Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt) used campaign donations to pay his wife and stepdaughter more than $150,000 for campaign-related work since 2000, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Jim Barrett, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, used Sanders' family payments to highlight what he said is Democratic "hypocrisy" for fiercely attacking DeLay. "It's the standard hypocrisy from the left," Barrett said. "When a Republican does it, it's inappropriate and front page news. But now it turns out, our own Bernie Sanders has been doing it for a long time."
The fact is no one should be doing this. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would be uncomfortable with it as a possible conflict of interest or at least how others might perceive it. As Stacy over at NotADesperateHousewife says, "Just because you have the right to do something, does not mean that it's the right thing to do." Of course an idea like that is either beyond the comprehension of, or too incovenient for our politicians. No wonder they have difficulty with what may or may not be ethical. For the health of our nation we need men and women in office that understand and operate on integrity and do not rely on an attorney to tell them how close to breaking the law they can get without actually doing it or paying a price for it. Character does matter and that is why we must demand it of every candidate and public official.
2 comments:
Bernie isn't quite a Democrat though is he? Plus I hardly think that $150,000K for 2 people's work over 4 years is very much money. Lets see, that amounts to $18,750 each, right around the poverty level. Maybe that is why no one has raised a stink about Bernie eh?
I indicated Sanders was an Independent. The issue is not so much party affiliation as it is questionable judgement and practices.
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