The Hightower Report

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CLEANING UP CONGRESSIONAL CORRUPTION

Is it just me, or is the rancid stench of Washington political corruption a lot more malodorous than usual?

You might remember a decade ago when Newt Gingrich put forth his "Contract with America," pledging that if Republicans took power they'd tidy up the place spick-and-span, turning it into an ethical nunnery. Well, since then the GOP has taken total power – the Congress, presidency, and the courts – but Washington these days is stinkier than a barroom spittoon. Take a whiff of such characters as Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney … and so many more mug shots in the making.

Indeed, there is now so much corruption between lobbyists and lawmakers that the FBI has had to triple the number of squads investigating them. For decades, only one squad was needed to handle such cases, but this year there are three squads with 37 full-time agents digging into the muck – and the FBI official overseeing the mess says he wants to add a fourth corruption squad because so much wrongdoing is being uncovered.

The misdeeds are so deep and widespread that the leaders can't smell their own stink. Early this year, when some of the scandals were revealed, the GOP loudly promised to stop the selling of legislative favors. In September, however, when media coverage of the corruption had died down, the house cynically passed a sham of a reform, patted itself on the back, and promptly returned to taking lobbyist-financed junkets, using lobbyists to chair their fundraising committees, and putting their spouses on lobbyists' payrolls. Their "reform" was about as effective as tying an air freshener to the tail of a hog.

The only reform that'll actually do the job is legislation to remove the corporate money from politics by providing public financing for all congressional elections. To learn more about it, call Public Campaign: 202/293-0222.

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THE BLOCKHEAD in CHARGE of WHISTLE-BLOWER PROTECTION

It's not easy being a whistle-blower – especially when the head honcho of the federal agency charged with protecting whistle-blowers is a blockhead.

His name is – aptly enough – Scott Bloch. He's another of George W.'s political appointees with no particular competence for the job. His previous post was at the justice department's "task force for faith-based initiatives." Bloch has been a bumbler – he's under investigation for sexual bias in the workplace and retaliation against employees who disagree with his policies. He even has a whistle-blower complaint against him by his own staff! And, in his first month on the job, he blithely tossed out more than a thousand legitimate whistle-blower cases, apparently so he could claim progress in reducing his agency's backlog.

But Bloch's most blockheaded move was his treatment of Leroy Smith, who had been named 2006 "Public Servant of the Year." Smith was being honored for blowing the whistle on federal prison factories that expose inmates and staff to deadly toxics. In September, Smith was flown to Washington for the big ceremony, media were invited, lawmakers were coming, a roomful of catered food was laid out, and the doors to the event were swinging open when – slam! – Bloch abruptly canceled the event.

He claimed he had to cancel because another agency official had suffered a "sudden" death in her family. But the death was not sudden. "It's kind of fishy," said a disappointed Smith. What really caused this petulant reaction by Bloch, the guy who's supposed to prevent retaliation against whistle-blowers? It seems he learned that Smith was going to a press conference after the ceremony to decry the difficulties of being a federal whistle-blower – and that would not be good for Bloch's image. He later mailed the award to Smith.

To help whistle-blowers fight such blockheads, contact the watchdog group, PEER, at 202/265-7337.