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NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.lp.org/
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For release: September 2, 1999
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For additional information:
George Getz, Press Secretary
Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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- From wife-beaters to drunk drivers,
Congress is a crime wave, study says
WASHINGTON, DC -- A new investigation reveals an
astonishingly large number of wife-beaters, drunks, shoplifters,
check-bouncers, business failures, and drug abusers in the U.S. House and
Senate -- which ought to make Americans think carefully before turning to
Washington, DC for moral leadership, the Libertarian Party said today.
"Mark Twain once said Congress may be America's only
'distinct criminal class' -- and this new study suggests he was
correct," said Steve Dasbach, the party's national director. "If even half
these charges are true, expecting Congress to serve as a moral role model
is like asking Bill Clinton to serve as a poster boy for monogamy."
According to an investigation by Capitol Hill Blue, an online
publication that covers federal politics, a remarkable number of U.S.
Representatives and U.S. Senators may have spent as much time in a jail
cell as on Capitol Hill.
After researching public records, newspaper articles, civil
court transcripts, and criminal records, Capitol Hill Blue discovered
that:
* 29 members of Congress have been accused of spousal abuse.
* 7 have been arrested for fraud.
* 19 have been accused of writing bad checks.
* 117 have bankrupted at least two businesses.
* 3 have been arrested for assault.
* 71 have credit reports so bad they can't qualify for a
credit card.
* 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges.
* 8 have been arrested for shoplifting.
* 21 are current defendants in lawsuits.
* And in 1998 alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving, but
released after they claimed Congressional immunity.
Capitol Hill Blue did not list the names of all the
individual members of Congress accused of the various crimes, but did note
that some were "serial offenders" with extensive tracks records of fraud
or violence.
For example, reported Capitol Hill Blue, Rep. Corrine Brown
(D-FL) has a "long, consistent record of deceit," including tens of
thousands of dollars in unpaid bills, allegations of bribery, and
numerous lawsuits against her. And Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) faces
charges that he beat his wife, has a history of barroom brawls while
mayor of Alexandria, and has publicly stated that he likes "to hit
people."
"With a rap sheet like that, you have to wonder why Americans
expect Congress to solve the problem of crime -- since Congress seems to
be causing so much crime," said Dasbach. "In fact, if this study is
correct, the best way to cut crime may be to lock up Congress and throw
away the key."
And given the obvious economic incompetence of so many
Senators and Representatives, you have to wonder why voters trust
them with the federal budget, he said.
"Here are politicians who routinely bankrupt businesses,
write bad checks, engage in fraudulent practices, and have bad
credit," said Dasbach. "That could explain why the country is more
than $5 trillion in debt, why federal programs are so wasteful, and
why taxes are always going up. Are these really the kind of
economically illiterate people we want to trust with our money?"
If nothing else, said Dasbach, the Capitol Hill Blue
investigation may help puncture the myth that Senators and
Representatives are somehow superior to ordinary Americans, or better
equipped to solve the nation's problems.
"By its very nature, politics tends to attract venal people
who crave power, who want to control the lives of other people, and
who think they are above the law," he noted. "This study makes that
point clear -- and illustrates that when it comes to politicians, the only
thing worse than their voting records are their criminal records."
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The Libertarian Party
http://www.lp.org/ 2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100
voice: 202-333-0008 Washington DC 20037
fax: 202-333-0072
For subscription changes, please mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> with
the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line -- or use the
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A<>E<>R
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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