Rotting from the head down

Corruption is becoming another Republican Party core value.

I can’t even finish the Wall Street Journal article it makes me so mad. Trump’s corruption is so blatant and he has no fear of accountability. All of Washington knows that pay-to-play is the order of the day and they also know that nobody is going to do anything about it.

Trump’s fundraising leans on billionaires and multinational corporations to fund his pet projects. They aren’t doling out tens of millions of dollars out of the goodness of their hearts. They are doing it because they will get something for their money.

The White House is for sale. Congress would be too, but Republicans there won’t do anything but defer to Trump. No need to pay twice. Washington is a one-stop shop of corruption. Pay Trump and you get the Congressional Republicans for free.

For billionaires and big corporations, the donations are investments. They give money to Trump and they get what they need — tax breaks, fewer regulations on their industries, government contracts, and so on. And Trump’s family and cronies are making bank while the rest of us struggle with mundane things like inflation and stagnant wages.

The rot may start at the head, but it’s infecting the rest of the GOP body. Here in North Carolina, Republicans in the legislature have been involved in their own pay-to-play schemes. There’s a widening investigation into a lobbying group called Greater Carolina that allegedly spent money on vacations and strip clubs in an effort to influence legislators. So far, four lobbyists have been indicted, but most people believe the State Bureau of Investigation is looking for bigger fish to fry.

Republican House Majority Leader Brenden “Boss Hogg” Jones is using his position to enrich big GOP donors. He tried to steer a liquor warehouse deal to a developer buddy despite opposition from the ABC chair. Fortunately, a spotlight on the corrupt deal has stopped it — so far.

In Trump’s first term, Republicans set a precedent. They wouldn’t hold him accountable for anything. He could abuse women, blackmail allies, try to overthrow the government, and the GOP would do nothing. Now, those rules apply to all Republicans. The party is rotting from the head down.