Patrick Osio, Jr is Editor of HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com). Contact at Posiojr@hispanicvista.com
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Patrick
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