Enforcing Congressional Ethics... Sure

Last week we sniffed around some of the stench coming off Congress when we examined the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK). The Senate raised the white flag and only 3 of the dozens of corporatist whores who were against it dared vote NO. So now it's moving to the House where notorious banking sector prostitution figures Eric Cantor and Patrick McHenry have thrown their bodies onto the tracks to keep it from moving forward.

No one cares what the diminutive extremist and closet queen from western North Carolina says but Cantor usually gets his way. This time, though, the momentum and the sense of popular outrage is so intense that even Eric Cantor-- recipient of an astounding $5,886,315 in legalistic bribes from the finance sector, second only to John Boehner's $5,963,755-- may have no choice but to get out of the way. There are already 280 co-sponsors... and they're not all Democrats. Republicans vulnerable to charges of corruption are flocking to Louise Slaughter and asking to sign on as co-sponsors. Among the most unethical Members of Congress who have signed on are Mean Jean Schmidt (R-OH), Countrywide's Elton Gallegly (R-CA), the cash vacuum behind the Susan G. Komen scandal Cliff Stearns (R-FL), scandal-plagued David Rivera (R-FL), plutocrat Fred Upton (R-MI), deadbeat dad and teabagger Joe Walsh (R-IL), Clear Channel's congressional Rep Mike McCaul (R-TX), Rove-clone Tim Griffin (R-AR), grifter Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and even crooked, money-grubbing Dems like Tim Holden (Blue Dog-PA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Steve Israel (D-NY) signed on. Standing in lockstep with Cantor and McHenry against the bill are Wall Street's chief internal lobbyist Paul Ryan, the Mormon with a million scandals Buck McKeon, Oily Joe Barton and the man who caused the whole scandal to explode onto the public stage, sleazy Alabama insider trader Spencer Bachus.

Even though Cantor has criticized the Walz-Slaughter bill, Republicans have been rushing to add their name to the co-sponsor list. Failure to do so could hamper their reelection bids.

The Hill compiled all of the members who had not backed the bill, and cross checked it with independent political analyst Charlie Cook’s list of lawmakers who are in competitive races. The Hill then called those legislators to ask if they planned to back the bill.

Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), Scott Rigell (R-Va.), Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) noted this week they have recently co-sponsored the measure. (There is usually a lag of a day or two between when a member backs a bill and that endorsement shows up on the legislative website THOMAS.)

House Republican members who have not co-sponsored the bill and did not respond to requests for comment were Reps. Lou Barletta (Pa.), Dan Benishek (Mich.), Larry Bucshon (Ind.), Chip Cravaack (Minn.), Scott Garrett (N.J.), Bob Gibbs (Ohio), Richard Hanna (N.Y.), Nan Hayworth (N.Y.), Steve King (Iowa), Gary Miller (Calif.), Reid Ribble (Wis.) and Lee Terry (Neb.).

...In an email, Rep. Daniel Webster’s office (R-Fla.) stated that the congressman “believes that transparency and trust is important at all levels of government, which is why he would like to see the STOCK Act strengthened to apply to the executive branch.”

Conservatives like Webster are pushing poison bill amendments that could derail the bill. One sleazebag, knowing Congress would never OK it, is demanding an amendment that would take away the pensions for retired Members who become lobbyists and another is demanding a constitutional amendment imposing term limits. Bunch of assclowns! The right wing corruptionist who led the opposition in the Senate, bankster puppet, Dick Burr (R-NC), has a lot of crooked investments personally. He owns around $200,000 in stock in the natural gas industry that would benefit from legislation he co-sponsored, precisely what the legislation is seeking to put an end to.

Burr's investments pose "a very clear conflict of interest," said Craig Holman of the advocacy group Public Citizen. He said the STOCK Act "will make members of Congress much more cautious in any particular sector, including natural gas." While the STOCK Act wouldn't prohibit such investments, "members of Congress will have to think twice about any kind of trading activity they do," Holman said.

Burr was unavailable to discuss his investments, his office said. He opposed the STOCK Act "because there are already laws in place to address this critical issue," said spokesman David Ward. "Laws regarding insider trading that apply to the American people also apply to members of Congress and their staff. Members of Congress are elected to serve the people, not make money for themselves, and any member or staff member who breaks the already existing insider trading laws should be held responsible."

The pressure on Cantor has become so intense from inside the GOP caucus that he'll probably allow it to be voted on-- and passed-- this week. Of course, if people like Hoyer and Crowley back it and all those slimy senators like McCain, Blunt, Vitter, Cornyn, and Inhofe voted for it, it can't really be something that is going to stop much criminal activity by Members of Congress dedicated to that endeavor. And this little video might have scared Cantor too: