Sunday, April 30, 2006

John Doolittle on Ethics - Nobody Cares

If you are the financial beneficiary and political benefactor to both Jack "Skybox" Abramoff and Brent "Pimp Daddy" Wilkes you have to believe that your constituents don't give a damn how corrupt you are. John Doolittle (CA-4) has a "what me worry" attitude toward his record as one of the most ethically challenged (unindicted) members of the Republican congress of corruption.

Doolittle tells the Washington Post that his constituents have adopted a "don't ask" approach, that Doolittle has matched with a "don't tell" response.
Rep. John T. Doolittle declared that voters have little or no interest in ethics legislation.

"Do I think they care about it? No, I don't," Doolittle told a reporter. Doolittle said that during the April 7-23 recess, he did not hear "anything about Jack Abramoff," the central figure in a lobbying scandal.

Of course, Doolittle refuses to talk to the media regarding his relationship with Abramoff. Doolittle refuses to talk to the media regarding his wife's employment with Abramoff. He refuses to talk to the media about his unique commission arrangement with his wife's company, run out of his home in Virginia, that put 15% of all campaign and PAC contributions directly into his bank account. Doolittle refuses to talk to the media about his support of earmarks from a series of Brent Wilkes scams designed to defraud the government and steal tax payer's money.

There is no big media outlet in Doolittle's district. Instead the district's media is a collection of small town papers, whose publishers are dependent on the chamber of commerce types that Doolittle has been cultivating for his decades in public office. There isn't going to be much investigative reporting in the CA-4.

When he is in the district, Doolittle, like President Bush, only appears at events controlled by his campaign. His "public" appearances are closed to anyone in his district that might actually want to ask him a tough question.

The only thing that will save the 4th District from a Doolittle re-election will be his indictment.