"classic third world corruption"

This is what Republican governance brings to a country, be it Iraq or the United States - third world corruption.

Ronald D. Utt, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a frequent critic of earmarks, said he was most troubled at seeing firms solicit public clients with virtual guarantees that they could deliver "dollars for pennies" (or billions for millions).

"The mystery to me is the way they are able to promise returns," Mr. Utt said, pointing to the revolving door between Congressional appropriators' payrolls and lobby shops, as well as to lobbyists' generous campaign contributions. "It goes beyond mere influence peddling to just outright, classic third-world corruption."

Jonathan Singer over at MyDD points out how deeply embedded this practice of robbery is in the Republican power structure.

Local governments should not be shaken down by high-priced lobbyists in order to get federal dollars. If a locality is truly in need of federal assistance -- perhaps for a much-needed bridge repair or fix to water treatment plant -- their Congressman should go to bat for them, not tell them to retain a Beltway lobbyist.

But when the practice of hiring lobbying firms in order to get unnecessary pork from the federal government becomes institutionalized, as it has under [Jerry] Lewis [CA-41] and the rest of the Republican Congress, the expense to the American taxpayer goes through the roof. This is the cost of corruption. This is the cost of the Republican Congress.

In less than six years George Bush and his cronies have create a country with a "third world" legislative branch, a totalitarian executive branch and a compliant judiciary. Let's not forget that it was all made possible by a disinterested and apathetic public, spoon fed propaganda by the corporate media.