Peace On That

I've been raging on the lies, misdirection and corruption of the Republican Party so I see no reason why I shouldn't hold my own Party to the same standard. West Virginia representative,
Alan Mollohan is head of the Ethics Committee and is alleged to have committed some serious ethic violations. I know he's innocent until proven guilty, but everything I've read to date suggest that he's as guilty as sin, ethically that is. Let's take a look at it:

Financial Disclosure Reports of House Appropriations Committee members showed a sharp increase in Rep. Mollohan's assets from 2000 to 2004. A closer examination revealed that Mollohan and his wife had more than $2,000,000 in real estate investments with a former staffer, Laura Kuhns, and her husband. Kuhns ran a nonprofit, Vandalia Heritage Foundation, which had received more than $28 million in appropriations earmarks with Mollohan's help from 2000 through 2005. She was also on the board of other nonprofit groups which had received over $100 million in earmarks of federal funds during the same period with Mollohan's help.
SOURCE

Here are the charges:

For the period 1996 through 2004, NLPC found that the Financial Disclosure Reports:

repeatedly failed to disclose real estate assets which public records showed were owned by Mollohan and his wife

repeatedly failed to disclose financial assets which public records showed were owned by Mollohan and his wife

repeatedly failed to disclose major loans which were used in the acquisition of financial assets which were not being disclosed

failed to disclose interests in companies which owned major assets

grossly undervalued assets, giving purported valuations which were a small fraction of the assets true value
SOURCE

This is how bad it got:

The most ambitious effort by the congressman, Alan B. Mollohan, is a glistening glass-and-steel structure with a swimming pool, sauna and spa rising in a former cow pasture in Fairmont, W.Va., thanks to $103 million of taxpayer money he garnered through special spending allocations known as earmarks. SOURCE

How long are we suppose to accept crap like this from the people charged with handling our hard earned tax dollars. I understand bringing home the bacon, but these guys are handing out the entire hog. Is bad enough that we have to spend $6 billion a month on to fund Bush's follies, a $50 million rain forest project in Iowa and a bridge that goes to nowhere in Alaska.

At some point we're going to have to rid ourselves of these politicians. The only reason they pull crap like this is because they've tricked the American people into providing them with safe seats. So instead of voting for what they do, we give them our vote for what they say. So as long as they're saying the right thing and not get themselves arrested, they're basically a shoe-in to keep their seats.

If Democrats want to make a difference, they have to stand up and not tolerate things like this. If we're not going to make a dime bit of difference between us and Republicans, then what's the point?

Discussion Starter:

1. What can be done to keep these politicians in line?

2. Rate the amount of trust you put in your party:
(1) Crooked Bastards
(2) I just don't turn my back on 'em
(3) I've learn to swim in shark infested waters
(4) We have some crooks but at least we're better than the (Republicans/Democrats)
(5) They're all innocent. This is just a (right wing/left wing) conspiracy.

3. Name one politician in your own party who is still in office that you believe is ethically challeged.