On just the second day of 2017 — House Republicans enthusiastically shouted their affection for moral baseness (03 January 2017)

© 2017 Peter Free

 

03 January 2017

 

 

Why bother with velvet nuance — when we can freely exercise avarice?

 

To wit:

 

 

House Republicans voted 119-74 Monday night in favor of a proposal that would gut Congress' outside ethics watchdog and remove its independence.

 

Republican Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte's proposal would place the independent Office of Congressional Ethics -- an initial watchdog for House members but without power to punish members -- under oversight of those very lawmakers.

 

The proposal would bar the panel from reviewing any violation of criminal law by members of Congress, requiring that it turn over any complaint to the House Ethics Committee or refer the matter to an appropriate federal law enforcement agency.

 

The House Ethics Committee would also have the power to stop an investigation at any point and bars the ethics office from making any public statements about any matters or hiring any communications staff.

 

© 2016 Deirdre Walsh and Daniella Diaz, House GOP guts ethics panel, CNN Politics (03 January 2017)

 

This, of course, was a necessary move. We all know that politicians are much too hampered in their ability to suck money and privilege out of the Public's pockets.

 

 

The moral? — Greed, war and unalloyed self-interest are great

 

America — "a city upon a hill" — indeed.