These two crooked politicians, Cunningham and Calvert, have been notorious for backroom deals, yet they managed to placate “family values” voters by simply projecting that type of persona. That’s particularly disturbing because Ken Calvert has been listed three times as one of the most corrupt members of Congress in the annual reports by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). Nevertheless, his unwavering right-wing voting record has earned him a 92% rating by the Christian Coalition. For example, Calvert, along with Cunningham, were very critical of Bill Clinton’s extramarital affair. “We can’t forgive what occurred between the President and Lewinsky,” said Calvert.
This kind of pious affectation apparently helped
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Nonetheless, his sexual indiscretions and ethical violations have been widely exposed. For example, Fox News detailed how Calvert has added specific earmark spending in the federal budget, such as highways and commercial developments, for his district. That’s really not unusual as many other Congressmen do the same thing in order to help their constituents. In fact, there is a term for this, “pork barrel spending.” Be that as it may, Calvert’s actions have been much more cynical. His spending projects have directly benefited his speculative real estate holdings, entirely for his personal gain!
Yes, Ken Calvert, along with many others, embodies the myriad of jokes that compare politicians and prostitutes. As Ronald Reagan once said, “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” Also, H.L. Mencken once wrote, “A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and submit to so many humiliations that he becomes indistinguishable from a
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A number of them have been exposed in sexual scandals, although the televangelist scandals were probably the most memorable. Jimmy Swaggart’s tearful “I have sinned” speech took place just months after he criticized Jim Bakker for an affair with his former secretary turned Playboy model, Jessica Hahn. Swaggart didn’t directly admit it, but he had been with a prostitute. Also, his fall from grace didn’t lead to him changing his ways as police caught him three years later driving with a prostitute in his car. Nonetheless, he remained brazen when he was confronted by his congregation. “The Lord told me it’s flat none of your business,” declared Swaggart. On top of that, he was implicated again in 1998 by CNN’s program, “Impact,” for separate instances with more prostitutes, in addition to allegations of plundering his ministry’s
In closing, this book informs us on how the Republicans went crazy and Democrats became useless, and how it’s become a problem. The books unfolds the faults of the Republicans and Democrats “behind the scenes”, and made me more aware of the parties today.
Rosa Lee Cunningham is a 56 year old African American female. She is referred to the facility from Howard University Hospital. She was treated for a condition called osteomyelitis, which resulted from a bacterial infection while using heroin (Dash, 2006). Rosa Lee states that on October 7, 1983, she injected cocaine, which resulted in her being hospitalized at D.C. General Hospital (Dash, 2006). Prior to her hospital visit in 1983, she injected heroin, cocaine, and various substances. After a horrible breakup with her girlfriend, she used heroin for the first time (Dash, 2006). She stated that she uses speed ball of cocaine, heroin mixed injection as well as Prelundin, occasionally (Dash, 2006).
"Characters in Congress -- Senator Robert Latham Owen of Oklahoma." New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F70F10F7395517738DDDA80894DB405B888CF1D3 (accessed November 29, 2013).
Rosa Lee Cunningham is a 52-year old African American female. She is 5-foot-1-inch, 145 pounds. Rosa Lee is married however, is living separately from her husband. She has eight adult children, Bobby, Richard, Ronnie, Donna (Patty), Alvin, Eric, Donald (Ducky) and one child who name she did not disclose. She bore her eldest child at age fourteen and six different men fathered her children. At Rosa Lee’s recent hospital admission to Howard University Hospital emergency room blood test revealed she is still using heroin. Though Rosa Lee recently enrolled in a drug-treatment program it does not appear that she has any intention on ending her drug usage. When asked why she no longer uses heroin she stated she doesn’t always have the resources to support her addiction. Rosa Lee is unemployed and receiving very little in government assistance. She appears to
In a new twist on all of this Attorney Terry Giles client Andy Bleiler claims to have evidence relavent to the case. He also claims that Monica Lewinsky and he were lovers when he taught her at the Lewis and Clark University in Oregon. It is possible that Monica Lewinsky gave him documents and presents that Clinton had given her.
If you are able to relate to the rest of the population they will be more likely to vote for you. This is because they have confidence that you do acknowledge your mistakes and this means that you are relatable to them causing them to have more confidence that you will make political decisions that will please them. Making fun of yourself for your mistakes is the key way to provide the idea to the public that you are relatable to them. To accomplish this most politicians including Richard Nixon appeared on the show laugh in to show how they acknowledge their mishaps. "Its approach to political satire was less staccato and more sustainable" ( Kolbert,68). Kolbert shows here that many different types of poloticans stoop to conquer after the success of Richard Nixon. ""sock it to me?" He asks, drawing out the "me?" In a way that suggests he has perhaps never heard the line before" (Kolbert, 66). In this quote Nixon is making his mistakes known to the public thus Portraying to the public that he isnt on a higher pedestal than any of them. This then gets him votes because the public understands that he does make mistakes and is relatable to. The last main idea of kolbert is By doing all of this you will make yourself more relateable to the younger generation who might not care, know, or understand the background of
In the past century, people continued to express an increasingly discontent view of Congress especially true when one looks back before the Clinton Impeachment debacle As the size of the nation and the number of congressman have grown, the congress has come under attack by both public influences and congressman themselves. Yet looking at one congressman's relationship with his or her constituents, it would be hard to believe that this is the branch of government that has come under suspect. In “If Ralph Nader says congress is 'The broken branch,' how come we love our congressman so much?” author Richard F. Fenno, Jr., provides insight into this view and why, through congress coming under fire, constituents still feel positively about there congressmen. Although congress is often criticized, its fine tuned functioning is essential in checking the power of congress without hindering the making of legislation.
Ideologies unite groups of people and promote the collection of ideas necessary for operation of a properly varnished society. E.K. Hunt and Jared Diamond are two well known authors who discuss the scrupulous importance of ideologies within society. Their books, Property and Prophets and Guns, Germs, and Steel, discuss the success of certain ideologies throughout history, while also integrating the commendable relevance of economics. In determining the correlation of the two novels, one must assess the social, political, and economic factors associated with their viewpoints. Through interpretation of their understandings we can determine the rationale of medieval ideologies as well as, the breakdown of the Christian Paternalistic Ethic as
Stephen Medvic, In Defense of Politicians, discusses why Americans feel that politicians are dishonest. In 2007, a Gallup poll about honesty and ethical standards for occupations, showed that only 12 and 9 percent of people felt that Congressmen and State office holders held high standards, (Medvic p. 2). In addition, Americans tend to like their representatives more than the members of Congress because they view them as actual people. Americans view Congress as a group of politicians who are greedy and not representing their interests, (Medvic p. 4).
...e underestimate the influence religion has on American politics. According to public opinion polls, at least 40% of voters subscribe to a literal interpretation of the Bible and thus, 40% of voters are conservative Christians. Wald and Calhoun-Brown reveal the Christian Right is "closely allied with the Republican Party" (206). “Stealth campaigns” (219), led by committees who hide behind soft names like “Focus on the Family”, ultimately seek to eliminate same-sex marriage, women’s rights, and more. For example, while Concerned Women for America sounds like a women's right's organization, the 500,000-member committee focuses primarily on lobbying antigay and prolife legislation. Along the same lines Focus on the Family (founded 1981 by James Dobson) and the Traditional Values Coalition (formed in 1989 by Pat Robertson) are also advocates of the anti-gay movement.
South University Online. (2013). POL2076: American Government: Week 4: People and Politics—Interest Groups. Retrieved from http://myeclassonline.com
...blic issue in politics. This shows that committing adultery is such a big sin; it overshadows any other issue that a person has contributed to society. In conclusion, committing adultery with another is such a big sin; it can destroy one’s character in the public’s view as it had done so with Hester and Bill Clinton.
Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes. American Politics and Government Today. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999, pgs. 325-327.
Peterson, Molly M. & Hess, David (2004, June 22). Indecency, Media Ownership Hitch A Ride On Defense Bill. Congress Daily. National Journal Group, Inc. p. 4, 2p. Retrieved October 30, 2004, from http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,url,uid&db=aph&an=13959674
Montesh, M. (n.d.). Conceptualizing Corruption: Forms, Causes, Types and Consequences. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from