A Pervasive Culture Of Corruption Determines The GOP Agenda

This week Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released it's list of the 10 worst corrupt Members of Congress for 2011. New Hampshire only has two congressmen, corporate shills Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass... and they're both on the list! Ann McLane Kuster, who's running for the seat Bass managed to worm his way back into last year, threaded the needle, pointing out last night that it's "bad enough that Congressman Bass is under the thumb of Speaker Boehner, Eric Cantor and the Far Right wing of this Republican Congress. But today CREW confirmed that he is using his position as a Member of Congress to financially benefit his family. Corruption of our politics is what drives Republicans like Congressman Bass to focus on tax loopholes for big-money donors instead of investment in jobs here at home. This is not acceptable."

Not acceptable? Not acceptable to whom? To Republicans it's part of the weird way they define "freedom" and liberty and it's the alter so many of them worship at. Rarely does a day pass by when some preachy Republican asshat doesn't get caught with his greasy fingers in something it shouldn't be in. This week we all found out about a different kind of Dong scandal haunting right-wing hypocrite Lindsey Graham, for example. Lindsay got all the initial blame for the scandal, but, as it turns out, the Dongs have been funneling large amounts of their stolen money into the South Carolina Republican Party and to other Republicans warchests as well, including Joe "You Lie" Wilson and hypocritical campaign finance "reformer" John McCain, long one of the Senate's most corrupt members and, of course, one of Graham's closest conspirators in all things (except, presumably dongs, small "d"). This Dong, in fine GOP "freedom" style, defrauded at least $3.6 million in taxpayer money giving Graham regular hefty cuts-- and quite illegally, to boot. He managed to load up Lindsay Graham's campaign treasury with tens of thousands of dollars in illegal foreign bribes.

Jian-Yun "John" Dong, the president of the South Carolina-based biotechnology firm GenPhar, and his estranged wife are accused of making at least $31,000 in illegal campaign contributions to Graham and his political action committee. GenPhar was Graham's sixth largest contributor between 2005 and 2010, with $46,269 in donations coming from GenPhar employees.

The indictments came down in April, but federal authorities didn't unseal the charges until Monday. Federal prosecutors allege Dong took $30,000 from a German national and funneled that money to support Graham's reelection. Graham's treasurer said that they were cooperating with federal authorities.

...The indictment alleges that Dong and an unnamed co-defendant falsified grant applications, progress reports, time sheets and other documents sent to federal agencies. They then used federal money for construction costs, lobbying fees, and travel and personal expenses not allowed under the grant program, the indictment states.

Dong reportedly created another company, Vaxima Inc., to help him divert federal cash for his own use, authorities said.

The newspaper reports that Dong allegedly had a German shareholder in his company transfer $36,000 from an overseas bank account to him, his wife and a worker at the company. They allegedly routed their donations to Graham through their minor daughter, family members and GenPhar employees.
"This is your money at work," Dong allegedly wrote in a Sept. 2007 email to his German investor, referring to obtaining government funds for a GenPhar project.

Graham was quoted in a press release touting one GenPhar grant.

"Once again, South Carolina is demonstrating that we are on the forefront of military technology," Graham said in a statement related on the GenPhar website.

"Military facilities in South Carolina are the tip of the spear for our nation's armed forces. I am proud to be from a state that is invaluable to America's fighting force. We provide the human assets and support systems that make the U.S. military the world's premier fighting force," Graham said.

The lobbyist who sought the money for GenPhar was American Defense International, Inc. The former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, Van Hipp, Jr., now chairs ADI.

Look at all those threads. Woven together, they help define a Republican systemic culture of corruption. And the mentality of self-entitlement and greed that pervades the political system in general and the Republican hierarchal elites in particular is now a defining characteristic of U.S. governance. Millionaires, many of whom-- like Rick Perry, the likely GOP presidential nominee-- have made vast fortunes based solely on accepting bribes while in public office. Millionaires-- Fred Upton in western Michigan is a perfect example-- buy their offices and then relentlessly rig the system against their own constituents. Now a pack of selfish millionaires in Congress are sitting in judgement over Obama's proposal that millionaires' tax rates go up to that of ordinary working families' rates. It isn't asking half what should be asked, but these self-serving crooks and, in some cases-- California Congressman Darrell Issa comes right to mind-- career criminals, are screaming like stuck pigs. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is hysterically opposed to making the tax rate fairer for millionaires. He's among the three richest Members of the House-- and, according to the new report from CREW, the most corrupt member of Congress.

Witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and bribery are all in a day’s work for the ethically challenged Rep. Vern Buchanan. 

The Sarasota congressman orchestrated an elaborate scheme that forced his employees to contribute to his campaign, ensuring they would be illegally reimbursed with corporate money. 

Doubling down on the criminal behavior, he attempted to bribe a former business partner with almost $3 million in hush money in a clumsy attempt to cover up the conspiracy.

In fact of the 20 richest Members of Congress, 10 are Republicans and, lo and behold, all ten are adamantly opposed to making the tax rate on millionaires fairer. That would be the aforementioned Issa (R-CA) and Buchanan (R-FL) plus Mike McCaul (R-TX), James Risch (R-ID), Gary Miller (R-CA), Bob Corker (R-TN), Diane Black (R-TN), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), Richard Berg (R-ND) and Kenny Marchant (R-TX), each "worth" somewhere between $13 million and $451 million, though it is likely that even the most impoverished of this group is worth well over $50 million. And they uniformly-- and adamantly-- oppose a fair tax rate. Is it a form of corruption? You're damn straight it is! And a creeping moral rot that pervades our entire political class.

This week, investigative journalist Lee Fang reported on another grotesque political scandal at the heart of the Republican Party power structure.

Late last week, FBI agents raided Jim Brulte’s home and lobbying office in connection to a corruption probe regarding the $102 million legal settlement between Rancho Cucamonga developer Colonies Partners LP and San Bernardino County in 2006. Prosecutors have been investigating the settlement, which they say was obtained through a conspiracy of bribery and extortion. Brulte, one of the most influential Republicans in Southern California and currently a lobbyist with the firm California Strategies, is also a former assemblyman and state senator who led both GOP caucuses while in office.

Already, former Board of Supervisors chairman Bill Postmus [long touted as the political heir to San Berdoo GOP capo Jerry Lewis] admitted accepting a $100,000 bribe from Colonies executive Jeff Burum. Prosecutors allege that the Colonies Partners’ lobbying strategy manipulated the San Bernardino County Taxpayers Association, the San Bernardino Young Republicans, and other bribes were made in connection to the settlement.

...Notably, FBI agents only raided Brulte’s California Strategies office in Fontana, California. ThinkProgress has discovered that during the time of the allegedly corrupt Colonies Partners settlement, Brulte conducted his lobbying business out of a suite owned by a sitting member of the legislature. In 2004, Brulte founded the Inland Empire office of California Strategies. Until last year, that lobbying shop operated out of an office space owned by current Republican Senate Leader, state Sen. Bob Dutton.

According to documents obtained by ThinkProgress, Brulte’s lobbying business shared the same office owned by Dutton’s consulting businesses at 10681 Foothill Blvd. Suite 340 in Rancho Cucamonga, California. In December 2004, shortly after Brulte finished his last term in the legislature, he began work for California Strategies at Dutton’s business address. A representative from California Strategies told ThinkProgress that the firm moved its Inland Empire office from Dutton’s office to the current location in Fontana last year “in April or May.”

Dutton, who now occupies Brulte’s seat in the legislature, has an ownership stake in a number of companies operating out of the same office suite in Rancho Cucamonga

...According to disclosures, Dutton’s “West End Investments” and his other firms have generated over a million dollars in income for the senator, although it is not clear what the firms actually provide in terms of business other than “real estate.”

Since he left elected office for work at California Strategies, Brulte has been rated almost every year by Capitol Weekly as one of the top “influence peddlers” and “power brokers” in the state. With Postmus accepting a plea bargain and speaking openly with prosecutors about what he knows, and the FBI raid on Brulte’s office, Brulte’s lobbying connections may soon open a new front in the case.

Dutton, presently the most powerful elected Republican in California, has avoided taint from the scandal so far. Although he has accepted $25,000 from the allegedly crooked developers in the Colonies Partners deal, Dutton hasn’t been directly associated with the scandal. However, this new information that Brulte lobbied out of Dutton’s personal office may change all of that.

Dutton sounds like he's been taking wealth building lessons from Rick Perry.