At some point in any of these discussions, your eyes roll back and about a dozen standard homilies, unchanged for years, flows out. Due to the seemingly random nature of these outbursts, few of these points are even relevant to the discussion.

The idea that corruption is a Republican "cultural" problem is inane.

The "culture of corruption" is this: Where there is power, there will be corruption. If there is too much power, the corruption will be more destructive. When Republicans hold power, corruption tends to be Republican. Where Democrats hold power, the corruption tends to be Democratic.

It's no accident that you are trying to wipe out all information prior to eight years ago. If you open up the history of the subject at the Federal level, when other parties held power, your premise implodes. If you broaden the subject to state and local levels, where various parties hold power, your premise implodes. Illinois and Louisiana, just to name two, have been filled with corruption for decades. Of the nine governors Illinois has had in the last fifty years, five were indicted.

Fact is, now that the Democrats have almost total power, the corruption will follow them like flies to crap. Look up where the corporations are sending their cash now, and where the lobbyists are hanging out. Follow the money.

This flap about selling the Senate seat was just the beginning. You think the governor of Illinois would have broached the idea at all if he had thought his pals in Washington--who helped him run his own campaigns by the way--were utterly immune to such things? You think this is the first time favors of some kind, subtle and otherwise, traded hands for such appointments? Either party? This governor was just stupid enough to get caught.

The hapless boobs of this country seem to believe that once the Republican blight is scrubbed from the halls of power, a new era of honesty and justice will reign. Fat chance.

Take off the gang colors for five minutes and look at the reality of government power. Your glorious new heroes are not above it all, and really never have been.

You can make another rambling speech now, if you like.