I Voted! (for the most corrupt)
November 9, 2012 10:55 AM   Subscribe

Just in case you haven't overdosed on American politics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Most Corrupt members of Congress (Full 2012 report - pdf).

Previous reports from 2005-2011. CREW has numerous other reports and investigations of scandal and corruption in Congress too.
posted by IvoShandor (21 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
And people say there's no bipartisanship in Congress anymore.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:58 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]


I laughed really hard when I saw Ron Paul's name the last. Still laughing, as a matter of fact.
posted by Athene at 11:24 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]


David Vitter, sure -- but what about Mary Landrieu? Louisiana has been denied its natural exacta!
posted by steambadger at 11:27 AM on November 9, 2012


So my overseas ballot only gives me three voting options - President, Senators, and Representatives.

And it's been ages since I've lived where I'm officially registered, so, really, my knowledge of my representatives is pretty vague. So when I filled out my ballot, I did a bit of Googling, and made up my mind based on what I was seeing. And I had a choice between a woman who lived in Palos Verdes and went on about how family-focused she was, and a woman who was being investigated by the House Ethics Committee.

And despite my general disdain for anyone from PV, I am so glad I did not vote for this woman.
posted by Katemonkey at 11:28 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]


Oh look, Pon Raul is on the "dishonorable mention" list. I'm sure that someone will come along any minute now to tell us how this is part of a conspiracy to keep his message from the American people.
posted by deadmessenger at 11:32 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]


Mathematicians keep saying you can have one infinity that's bigger than another infinity, but I still don't see how.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:34 AM on November 9, 2012


Why does CREW hate freedom so much?
posted by Danf at 11:35 AM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]


Kind of highlights the problem with the two party system and first-past-the-goalpost voting doesn't it.

I might like the Democratic party's platform but the guy running in my district is a crook. I don't want to vote for the Republican and if I vote third party, I'm throwing my vote away.

I could participate more in the primaries (and I know I should) but then I still might not get to vote for someone who I agree with but who has the best change of beating the Republican.
posted by VTX at 11:43 AM on November 9, 2012


GOOGLE RON PAUL -CREW
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:48 AM on November 9, 2012 [4 favorites]


DON'T GOOGLE RON PAUL UNTIL WE CAN PERFECT OUR SEO
posted by zombieflanders at 12:09 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]


I think these guy's and their list are kinda crappy. For example the reason for putting Rep. Tim Bishop has been pretty much been completely debunked.
posted by pd0658a at 12:10 PM on November 9, 2012


I'm pretty sure that's Mr. Bean. He's just incompetent, not "corrupt", per se. He wasn't supposed to be in Congress anyway, it was just a wacky mix-up.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:14 PM on November 9, 2012


Don't blame me; I voted for Kodos.
posted by steambadger at 12:30 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]


Hey, there's Paul Broun, who nudged past Darwin, Randy Savage, Doritos, and a dead Uga that's not even the most recent dead Uga on his way to victory.
posted by Copronymus at 1:44 PM on November 9, 2012


If I'm missing a critical point, do tell me.

I think the critical point is the one you dismissed out of hand: media and money. But I try to be hopeful too. I am, however, realistic.
posted by IvoShandor at 1:49 PM on November 9, 2012


I voted for Shelley Berkley happily. I was bombarded for months about the ethics investigation into her actions. The ads were twisted to be the most damning and Crossroads spent $6.7M making sure every single person knew how "corrupt" she was.

Of course, Berkley wasn't the only person who wanted to keep the only kidney donation center open in Nevada. Dean Heller and other NV legislators supported it too. Why? Because it's an incredibly valuable program to the citizens, no matter who your husband might be. (And really? Fighting against cutting Medicare payments for kidney disease was corrupt? Even if you ignore the fact that she fought many other cuts and supported expanding coverage in other areas, her husband was only one of thousands of doctors who would be affected.)

But it worked. Heller won by 1.2% and gets to keep his seat as the pro-life, TARP/Auto Bailout/ACA/renewable energy opposing, oil subsidizing, tax-cuts-for-the-rich senator who has the distinction of being the only person to vote for Ryan's Budget twice (he was a Rep appointed as Senator at just the right time). I'm sure he will be a shining example of responsible governance and unbiased support.
posted by Vysharra at 2:51 PM on November 9, 2012 [1 favorite]


Seconding the opinion that I don't think Shelley Berkley deserves to be on this list.

Looking at the Senate races this year, especially with how Jon Tester in Montana and Heidi Heitkamp were able to hold Democratic seats in Montana and even North Dakota (!!), I was optimistic that she would actually be able to knock Heller off, but given that Las Vegas is practically Sheldon Adelson's backyard he and Rove likely channeled a ton of money into defeating her.
posted by jpolorolu at 5:11 PM on November 9, 2012


I can't imagine how much it cost some to stay off this list.
posted by spock at 5:29 PM on November 9, 2012


GOOGLE VITTER DIAPERS
posted by homunculus at 8:26 PM on November 9, 2012 [2 favorites]


I googled vitter diapers and took an instant dislike to this person I have previously not heard of, and the more I read the less I liked him, although he seems to have done some small good it seems to be a "broken clock is right twice a day" sort of good.
posted by Mezentian at 11:13 PM on November 9, 2012


I'm always flabbergasted by folks that say a vote for the third party is a thrown away vote.

It's isn't people's apathy, money, or that the two major parties are so entrenched that does it. It's the winner-take-all/first-past-the-goal-post voting system. It means that the most efficient number of parties will always be two. If you could get people to vote for a third party, all that would happen is that one of the entrenched parties would whither away. I harbor a secret hope that this will happen to the GOP and the democrats will become the "right wing" party so we can have a real left wing party again.

The money and media are part of what keep the two parties we have to firmly entrenched but it's the voting system that keeps the number to two.
posted by VTX at 6:24 AM on November 10, 2012 [1 favorite]


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