Posted by
Cary Wesberry on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 11:17:01 PM
Whoever said religion was dead in America? Remember the Seven Deadly Sins? They’ve been around since the 7th Century, when Pope Gregory the Great made the list and they’ve grown a little stale. But last week they made a major comeback – the headlines were full of them.
First, we had Governor Spitzer and Deadly Sin #1 – Lust.
Then we had Senator Obama’s religious mentor, Reverend Wright, spewing black power/white hate sermons. He cornered the market on Deadly Sin #5 – Wrath, with a little dose of Envy/Pride (Deadly Sins #6 and #7, respectively) thrown in.
The week also featured former Vice-Presidential Candidate Geraldine Ferraro’s claim that Senator Obama wouldn’t be running for President if he were white. Sounds like she got a dose of Envy, Deadly Sin #6.
Of course there is the accusation that Senator Obama isn’t up to the job of being President. Let’s chalk that up to Sloth, Deadly Sin #4 – or at least the implication that, compared to Senator Clinton, Obama is a slacker.
And who can forget Mrs. Obama, saying she was never proud of America until it started carrying her husband around on its shoulders? That’s easy: Deadly sin #7 – Pride.
But what happened to Deadly Sin #2 – Gluttony, and Deadly Sin #3 – Greed? Are they passé?
Not in the least. It’s just that with all the flurry over Lust, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride, last week there wasn’t much room left in the headlines for Gluttony and Greed. Nonetheless, they were there, alive and well in the United States Senate. Since we didn’t hear much about it from the national media, let me fill you in.
Senator John McCain, who has for years been the nation’s most outspoken opponent of pork barrel spending, joined with a few of his colleagues to propose a one-year moratorium on earmarks. Last week, the Senate voted on it. Seventy-one Senators, most of them incumbent Democrats, voted against the ban. Only 29 voted in favor.
Why? Because of Deadly Sin #2 – Gluttony, and Deadly Sin #3– Greed. Because our Congressional leaders want to retain their “right” to reward lobbyists who contribute to their campaign coffers. Because pork barrel spending is a powerful tool of incumbency, a legal form of bribery, and Congressmen and Senators won’t give it up unless they have to.
What exactly are earmarks? They are one-time, individual line items Congressmen and Senators can add to spending bills that approve money for whatever projects they want without anyone objecting. Earmarks are inserted at the last minute, just before a bill goes up for a vote, anonymously, so no one knows which Senator or Congressman is responsible.
No doubt some of them are for worthwhile projects, or so the Congressman or Senator would argue. But far too many of them are rewards given to major fat cats and lobbyists who donate to the Congressman or Senator’s campaign. In short, they’re bribes. But they’re subtle.
Modern day campaigns are costly affairs – running in the millions. With campaign finance laws, lobbyists, corporations, and their Political Action Committees (PACs), can only donate a few thousand dollars to a campaign. Not much of a bribe. But when you add in donations from Political Action Committees (PACs), company officials and employees, friends, and family members, those dollars start adding up. Before you know it, they’re up to tens of thousands of dollars. But from the lobbyists’ point of view they’re a good investment – because he stands to get millions back in earmarks.
No wonder Legislators are loathe to give up earmarks – they get reelected, lobbyists get the favors they want for comparatively little cost and no one is any the wiser. The only losers in this equation are you and me – whose taxes go up to pay for the earmarks – to the dizzying total of $35 billion dollars a year.
Yup, Deadly Sins #2 and #3 are thriving. It’s just that they’re not as exciting as Lust or Wrath. And pictures of sexy call girls sell a lot more newspapers than pictures of fat, bald lobbyists.
P.S. In case you’ve forgotten, the Seven Deadly Sins are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.
Impressive commentary from K.T. McFarland on the Seven Deadly Sins. What, no contributing to global warming or not recycling? I'm saddened. Impressive nonetheless. Yes, all the greatest sins are sprinkled heavily throughout our government. In fact, our government and leaders are the best examples of sin we have today. The worst part is that we still hold the power to vote all these jerks out of office, however approximately 30% of our citizens are the only ones who actually vote. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure what's worse; all those government officials ruining our country or the citizens of our country who are so apathetic they could care less about doing something about it on election day.