Now I'm really surprised: Texas Republican stands up, calls out a lot of people
Congressmember Ron Paul (R-TX14) launched a fantastic tirade on Truthout.org. I don't agree with every word, but it is an impressive text. One highlight on the way in:
It's been suggested we need to change course and correct the way Congress is run. A good idea, but if we merely tinker with current attitudes about what role the federal government ought to play in our lives, it won't do much to solve the ethics crisis. True reform is impossible without addressing the immorality of wealth redistribution. Merely electing new leaders and writing more rules to regulate those who petition Congress will achieve nothing.
Could it be that we're all looking in the wrong places for a solution to recurring, constant, and pervasive corruption in government? Perhaps some of us in Congress are mistaken about the true problem; perhaps others deliberately distract us from exposing the truth about how miserably corrupt the budget process in Congress is. Others simply are in a state of denial. But the denial will come to an end as the Abramoff scandal reveals more and more. It eventually will expose the scandal of the ages: how and to what degree the American people have become indebted by the totally irresponsible spending habits of the U.S. Congress- as encouraged by successive administrations, condoned by our courts, and enjoyed by the recipients of the largesse.
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A long read, but a good one.
It's been suggested we need to change course and correct the way Congress is run. A good idea, but if we merely tinker with current attitudes about what role the federal government ought to play in our lives, it won't do much to solve the ethics crisis. True reform is impossible without addressing the immorality of wealth redistribution. Merely electing new leaders and writing more rules to regulate those who petition Congress will achieve nothing.
Could it be that we're all looking in the wrong places for a solution to recurring, constant, and pervasive corruption in government? Perhaps some of us in Congress are mistaken about the true problem; perhaps others deliberately distract us from exposing the truth about how miserably corrupt the budget process in Congress is. Others simply are in a state of denial. But the denial will come to an end as the Abramoff scandal reveals more and more. It eventually will expose the scandal of the ages: how and to what degree the American people have become indebted by the totally irresponsible spending habits of the U.S. Congress- as encouraged by successive administrations, condoned by our courts, and enjoyed by the recipients of the largesse.
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A long read, but a good one.
posted by Ruby K at 2:59 PM
2 Comments:
He's nothing if not consistent -- Ron Paul is a libertarian opposed to pretty much all government spending, whether on pork or on post-Katrina reconstruction.
True enough, BZ, but I've noticed, especially in his speeches of late, that he is making the distinction between spending on the Iraq war and helping people here. Towards the bottom of his speech, he did tick off a list of things he'd like to see, and this one was on it:
11. Cut funding for corporate welfare, foreign aid, international NGOs, defense contractors, the military industrial complex, and rich corporate farmers before cutting welfare for the poor at home;
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