Posted by
jws on Tuesday, May 01, 2007 11:05:21 PM
When big corruption and big hypocrisy meet, the result is rarely pretty, and Senator Dianne Feinstein is one ugly lady (speaking metaphorically, of course) -- assuming recent allegations are true. She's being accused of using her former position as the top Democrat on the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (or “Milcon”) sub-committee to funnel huge government contracts to businesses controlled by her husband. She would have gotten away with it, too -- if it wasn't for those pesky kids. Actually, the Senator may still get away with it. The pesky kids in this case are just a few lonely reporters like
Peter Bryne (who started it all) and a caucaphony of conservative bloggers, all of whom are being studiously ignored by the <que sinister music> Mainstream Media.
Here's an
excerpt from The Hill, one of the only major media outlets covering this thing so far:
The problems stem from her subcommittee activities from 2001 to
late 2005, when she quit. During that period the public record suggests
she knowingly took part in decisions that eventually put millions of
dollars into her husband’s pocket — the classic conflict of interest
that exploited her position and power to channel money to her husband’s
companies.
In other words, it appears Sen. Feinstein was up to
her ears in the same sort of shenanigans that landed California Rep.
Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R) in the slammer. Indeed, it may be that the
primary difference between the two is basically that Cunningham was a
minor leaguer and a lot dumber than his state’s senior senator.
Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsible
Ethics in Washington, or CREW, usually focuses on the ethical lapses of
Republicans and conservatives, but even she is appalled at the way Sen.
Feinstein has abused her position. Sloan told a California reporter
earlier this month that while”there are a number of members of Congress
with conflicts of interest … because of the amount of money involved,
Feinstein’s conflict of interest is an order of magnitude greater than
those conflicts.”
And the director of the Project on
Government Oversight who examined the evidence of wrongdoing assembled
by California writer Peter Byrne told him that “the paper trail showing
Senator Feinstein’s conflict of interest is irrefutable.”
Senator Feinstein has much to answer for. Unfortunately, the press is too obsessed with Senator Obama and the DC Madame (who are not acquanted, as far as I know) to ask the questions.