December 12, 2008
by Larken Rose

 | Comment on the Blog

Politicians are crooks.  Does anyone NOT know that?  What's really amazing is that, despite how often they get caught doing shady things, some people appparently think that such events are unusual.  Getting CAUGHT may not always happen, but politicians are ALWAYS exchanging favors for cash.  In fact, it's pretty much all they ever do.

As you may have heard by now, the governor of Illinois was arrested, on a wide variety of nasty things.  Here's an article about it, for those who want some of the details.

Illinois governor's arrest stuns politicos

The words on the recording sound as if they were uttered by a mob boss. Instead, the feds say, it is the governor of Illinois speaking.

The Senate seat "is a (expletive) valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing," Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Nov. 3, according to a conversation intercepted by the FBI.

Federal prosecutors Tuesday accused the 51-year-old Blagojevich of plotting to enrich himself by selling Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for cash or a lucrative job for himself. In excerpts released by prosecutors, Blagojevich snarls profanities, makes threats and demands and allegedly concocts a rich variety of schemes for profiting from his appointment of a new senator....

Hilariously, this guy ran as "Mr. Clean," swearing to end corruption in Illinois government (the last governor of the state is still in prison).

However, the man's real mistake was being too HONEST.  What he was arrested for is what EVERY politician does on a daily basis.  For example, the Illinois governor was arrested for (among other things) SELLING his appointment of a U.S. Senator (to replace Mr. Obama).  Now, most people (including the media) speak of that as despicable and shady.  But what do they think politicians do every day, in plain sight?  The only difference in this case is that the crook stated bluntly what he was doing.

(Article Continues Below)

Just as every President does, Mr. Obama won the election by promising goodies to his supporters.  If elected, he'll hand out "benefits" to those who voted for him, and they know it.  In other words, he BOUGHT the position.  And that's all any campaign is:  a contest to see who can buy the office by promising handouts, whether it be via the welfare state, corporate give-aways, legislation favoring one group over another, or some other means.  Recently the corruption has become completely open, with both Bush and Obama trying to blatantly buy loyalty via promises of sending checks to everyone.

Meanwhile, the slightly hidden version of the same thing is ubiquitous in politics.  The whole Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac thing was completely the result of corruption.  Barney Frank and Barack Obama were bought off by the people involved, who got exactly what they paid for.  As some were predicting the disaster (which has now happened), the bought-and-paid-for crooks like Barney Frank were promising everything would be fine.  And it was fine, for THEM, because they got rich by selling you out.

EVERY federal office is sold for profit.  EVERY "political" act is an act of corruption:  one group of people trading power for money, or vice versa.  All "government" EVER does is use the violence of the state to help the people the politicians like, and punish those they don't.  The only mistake the governor of Illinois made was to be HONEST in his description of it.  You're not supposed to SAY the office is for sale, though that is ALWAYS the case.  No, you're supposed to blather on endlessly about the common good, fighting for the people, fairness, and whatever other meaningless tripe might hide the truth.

If everyone as guilty as the Illinois governor was behind bars, Washington, DC would be a ghost town.

(P.S. One of the most slimy things the governor did, which didn't make it into the story above, was ask owners of media outlets to fire people who had criticized him.  As I explain in my book, How To Be A Successful Tyrant, that is how the American propaganda machine works.  Instead of using overt, forced censorship, the American crooks usually use censorship-via-"influence," by rewarding people who praise them and punishing those who disagree.)

If you enjoyed this post, please make a donation to help keep this website active:

Click Here for the Free Populist Party Newsletter

Larken Rose's interest in politics goes back to his youth. He was always passionately interested in the freedom of his fellow man, moving intellectually from conservatism through libertarianism to anarchism. How to be a Successful Tyrant is his first published work on the dynamics of tyranny, written between his conviction in federal court and his surrender to prison, where he is busy writing his next book.

More Articles from Larken Rose