# 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 10, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471 "2005-10-10T00:43:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/81 "2005-11-28T20:54:05Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > If you like McCain, this is a good time for you. He’s going to be riding high in the polls as we approach '08. The Democrats will need to nominate a strong candidate if they want to beat him (assuming no health problems, of course). He’s also going to be riding high in age as we approach '08 (72 by the election). Reagan was 69 when first elected, and it seems to me that he looked more robust then than McCain does now. McCainophiles, I share some degree of admiration for the man but if he runs it would be a big mistake. As was noted, the Republicans control everything. With that being said, if you were to buy a Congressman, which party would give you the best return for your dollar? That’s why the list is dominated by the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/82 "2005-11-28T21:00:25Z")
[Here’s an interesting site](http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Kith_%26_Kin_Inc.) which lists members of Congress having family members on the federal payroll or serving as campaign staff. And worse - those whose relatives have been hired by industry at high salaries to lobby Congress. One notorious example of this is Sen. Orrin Hatch, whose son has gotten paid large sums by the dietary supplement industry (Dad is a major protector of the industry and is largely responsible for the watering down of federal regulations governing supplements). While the site in the OP heavily singles out Republicans, you will note that the Kith and Kin link listed above shows sleaze relatively evenly distributed among Democrats and Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/83 "2005-11-28T23:43:49Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Here’s the same information from CBS News: > > As you’ll see, the writer is a conservative columnist, and is making the point that nothing is wrong with what they’re doing. He says that it is “perfectly legal and ethical, approved by both House rules and the FEC”. Wait a second: I thought CBS was a pack of no-good lying bastids!!! ---
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/84 "2005-11-29T02:12:09Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > Good riddance. One less corrupt bastard on the Hill is good news, no matter what side you’re on. HIJACK: Why not also name the guilty defense contractors, and bar them from ever doing business at the tax payers expense again? I’m glad this guy got nailed - too bad it won’t have a long-term impact. Politicos will still seek gain in the same manner, and the companies/lobbyists “assiting” them will never have any incentive to stop. There should be criminal charges his - this kind of rot in bringing the country to its knees. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/85 "2005-11-29T04:15:27Z")
> [@joemama24\_98](#): > > HIJACK: > > Why not also name the guilty defense contractors, and bar them from ever doing business at the tax payers expense again? The firms in question are ADCS, Inc. and MZM, Inc. ADCS was raided and searched by agents of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, which probably means they’ll have tough times getting contracts in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/86 "2005-11-29T05:13:11Z")
I can’t take the list seriously given the absence of Jim Moran (D-VA). ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/87 "2005-11-29T05:18:31Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > The AccuWeather thing, similarly, doesn’t impress me too much, for the simple reason that AccuWeather is a Pennsylvania based company. Congressmen and Senators ought to be counted on to support homegrown companies and industries. > > Not that I agree with Santorum’s action here, but they are hardly unique in the annals of corrupt behavior. Indeed, they don’t seem corrupt in the slightest. Just misguided and unwise. Puh-leeze. Santorum’s actions (attempting to direct the disposition of state assets to the benefit of specific private parties, under the label of “privatization”) is the sort of crony-capitalism crap that has poisoned attempts to introduce genunie free-market economies in much of the old Soviet Empire. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/88 "2005-11-29T05:22:21Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > What does domestic violence have to do with corruption? Getting a free pass in a situation where a member of the Teeming Millions not blessed with power and connections would get a trip downtown sounds corrupt enough to me. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/89 "2005-11-29T05:32:35Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > …which probably means they’ll have tough times getting contracts in the future. Seems to me I recall a well connected company that continued to get more contracts even as scandal after scandal followed one after the other. Can’t recall the name. Halle Berry? No, that’s not it. Ricky Burton? Mmmm, nope… ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/90 "2005-11-29T06:21:21Z")
One on the list, [Randy Cunningham (R-CA) confessed today](http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/28/cunningham/index.html) that he accepted bribes. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471/91 "2005-11-29T11:45:23Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > Getting a free pass in a situation where a member of the Teeming Millions not blessed with power and connections would get a trip downtown sounds corrupt enough to me. That’s not corruption though. Corruption is the selling of one’s position, not a personal character flaw. Both may be shameful, but that does not make them equivalent. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/13-most-corrupt-members-of-congress/325471.md?page=4)