I… uh… hate to be a party-pooper in the wake of gratitude expressed to the Speakah, but isn’t this in today’s Globe – More deals for DiMasi’s friends – a bit discouraging?
Question: How much does it take for House members to dislodge a speaker for improper actions? Probably a naive question.
On a possibly related note, from last Sunday’s Ideas section, we have The culture of corruption: Once rule-breaking becomes ingrained, there are some surprising ways to stop it .
The more people who participate, the lower the taboos, and the higher the pressure to join in, at least tacitly.
Whether an institution tips toward or away from corruption is shaped in part by its members’ cost-benefit analyses: How likely is one to get caught, and how severe will the punishment be?
Maybe it isn’t Dimasi but the job. Bulger’s hands touched everything but the third rail when he was in that job.
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p>I was going to comment on this story (and the other Dimasi issues) in regards to yesterday’s post about Sen Ted Stevens of Alaska. These guys just can’t do their jobs without stealing a little off the top. It makes all the “Mr Smith goes to Washington” politicains look bad (if there are any).
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p>Another point your comment (…hate to be a party-pooper in the wake of gratitude expressed to the Speakah…) brings out is again something I commented on last week (Lobbyist is fined – $1,200 a year on Cognos and up to $200 a year on McDonough) concerning public figures. Someone suggested we publicly “sham” them for punishment. I am now convinced they would love to be “shammed”. They use the limelight to further their careers, and many people buy it. Manny R. acts like a totally self absorbed cry baby. He even assaults an elderly guy working in the RS office. The papers publish every known detail about him and some trash talk is thrown his way… then he hits a home run and the fans cheer. Suddenly his errors (including a crime) is all forgotten. Maybe someone will reply that the fans have had it but how long has it taken and how many times have we looked the other way (because he helps win ball games).
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p>Sal has been under the microscope for a few weeks now and the more they look, the more they find. He is definitely flunking the “stink” test IMO. But he pushes or passes a bill that some people care about and every thing is forgotten.
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p>This happens in politics, sports, Hollywood (drugs, domestic violence…), the movies (every Tom Cruise movie has him start out as an asshole, then he becomes the hero…) and probably many other areas of our society. Why can’t we hold people responsible for their actions and stop caring so much about our personal interests? I remember growing up in Dorchester and talking badly about Whitey Bulger, but people from Southie would defend him vigorously because they would tell you a story about how Whitey would drop off new “bats and baseballs” to the poor kids at Columbia Park, like Robin Hood. Nevermind he was raping their 12 year old sisters, killing and torturing his enemies and enjoying the protection offered by his political friends.
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p>I may be guilty of looking the other way too when my interests are at heart, but I am a sour bastard when it comes to people doing the “wrong” thing, and then skating away.
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p>This comment has no “party affiliation” so please keep any comments on point and don’t be obtuse.
I believe a majority of the House can replace the Speaker at any time for any reason. It’s not like impeachment that requires actual wrongdoing and supeermajority. This is another argument for the model I favor, which is British House of Commons, where the Speaker is a presiding officer with no real influence over the agenda or appointments. Just to clarify, BTW, Billy Bulger was Senate President rather than Speaker.
Too much power, not enough accountability and either a lack of people’s attention or too much attention for their own needs.