President breaks the law, but we ignore the legal graft that is far more prevalent.
As long as the Permanent Political Class gives us what we want, we are happy. This was precisely the goal of Tammany Hall: make people dependent on us. Plunkitt explained that the fondest dream of bosses like himself was a situation where "the people wouldn't have to bother about nothin'. Tammany would take care of everything for them in its nice quiet way." 4
America is supposed to be a nation ruled by laws, not by men. Central to that idea of America is the notion that we are equal before the law. That means that the laws should apply equally to everyone.
For one of the chief architects of the Constitution, this notion of equality before the law was the "genius of the whole system." As James Madison wrote in
Federalist
No. 57: "I will add, as a fifth circumstance in the situation of the House of Representatives, restraining them from oppressive measures, that they can make no law which will not have its full operation on themselves and their friends, as well as on the great mass of society. This has always been deemed one of the strongest bonds by which human policy can connect the rulers and the people together. It creates between them that communion of interests and sympathy of sentiments, of which few governments have furnished examples; but without which every government degenerates into tyranny."
Why do the American people feel detached from Washington? Why are they fed up? Why do they feel little connection to their elected leaders? Why do our lawmakers in Washington seem to show so little urgency? Part of the answer lies in the fact that politicians are allowed to operate by a different set of rules. And that is a dangerous place for a representative government to find itself.
The Permanent Political Class is unresponsive to our concerns and needs because it is partly immune to the economic realities the rest of us face. Its business has, in a phrase popular with money managers, downside protection and guaranteed upside potential. For crony capitalists, there is a business cycle, but they control it and can make money no matter how and when it turns. This means socialism for the Permanent Political Class and its friendsâand capitalism for the rest of us.
The Permanent Political Class offers all sorts of arguments to justify its special status and its exemption from conflict-of-interest and insider trading laws. Members of Congress will argue, for example, that they are required to disclose their financial transactions and assets, and voters can boot them out at the ballot box. Never mind that those financial disclosure forms are often filled out incompletely or incorrectly. According to the congressional newspaper
Roll Call,
25% of them contain significant errors. 5 The point is, many lawmakers believe they must be kept above the fray, beyond the reach of the executive branch. They regularly exempt themselves from the level of scrutiny placed on other national leaders. They have even exempted themselves from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws and open-document requirements. Their documents are as legally inaccessible as secret documents of the CIAâin fact, they are more difficult to obtain. At least some CIA documents become declassified and see the light of day. Congressional records never do. Congress passed the FOIA in 1966 because it believed that informed citizens would be better watchdogs. But Congress didn't want them looking into its own backyard.
Financial disclosure forms are required for elected state legislators, state judges, and county or city commissions around the country. But public officials are also required to abide by conflict-of-interest and insider trading laws and restrictions. If elected state judges, for example, were held only to the standards of federal lawmakers, they would be free to rule on cases in which they had a financial stake, as long as they faced reelection and filed financial
As long as the Permanent Political Class gives us what we want, we are happy. This was precisely the goal of Tammany Hall: make people dependent on us. Plunkitt explained that the fondest dream of bosses like himself was a situation where "the people wouldn't have to bother about nothin'. Tammany would take care of everything for them in its nice quiet way." 4
America is supposed to be a nation ruled by laws, not by men. Central to that idea of America is the notion that we are equal before the law. That means that the laws should apply equally to everyone.
For one of the chief architects of the Constitution, this notion of equality before the law was the "genius of the whole system." As James Madison wrote in
Federalist
No. 57: "I will add, as a fifth circumstance in the situation of the House of Representatives, restraining them from oppressive measures, that they can make no law which will not have its full operation on themselves and their friends, as well as on the great mass of society. This has always been deemed one of the strongest bonds by which human policy can connect the rulers and the people together. It creates between them that communion of interests and sympathy of sentiments, of which few governments have furnished examples; but without which every government degenerates into tyranny."
Why do the American people feel detached from Washington? Why are they fed up? Why do they feel little connection to their elected leaders? Why do our lawmakers in Washington seem to show so little urgency? Part of the answer lies in the fact that politicians are allowed to operate by a different set of rules. And that is a dangerous place for a representative government to find itself.
The Permanent Political Class is unresponsive to our concerns and needs because it is partly immune to the economic realities the rest of us face. Its business has, in a phrase popular with money managers, downside protection and guaranteed upside potential. For crony capitalists, there is a business cycle, but they control it and can make money no matter how and when it turns. This means socialism for the Permanent Political Class and its friendsâand capitalism for the rest of us.
The Permanent Political Class offers all sorts of arguments to justify its special status and its exemption from conflict-of-interest and insider trading laws. Members of Congress will argue, for example, that they are required to disclose their financial transactions and assets, and voters can boot them out at the ballot box. Never mind that those financial disclosure forms are often filled out incompletely or incorrectly. According to the congressional newspaper
Roll Call,
25% of them contain significant errors. 5 The point is, many lawmakers believe they must be kept above the fray, beyond the reach of the executive branch. They regularly exempt themselves from the level of scrutiny placed on other national leaders. They have even exempted themselves from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws and open-document requirements. Their documents are as legally inaccessible as secret documents of the CIAâin fact, they are more difficult to obtain. At least some CIA documents become declassified and see the light of day. Congressional records never do. Congress passed the FOIA in 1966 because it believed that informed citizens would be better watchdogs. But Congress didn't want them looking into its own backyard.
Financial disclosure forms are required for elected state legislators, state judges, and county or city commissions around the country. But public officials are also required to abide by conflict-of-interest and insider trading laws and restrictions. If elected state judges, for example, were held only to the standards of federal lawmakers, they would be free to rule on cases in which they had a financial stake, as long as they faced reelection and filed financial
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