Politics > Politics-USA > Washington Post-ABC News poll: 58% see widespread corruption in Washington
| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
10 Jan 2006 07:13:37 AM |
| Object: |
Washington Post-ABC News poll: 58% see widespread corruption in Washington |
Public concerns about ethics in government extend to the White House,
which was rocked in late October when the top aide to Vice President
Cheney was indicted as part of an ongoing investigation into the leak
of the name of a CIA agent to reporters.
In the current poll, 45 percent said they approved of how President
Bush is handling the issue of ethics in government while 52 percent
disapproved.
The survey also found generally broad support for measures that would
put new and potentially crippling restrictions on those who lobby
members of Congress on behalf of special interests.
Nine in 10 said it should be illegal for lobbyists to give members of
Congress gifts, trips or anything else of value.
Lawmakers currently are prohibited from accepting gifts valued at more
than $100 over the course of a calendar year, though the restriction
is lightly enforced and easily evaded.
Two in three, including majorities of Republicans and Democrats, would
go far beyond current proposals for change and make it illegal for
lobbyists to make campaign contributions to members of Congress or to
congressional candidates.
A smaller majority -- 54 percent -- would prohibit lobbyists from
organizing fundraisers on behalf of members of Congress or
congressional candidates, a practice that has given lobbyists even
greater leverage with the elected officials who benefited from these
fundraisers.
Despite the widespread popularity of lobbying reform among the public,
it is unlikely that changes as restrictive as those mentioned in the
Post-ABC News poll would ever be approved by Congress.
Politicians have come to depend on the money raised by lobbyists on
behalf of their campaigns -- a practice particularly helpful to
congressional incumbents -- and leaders of both parties are expected
to move cautiously on reform.
Still, the widening Abramoff scandal has forced lawmakers to consider
steps to restrict some of the excesses of lobbying.
House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) announced Sunday that the
House will move soon to tighten the rules governing lobbyists' access
to lawmakers.
The move comes months after House Democrats, led by Reps. Martin T.
Meehan (Mass.) and Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), and Republican Rep.
Christopher Shays (Conn.) unveiled separate proposals to require more
disclosure of lobbying contacts, ban most lobbyist-sponsored trips and
increase the time that former House members and staff must wait before
becoming lobbyists.
A total of 1,001 randomly selected Americans were interviewed Jan. 5
to 8 for this survey. The margin of sampling error for the overall
results is plus or minus three percentage points.
From The Washington Post, 1/10/06:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/09/AR2006010901694.html
In Abramoff Case, Most See Evidence of Wider Problem
Poll Shows Strong Support for Reform of Lobbying Rules
By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, January 10, 2006; Page A07
Most Americans believe that corruption in Congress is widespread, and
even larger majorities support far-reaching reforms that would
effectively end lobbying as it is currently practiced on Capitol Hill,
according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey comes just days after Jack Abramoff, a prominent Republican
lobbyist, pleaded guilty to corruption charges involving at least one
member of Congress as well as other federal officials.
Abramoff has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators who are
investigating public corruption in Congress and elsewhere in the
federal government, setting the stage for what may become the biggest
and most far-reaching election-year scandal in decades.
The survey found that 58 percent of Americans believe the Abramoff
case is evidence of "widespread corruption in Washington," while
barely a third -- 34 percent -- say it is limited to just a few
individuals.
The public thinks corruption is far more prevalent in Washington than
it is in their state or local governments.
_________________________________________________________
And next, campaign finance reform
Harry
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| User: "Gogarty" |
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| Title: Re: Washington Post-ABC News poll: 58% see widespread corruption in Washington |
10 Jan 2006 09:29:14 AM |
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In article <5mc7s1t9cdr6bab8ibmet7de696a28rcso@4ax.com>,
says...
The public thinks corruption is far more prevalent in Washington than
it is in their state or local governments.
I think the public is wrong about that. NOTHING is more corrupt than local
government. The smaller the unit, the more corrupt it is likely to be. Just my
personal observation.
.
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