May 19, 2008
On Friday, May 16, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. appeared as a guest on David Letterman’s Late Show. I was particularly impressed by his candor in making the half-jest/full-earnest quip that “Republicans are 95 percent corrupt and Democrats are only 75 percent corrupt”. Perhaps this theme should be exploited for the November elections. The Democratic National Committee could run ads boasting that Democrats are 20 percent less corrupt than Republicans (based on the objective opinion of someone with a social conscience). “Only 75 Percent Corrupt!” has the potential for being a hugely successful campaign slogan that will guarantee the 2008 landslide for Democrats, anticipated by Peggy Noonan and other astute observers. Over the past few weeks, John McCain found it necessary to remove five of his top advisors, because their work as lobbyists created conflicts of interest. The use of this slogan would give Barack Obama a three-lobbyist “cushion”, before such a situation could rise to being considered a scandal within his own campaign.
The truth of Mr. Kennedy’s remark must sting even the most thick-skinned Democrats on the Hill. It should bring to mind things like the Bankruptcy Bill. Everyone agreed that it was a horrible piece of legislation, written by the credit card industry and yet, it passed. (Barack Obama voted for it, as did Hillary Clinton.)
Convicted lobbyist, Jack Abramoff, bestowed his favors on Democrats (including Senators Harry Reid, Tom Daschele and Dick Gephardt) as well as Republicans. Back on January 4, 2006, the day after Abramoff’s guilty plea in the U.S. District Court, The Washington Post carried an article by Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Dan Balz, entitled: “Case Bringing New Scrutiny To a System and a Profession”. The article discussed a Washington Post-ABC News poll in November of 2005. The poll asked Americans whether they thought Democrats or Republicans were better on ethical matters; 16 percent said Democrats, 12 percent said Republicans, and 71 percent said there was not much difference between the parties. Now, almost three years later, it’s time for the DNC to win over that 71 percent, who found no difference between the two parties.
According to a new study by CQ MoneyLine, (discussed by Alex Knott an Jonathan Allen on May 18) campaign contributions from chief executive officers of American companies ranked in the top 1,000 by Fortune Magazine, were distributed among the three Presidential candidates with the following breakdown: 102 CEO donors gave a total of $282,000 to John McCain; 54 of the Fortune 1000 CEOs (just over half of McCain’s number) gave a total of $164,000 to Hillary Clinton’s campaign and 45 of the Fortune 1000 CEOs contributed a total of $130,000 to Barack Obama’s campaign. In an era when public outrage over excessive CEO compensation is an important issue, the Democrats should be out there, demonstrating that their candidates are “less bought-off” than John McCain by corporate CEOs.
If the Democrats want to secure control of the Senate in the November election, they have to emphasize the point that their candidates are 20 percent less corrupt than their Republican counterparts. This “Only 75 Percent Corrupt” campaign theme could be their key to achieving that goal.