Here's a great idea. Every member of Congress should wear a one piece uniform emblazoned with the icons of their corporate sponsors:
Some people wear their hearts on their sleeve. Members of Congress should wear their sponsors on their chest.This isn’t an original idea. About a month ago, a friend forwarded me a post that was making its way around the blogosphere at the speed of light:
“Members of Congress should be compelled to wear uniforms like Nascar drivers, so we could identify their corporate sponsors.”
Great idea. Just imagine what that would look like.
Senator Chris Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and ethically challenged head honcho at the Senate Banking Committee, files into a congressional hearing room, wields his gavel and calls the committee to order. The dress code is business casual: collared shirts, no jacket required.
Dodd is sporting a pink Lacoste shirt, with his “endorsements” emblazoned across his chest in large, black letters (the corporate logos go on the back):
Citigroup Inc. $428,294
United Technologies $380,550
Bear Stearns $347,350
American International Group $281,038
Deloitte & Touche $270,220And that’s just a list of Dodd’Top 5 lifetime contributors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The list goes on: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers.
From a company's standpoint, investing in a politician delivers a far higher return on investment than any other investment vehicle out there:
The companies that have been awarded taxpayers' money from Congress's bailout bill spent $77 million on lobbying and $37 million on federal campaign contributions, The Center for Responsive Politics finds. The return on investment: 258,449%.
The New Republic has an article today that does a good job of naming a few of the more egregious hypocrites alongside their doublespeak who are currently serving in the 111th Congress.
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