Another Pre-BIG-Scandal Buck McKeon Scandal

You could probably build a small home with all the botox in this photo

The point is being made-- loudly and clearly-- that while Republicans have been trying to politicize the Solyndra bankruptcy they themselves have been trying to steer $11.8 billion in loan guarantees to their own districts. It's the kind of hypocrisy we tied to Cliff Stearns (R-FL) over the weekend. Although Stephen Lacey hones in on corrupt and hypocritical Republicans like David Vitter (R-LA), Miss McConnell (R-KY), Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Fred Upton (R-MI), we've got a congresscritter right here in the L.A. area as guilty as the rest of them.

Buck McKeon-- soon to be drowning in a family bribery scandal-- has been one of the biggest corporate whores in Congress for years, taking massive bribes from shady for-profit college lenders and from shady war contractors, while he oversaw legislation in areas those special interested were especially interested in. Like his cronies Issa and Upton, McKeon has been a big proponent of wasting taxpayer dollars on dangerous nuclear facilities-- while taking gigantic bribes from the nuclear industry and while his Southern California constituents have very different ideas.

Forget crony capitalism. What we have here is phony capitalism.

A number of leading Republicans have repeatedly sought grants, tax credits and loan guarantees to support projects in their own districts. But when it’s politically advantageous, they now make the claim that government is “picking winners and losers” and violating the free market.

We all want to see taxpayer funds deployed as efficiently and fairly as possible.  Solar energy is soaring in this country and around the world, which suggests governmental support for the industry is working in a lot of countries. The nuclear industry has all but died in non-market economies, in spite of massive government support (see “Nuclear Pork-- Enough is Enough"). Which one is the winner and which is the loser?

General Atomics-- right up there among dozens of war contractors-- has been one of the biggest supporters of McKeon's political career-- $84,000 in legal contributions so far, his fifth biggest haul from any single company. Meanwhile, one of the biggest town's in McKeon's district (CA-25), Lancaster, was featured this week on NPR for going in an entirely different, non-McKeon backed, direction: solar. Transcript:

Lancaster, Calif., is just one struggling city that's beginning to invest in the sun.

ADRIENE HILL: New reports suggest renewable energy isn't the job engine that some hoped. But many struggling towns are paving the way for whatever green jobs they can get.

From the Marketplace sustainability desk, Eve Troeh reports.

EVE TROEH: Shoppers in the desert town of Lancaster, Calif., drive right past empty parking spaces near the front of a building. Here, a good spot means:

MAN: Shade.

TROEH: What happens if you don't find a spot in the shade?

MAN: You're gonna burn.

WOMAN: It's like walking into an inferno.

REX PARRIS: It's brutally painful.

That last voice is Lancaster mayor Rex Parris, at city hall. Even he had to park in the sun when he took office in 2008.

PARRIS: None of these were covered. You see, that's quite an expense.

Now, a private company-- Solar City-- has paid for roofs on public parking. It put solar panels on top, and sells the power to the city. It's one of many partnerships that's made Lancaster's city buildings 90 percent solar-powered.

PARRIS: And we sealed the cost at 13 cents a kilowatt.

Cheaper than the local utility. But Lancaster's got issues beyond hot cars and power bills, like high unemployment, rampant foreclosures. The last time the town really shone was the 1950s.

NEWSREEL: The Air Force rocket plane X-15 chalks up another record at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

From then until the '80s, research around the air base filled Lancaster with pilots and engineers. The mayor thinks solar start-ups can restore tech culture. He's offered tax breaks and fast-track permits.

PARRIS: If they come here, they can get on the grid faster, is really what it comes down to.

The city's cut paperwork for residential solar, too. That helped KB Home build its new all-solar subdivision: Arroyo. Vice president Tom DiPrima says it's selling.

TOM DIPRIMA: Thirty homes in about three months.

Families can get a solar system that covers almost all their energy.

DIPRIMA: The air's running, the lights are on in this house, but hen you look at the meter, it's barely turning.

But UCLA economist Jerry Nickelsburg says right now, solar power jobs are mostly short-term-- in construction.

JERRY NICKELSBURG: Renewable energy, once it's in place, typically does not take many employees to keep it going.

For real growth, Lancaster needs whole companies, and factories. A sunny reputation is just a start.

McKeon may not give a damn about clean energy or green energy or solar power-- or Lancaster for that matter-- but his Democratic opponent does. This morning Lee Rogers told us that "the solar industry in Lancaster is exactly the type of renewable energy in which we should invest... We need to put Californians back to work. Not only is it clean and efficient, but the industry has brought hundreds of jobs to Antelope Valley and will save the city millions of dollars in energy costs."

McKeon's 70 year old wife, Patricia, is running for the Assembly in the reddest part of his congressional district. Long his overpaid campaign treasurer (think back to the Doolittles)-- he's pushed over half a million dollars from his own campaign donations into "her" personal account (plus a $700/month Acura, all year long), Patricia also has a reputation of something of a bagwoman, accepting contributions from slimy war profiteers and anti-environmental outfits, i.e., people looking to funnel cash ole Buck's way... without triggering any icky congressional investigations.