Pol Sci 405 - How the System Works
by Jeff Biasella

Oh where to begin with Jimmy Dimora. First off, can we (the general public) stop acting shocked or appalled when a politician is “allegedly” involved in corruption? I mean let's do the math. These guys spend millions of dollars campaigning for a job that they may or may not win. And for a job that normally pays in the high five figure to low six figure range.

So do we honestly think politicians aren't getting kickbacks and are just happy to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars? These guys are smart people. They got their education on the city streets or in the law library. Either way the result is the same; they know a racket when they see one. They aren't going to spend a million dollars unless they are getting two million back.

The reason why it seems like political corruption has become more prevalent recently is because the politicians in power now are still old school. They're trying to work the same racket with the same tactics that worked for so many years but in the 21st Century.

They don't understand nothing can really be erased from a computer. That there will always be a record whenever they click “Save,” “Delete,” or “Send”. Or that there is something called an IP address that directly links their computer to whatever they're doing on the internet. And they sure as hell don't consider that cell phones are the easiest way to track someone's every movement.

To do this stuff in today's society, it either takes melon sized cojones or a superior level of ignorance to think it's possible to get away with anything. Or if you're James Traficant it's both along with a swagger that would have impressed Al Capone.

Traficant may have been the only person to represent himself and beat a federal RICO charge all while shamelessly sporting a 1920's toupee. I guess all things considered that was quite an accomplishment. But eventually his illegal activities caught up to him and he was sent to prison.

My point is this: corruption isn't a byproduct of politics. It's the way government works. If not people like Jimmy Dimora, James Traficant, and Bob Ney would be few and far between. In reality, these guys are the norm. Maybe I'm just cynical but answer me this. Why do political corruption scandals take only a few months to investigate and resolve?

Whereas, take John Gotti for example, it took years of undercover work just to build a case. Then the trial took another two years to convict him even though the prosecution had him on tape discussing murders and Sammy Gravano testifying against him. Maybe it's because politicians are dumber than mobsters. Maybe it's because other politicians don't really want independent prosecutors snooping around.

There's always going to be corruption in government even if it's not technically illegal. Dick Cheney during the Bush Administration worked as hard as anyone to demonize gay marriage. But now that he no longer needs the votes to stay in office, all of sudden and I quote, “Freedom means freedom for anyone, I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish.”

So isn't this corruption as well? Did he or did he not directly influence public opinion and policy in order to keep his job and certain campaign donors happy? Isn't that the same thing as taking a bribe or being involved in racketeering? Explain to me how something like that is different than Jimmy Dimora allegedly making backroom deals?

The bottom line is if we really want to slow down government, stop any progress that is being made and waste more money than what already is being wasted, then let's go for broke and dig into every politician. It won't be hard to find corruption. All we have to do is follow the money.

But as taxpayers, maybe it's time for us to get realistic. Maybe we should start asking questions like; how's our portfolio looking? Are we getting a good return investment? Has (insert politician) done good things for the city and is he or she working to make our lives better?

Because we can't stop the machine. It's a little too late in the game for that. But that doesn't mean we can't level the playing field and manage it to our advantage.

Read the complete SixthCITY series by Jeff Biasella here?

From Cool Cleveland correspondent Jeff Biasella, a 24 year old creative writing/popular culture graduate of Bowling Green State University living the post-grad dream in the Warehouse District.

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