Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) describes recent bribe taking of Democrat Senators as “small stuff” that distracts people from the “real issue” of Big Government health care. His apathy regarding the purchase of votes using taxpayer money is appalling. Felonious bribery is always shocking to critical thinkers such as those who vist this web site. What happened was that certain Democrat senators who had originally said that they were opposed to the 2000 page travesty agreed to vote for the bill once they were offered various monetary incentives for their pet re-election projects back home.

One can only hope that intelligent, rational and honest politicians formulate their position -and their vote – based on integrity, reflection, principles and critical analysis of the issue at hand. It is disgraceful that their opinions and votes can be bought using other people’s money. In a third-world dictatorship or in a socialist form of government that is strived for so often even by our own countrymen, this sort of conduct is to be expected. But in our own country where laws exist to prohibit such flagrant corruption, one can only wonder how these people can remain in office, let alone out of prison.

Strangely, their defense for such atrocity is not denial, but the assertion that this sort of thing is done all of the time –  that this is how politics works. They then go on to recite names of Republican politicians that have done the same thing as if to startle the critics into some sort of ignorant acceptance of these crimes. Speaking as an American who has no affiliation to any particular political party, this type of conduct is unacceptable. I can expect no expulsion from office of these offenders because any expulsion would presumably require some sort of vote that we now  see can be bought and sold to the highest bidder using my money and that of taxpayers nationwide.

Such arrogance and lack of principles can only be handled through the ballot box. Let us hope that voters remember such conduct almost one year from now – on Election Day 2010.