After campaigning on a platform claiming to seek austerity in government while millions of Americans are hurting in the bad economy, Republicans have been caught exploiting the corrupt system of campaign finance – on their very first day. The actions of Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, on the first day of the new session of Congress, have prompted some groups to call for investigations by the House Ethics Committee.
Indeed, Republicans and their Fox News attack dogs lined up to attack Democrats like Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., for the merest whiff of a scandal. Now the silence on new evidence of Republican corruption is deafening and hypocritical.
As progressive advocacy group Americans United for Change noted recently in an e-mail to its membership, both Sessions and Fitzpatrick held massive fundraisers with hundreds of political donors on the first day in office. Indeed, these fundraisers caused both men to miss the House swearing-in ceremony. And as TheCitizen.com pointed out, both apparently cast votes before even taking the oath of office.
"Why bother to be sworn in as a new member of Congress when instead you could hold a fundraiser with hundreds of political donors and watch the swearing in on TV?," Americans United for Change said. "The Office of Congressional Ethics and House Ethics Committee should immediately begin investigating this outrageous behavior!"
Spokespersons for Sessions and Fitzpatrick explained the casting of votes before being sworn in by saying the two leading Republicans saw the swearing in ceremony on TV and that was good enough.
According to media accounts, both Reps. Sessions and Fitzpatrick attended a fancy fundraiser for Fitzpatrick inside the U.S. Capitol. House rules clearly forbid soliciting cash at the U.S. Capitol.
The Sunlight Foundation, a political watchdog group, notes that the House Ethics Manual states: "House rooms and offices are not to be used for events that are campaign or political in nature, such as a meeting on campaign strategy, or a reception for campaign contributors."
In a statement, the group added, “The Office of Congressional Ethics and the House Ethics Committee should determine whether or not this type of activity is in violation of the House Ethics rules. From this end, it appears as though this fundraiser was not in meeting with the rules as laid out in the manual.”
But Sessions and Fitzpatrick are not alone in their greed for campaign cash. According to the Americans United for Change website, several dozen freshman members of Congress – all Republicans – held massive fundraisers in December, just days after acting pure and holy for their Tea Party voters, and raising millions with the promise to deliver a pro-corporate, anti-working families agenda.
Americans United for Change has posted a petition on which voters can demand the House Ethics Committee fulfill its legal obligation and investigate this violation of the rules. Check it out here.
The real question is are we going to see crocodile tears form Speaker John Boehner about his unruly band of corrupt minions?
Photo by House GOP Leader, cc by 2.0/Flickr
