Opinion: 'Disastrous' IGRA has led to more corruption

Tuesday, December 13, 2005  

"It's interesting how, in the end, it all comes down to money. Assorted "Christian fundamentalists" such as Tom DeLay and Ralph Reed, not to mention many other Washington power brokers, turn out to a large extent to be fanatical worshippers of Mammon. In America's most intense money lust since perhaps the Gilded Age, high-level public-sector work in Washington is increasingly seen as simply another way to strike it rich. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff may be the J.P. Morgan of this world.

There are, of course, many honest individuals in Washington. But in a culture that increasingly values wealth and its accoutrements, we shouldn't be surprised at the recent scandals in the capital, mostly connected with Congress and mostly associated with the Republicans, because they control Congress.

There are numerous happy highways for corruption these days. There are the old-fashioned ones, such as bribes for obtaining vast defense contracts. Then there are the newish ones, such as the inevitable influence peddling that goes with the disastrous Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which has led to an explosion of Indian casinos and hence more corruption. (But then, gambling is, as they say, a "cash business" . . .)"

Get the Story:
Robert Whitcomb: Their real God is money (The Providence Journal 12/13)