My vote would be Charley Rangel (D-NY). He has failed to report thousands of $ on income (on rental prperties). His excuse:“I didn’t know I had to pay taxes on it”.
He also owns several rent-controlled apartments in NYC, which he uses as his Congress-paid local offices. apparently, paying rent to yourself is a good business practice.
Who’s your favorite?
I was going to mention Rep. Jefferson (D-Louisiana)-the guy who kept $100,000 in cash in his freezer.
But he’s already been indicted.
I would have to vote for Rangel. For the record Jefferson only had $90,000 in his freezer and he lost his election bid last year. So, technically, he’s not a member of congress
Only #11 on this list.
yorick, who would you rate as the most corrupt Republican?
Strictly speaking the list does not rank them, it alphabetizes them. Then again, if your behavior is so atrocious that your name appears on a list of this sort, rankings hardly matter.
Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) and Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) tied for first place.
Deal, alarmed by the fact that his home state was considering a change to the no-bid contract his company had to inspect salvaged vehicles, threatened to cut off federal funding to the state’s program unless his sweetheart contract was undisturbed.
Burris has offered several conflicting versions about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the vacant US Senate seat in Illinois. This seat was famous for being the subject of profanity-laced tirades by then-Governor Rod Blagojevich about how he was going to get money or favors from whoever he gave the seat to.
How did I forget Ensign (R-Nevada) ??
Dunno. Actually I haven’t heard about many of the charges from your link. Maybe only the most egregious acts or the most well-known politicians make the evening news.
We don’t know who the most corrupt member is, because that member is the one smart enough not to leave a bunch of fingerprints at the scene of the grime.
Ol’ Charlie? Maybe, but I really like the guy, he reminds me of Adam Clayton Powell, who was a pirate, a hypocrite, and an ordained minister, and I liked him too. Can’t help it.
So, for the record: I condemn corruption in all its forms, by whomsoever, and if the evidence warrants it, I support whatever disciplinary measures are appropriate, up to and including expulsion, though I’d prefer restitution and a stern talking to. Because I like him.
Well, gosh, Yorick, you seem well enough versed in the corruption of Rangel and Jefferson. Did your internet hamster go on strike when you tried to type an “R”?
Senator Max Baucus (D-Insurance Industry).
I don’t mean corrupt in the sense of doing anything illegal, but corrupt in the sense of business as usual in Washington, D.C.
Charley Rangel (R-NY).
Rep. Jefferson (R-Louisiana).
Senator Max Baucus (R-Montana).
All good choices.
Baucus is a Democrat.
No, I read that all of them are Republicans on the internet. Right here. Which is at least as reliable a cite as Fox News.
Please. Rangel is front page news and I lived in LA for most of my life. Others that immediately jump to mind are Murtha, Dodd, DeLay, and, of course, all the sex scandals. I don’t really consider sex scandals as corruption. Also, as I noted, Jefferson is not a member of Congress.
It’d be nice to get Charlie Rangel out of there. It’s pretty costless to the party because a Republican is not going to take Rangel’s seat.
Well, neither is DeLay, any more, but its an interesting question. Are we only concerned with personal corruption, politicians lining their pockets, or do we include political slime like Tom DeLay, who was intent on corrupting our politics so that his ideology would hold sway. For me, the latter is the more significant, especially when you consider his efforts to marry K-Street lobbyists with the Republican Party. He may very well not have personally realized a dime out of that, but it stinks to high heaven.
Ha! Excellent one!
My understanding (from a talking head on PBS or NPR) is that the Dems aren’t too thrilled about who would replace him because he’s “super liberal”. Again, I know nothing about the guy other than hearing that on the news last night. IIRC, charimanship for the Dems automatically goes to the most senior member on the committee.
ETA: I suspect that the most corrupt will tend to come from the party in power. They, after all, have more to offer those who are trying to corrupt them.
A solid argument for term limits if you ask me. The idea that we fear replacing our guy because he won’t get the choice committee chairs hurts the voter significantly. But I guess for the same reason why you think they like Rangel, would be the reasons I don’t. I don’t want someone ‘super liberal’ I want someone more moderate and level headed who treats government as a business not a religious observance.
Most likely.
Yeah, I was only pointing to relatively recent scandals that stand out in my mind…which is why I included DeLay. Nonetheless, it is an interesting question…how exactly do we define corrupt?