Jim Traficant has several strikes against him. At first glance I was ashamed to see the poor guy on TV- is this the quintessential Ohioan in the minds of the rest of the country? If most potential visitors to Ohio regard Traficant as the typical Ohioan, that image will shoot the tourism campaign all to hell. People still visit Massachusetts in spite of Ted Kennedy, but they have the ocean. We have Lake Erie (not on fire anymore!) and a few amusement parks, but it’s not Martha’s Vineyard. Admittedly Traficant’s hairpiece looks like someone’s poodle died in vain- anything that hideous has to be a rug because nature is not that cruel. His toilet mouth and abrasive style is not endearing either. Besides that, he’s a Democrat from the Mafia-owned northeastern corner of Ohio, the most damning of his attributes.
Despite the fact that I would not have chosen Traficant’s political affiliations he is strangely admirable: first of all he has it out for the IRS, which may be part of the reason why he’s in hot water. He also cheesed off high honcho Democrats by voting for Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House. Clinton was guilty of far worse, yet the Democratic machine managed to cover for, to aid and abet Clinton in every one of his crimes. Clinton hasn’t been indicted for squat, rather he’s playing his saxophone and spouting off about why we should be paying for African AIDS sufferers. The crimes Traficant was indicted for, which are almost all related to influence peddling, are crimes that almost every member of Congress has engaged in at some time or another. No one is saying anything about the numerous West Virginia public works projects (roads, bridges, libraries, etc.) named after Senator Robert Byrd. Teddy Kennedy is still a Senator, which is not only a testament to the stupidity of Massachusetts voters, but to the inclination of legislators to protect their own. Teddy tows the party line. Traficant isn’t playing ball, which is the reason why he’s being thrown to the wolves for every remotely illegal activity he even thought about.
I have to admire a guy who has the manhood to say things like this: “The IRS is being picked on. How about a pity party. Do I hear violins? Let us tell it like it is. If the IRS is not a two-headed monster, why are American citizens literally wearing bags over their heads afraid to death to tell the Government how they feel about the IRS? The truth is, the American people know the IRS, the Congress knows the IRS, and the IRS knows the IRS.”- One Minute Speech, September 25, 1997.
It seems that Traficant’s worst crime is that he realized too late that the role of government is not to curry favor from constituents in buying pork programs for the home district. Both Democrats and Republicans have been guilty of this. Traficant is not a conservative; either- his record against free trade and pro-union bias is rather unsavory. However, he is both a harbinger and a pariah. To his own admission, “the Democrat party has done nothing to improve the lot of the average American citizen despite being in power for over fifty years.” (To Traficant’s credit, in November he is running for re-election as an independent. Whether this is due to the Democrats distancing themselves from him or by his personal choice is unclear.) In Jim Traficant, Congress gets a token: here’s all the corruption, graft and filth of the past fifty years- as if getting him out of the House would “clean up Congress”. If this were so, then cleaning my house would consist of dumping an ashtray. Yet like most scapegoats, Traficant is largely innocent of most of the malfeasance projected upon him.
“The Democrat Party is killing the Democrat Party. There is no program. And if the Republicans do not step up and protect our borders, then both the Democrat and Republican Parties should be thrown the hell out and this country needs a third, new independent party.“- One Minute Speech, October 24, 1997
Traficant’s only crime was in dancing with the devil for too long: the “working man’s” Democrat went out with Harry Truman (who also had his connections with Mob bosses.) The “New Democrats” do not hold to that façade, and Traficant isn’t playing their game. If anything, he is being punished for exposing the truth.
Jim Traficant is probably involved in influence peddling, and is probably also involved with the Mob and with union bosses. How many other members of Congress are guilty of these indiscretions and worse? If Jim Traficant is a good scapegoat due to his poor fashion sense, hideous fake hair and toilet mouth- then why isn’t anyone demanding the resignation of Teddy Kennedy or Robert Byrd? Why wasn’t Clinton successfully impeached, and all of his malfeasance in and out of office shoved under the rug? One is implicated in a murder, another a former Klan member, and Clinton of course, is the granddaddy of all that is corrupt, but that’s OK because they haven’t offended anyone in the Democrat machine? Is the real question not one of Jim Traficant’s guilt or innocence but of the thorough corruption of the Democrats? They will condemn a two-bit shyster with really bad fake hair who has done no worse than most other Congressmen but will thoroughly support three of the most corrupt men on the planet?
Of course the Republicans aren’t embracing Traficant either- despite the fact that he leans a little further to the right than most Democrats- because in doing so the Democrats would gain ammunition. The accusations against Traficant render him an outcast to either party- he’s poison to Democrats because he attacks their tax and spend mentality, attacks their pet agencies, such as the IRS, and supports a stronger national defense. He’s poison to Republicans too, because of his alleged connections to Mob bosses and pro-union, anti-free trade bias. So getting rid of Traficant is a bi-partisan effort, though each side has a different rationale.
If Congress believes its biggest problems are embodied in the foul mouth and cavalier attitude of Jim Traficant, then beam me up. Now. Despite his tendency toward protectionism and “comfortable” relationship with organized labor, Traficant is telling Congress many truths they do not wish to hear.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”