If This Is The Most Ethical & Transparent Government Ever, Why Are We Getting So Screwed?

   House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised the “most ethical government ever”. President Obama promised “hope” and “change”, and both promised transparency in government. Neither have demonstrated any indication of either. President Obama’s changes are leaving Americans with pocket change as he spends money that we don’t have and taxes that are uncollected. He came into by appointing cabinet members from the likes of a treasury secretary who didn’t know how to pay his taxes to regulation czar who couldn’t follow regulations. This does not inspire hope, nor is it the type of change we hoped for.

Then there is Nancy Pelosi. Since promising the “most ethical government ever”, Charlie Rangel, the Democrat chairman of the most powerful committee in Congress, who controls everything from the tax code to bills affecting Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs, has been caught in committing a building number of ethical breeches and illegal practices. As these violations mount, Pelosi’s House stalls any proper investigation.

You also have Rep. John Murtha who initiated a Pentagon approved steering of millions of dollars in defense contract work to a company that donated to Murtha’s campaign. These millions were quietly earmarked by Murtha for his favored company, through Pentagon contracts, even though two convicted drug dealers had been deeply involved with the company.

Add to this the need for the FBI’s investigation of an obscure little not-for-profit-organization called Commonwealth Research Institute which gets the charitable benefits that exempt it from having to pay taxes even though it’s a defense contractor.

All together, is this the most ethical government you’ve ever seen?

How about the Democrats record on transparency?

When running for President, Senator Obama’s web site stated the following;

“Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them”. “As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.”

Well after promising what President Obama called “sunlight before signing,” which was intended to make to allow legislation to be reviewed and understood by the public before he made it law, he broke that promise of transparency in only a matter days. This first occurred when he signed the law expanding children’s health insurance eligibility well before the five days of “sunlight before signing” was ever fulfilled. Than of course you have the President who originally demanded that Congress first create and then pass health management and insurance reform in a matter of just a few weeks and legislators voting for bills that they have not read and you have a government ramming legislation down our throats before we get our promised 5 day look.

But this past week produced what is probably the best example of the most ethical and transparent government we ever had, being hardly either transparent or ethical. Democrats in the House are blocking any investigations into troubling sweetheart mortgage deals that Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd received from Countrywide Financial.

As reported in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, “Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad lawyered up when the Senate ethics committee asked about their VIP loans from Countrywide Financial. But the sweetheart Senators may not be able to stop another look at their dealings with the subprime mortgage factory. A Democrat on the House oversight committee, Illinois freshman Mike Quigley, tells us that he supports a subpoena to obtain documents on the ‘Friends of Angelo’ loan program. Named for former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, the program was used to curry influence with government officials. Bank of America, which bought the failed lender last year, has said it’s ready to turn over the files as soon as it receives a subpoena.”

The WSJ continues “at a closed Thursday meeting of Democrats on the House oversight committee, several Members urged Chairman Edolphus Towns (D., N.Y.) to allow a vote on California Republican Darrell Issa’s proposal to issue the subpoena. Mr. Towns received two mortgage loans from the Countrywide unit that processed VIP loans but claims he received no special favors… The aim is to find out the extent and impact of Countrywide’s efforts to influence federal housing policy. This goes to the heart of the financial crisis. Countrywide was the largest originator of sub-prime loans and provided billions of dollars of mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, at huge cost to taxpayers.”

The Thursday meeting of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee suddenly came to an end last week as Democrats argued over whether or not to they should fully investigate the financial scandal.

Roll Call  reported that tempers got so out of control that Democrats angrily ran out of the meeting room and changed “the lock on the door from the GOP’s meeting room to the main committee chamber” and kept “the only set of keys.” Roll Call added “Republicans say the move was retaliation for a behind-the-scenes video they shot that showed committee Democrats leaving their meeting room through a back door 30 minutes after they canceled a hearing that the majority said conflicted with Members’ schedules.”

They also note that “Before that hearing was terminated early, Issa was scheduled to call for a vote on whether the committee should issue a subpoena for records and documents relating to the Countrywide Financial VIP mortgage program. Democratic Senators Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Kent Conrad (N.D.) obtained mortgages from the program, prompting Issa and other Republicans to question whether Dodd and Conrad obtained below-market rates because of their positions. However, the Senate Ethics Committee cleared both lawmakers in the matter.”  After this episode, the committee finally begrudgingly issued the subpoena in the form of seven pages which demands that any documents which indicate any involvement of former or current House members aides in the Countrywide VIP program, be turned over to the committee, unredacted. 

To add some salt into the already existing wounds it should be pointed out that President Obama, the leader of our new ethical and transparent government, just came back from Connecticut where he raised over a million bucks for Chris Dodd and called him his closest ally when they served together in the U.S. Senate.

While all this is going on, Democrats are hammering out a final government run health management and insurance reform proposal behind closed, without any non-partisan observers and no Republican involvement. Too

Is this ethical? Is this promoting transparency in government or is just another example of liberal lies and Democrat hypocrisy being demonstrated through corruption and cover-ups?

It’s time for Democrats to drop the sham. President Obama is offering no change and with congressional Democrats there is no transparency and little hope for the type of ethical government that we deserve. In fact the truth is, after pleasing themselves and having their way with us, as they are, they should at least  kiss us after screwing us.