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Maxine: Simmering in Hot Waters

I don’t know if Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is a lamb or a barracuda. Clearly however she is no pussycat.  Equally clearly she is being poached in some very hot water.  She’s tough and a fighter, and has fought for people in her district and, of course, for herself.  She has delivered services and, as a congressperson, has had to constantly gather money.  This is, for one and all, a corrupting enterprise and no one is pristine. 

I think that Earl is wrong to believe that the Democrats are happily offering her up in order to look good and be credible in keeping their promise to be the most transparent government in history and to drain the swamp of corruption.  There is no political universe I know of where one looks good trying one of your own.  There is no political advantage in an election that will depend on turn out–particularly of minorities–for Democrats to staunch the inevitable bleeding in an off-year in a bad economy.  There is no universe where Democrats benefit from picking on representatives on any ethnicity from California and New York.  Sacrificial offerings should come from red states already lost. 

I think too that Gail overstates the case against Rep. Waters.  Although CREW is considered to be a liberal watchdog group, they do tend to go after people–including Democrats–who do not hue to the George Soros party-line.  And this is generally true of members of the Black Caucus. 

Given how ethically challenged our elected officials are, it is curious that out of such a universe the ethics panel has found two black members of congress to charge: Charles Rangel and Maxine Waters.  The question is not so much if their choices are defensible (or more accurately, if their targets are indictable) but if there is some form of selective prosecution.  This is a very troubling question–and the answer is far from clear. 

I ran vs Rosendahl in 2009 for city council.  I got 26% of the vote.  It cost $300 to get on the ballot.  You must get 500 good signatures in 3 weeks.  I did.  To run against Maxine Waters (my Rep) it costs $1700 but you only need maybe 20 signatures.  I would like to run against Maxine but most likely I would not win.  It takes money to get public name recognition etc.  Maxine Waters could KILL OJ and still be re-elected.  That is how our system works.  Power corrupts and absolute POWER corrupts absolutely.  Mr Rangel and Maxine and many others are corrupt.  The power in politics is very addicting and it is very soothing to be called Madame Senator or Mr President.  I was loved briefly by my fans, the 26% who voted for me.  It is very tempting, political life.  But we need farmer Senators and regular folk running for office, not career politicians flying in 747s paid for by we the People, we the taxpayers.  We need a Mr Smith goes to Washington type candidate.