Republican "Culture Of Corruption" Explained

This is a great editorial from the Waco Tribune , Would you trust them? It takes issue, big time, with the Republican leaderships hiring of lobbyists with your tax dollars.

Aside from the personalities hired, Rep. Dunnam wondered this: The governor says we can't afford to address a host of needs, but can afford $1.1 million in such a way? Doesn't it have a vast congressional delegation looking after its interests in Washington? Isn't a Texan running the executive branch?

As a taxpayer, I'd love to know the multiplier effect -– all the federal dollars harvested to Texas' benefit -– for the money paid Maloney. I'd hate to think the party in power is the only entity doing the multiplying.

It details how your tax dollars were given to lobbyists and then those lobbyists donated large sums of money back to Republican causes.

Maloney is the former chief of staff of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. In 2003, Gov. Rick Perry hired Maloney at $180,000 a year to serve as a lobbyist for Texas in the nation's capital. Then, a curious thing happened. Over time, Maloney donated more than $75,000 in measured portions to Republican causes, nationally and in Texas.

It also has this illuminating dramatization of how DeLay's operation worked:

Dramatization: At the drivethrough, Mr. Congressman buys an Egg McPlenty using his Capitol per diem. Then he sends in a staffer who offers the employee who made the sale a coupon for free super nachos at Taco-Wow (Taco-Wow's in-kind donation to the congressman's re-election) in exchange for a tax-free contribution to a charity (let's call it Godly Citizens for Godly Citizenship) which is the exact price of an Egg McPlenty. The staffer then hands Mr. Congressman back what he paid for breakfast. They drive off.

Is that what Jesus would do?