Swamp Creatures
So how has the swamp in Washington D.C. been doing lately? The swamp that Donald Trump pledged to clean up? Listen
to Mick Mulvaney, Budget Director and head of the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (that’s the agency that is supposed to protect
American citizens from predatory lenders and the like). In
an April 24 speech to the American Bankers Association, the
ex-Congressman from South Carolina declared, “If you’re a lobbyist who
never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave
us money, I might talk to you” (Washington Post). He
qualified his statement to include that he would meet with his regular
constituents, regardless of their contributions, IF they showed up in
his Washington office. (What the heck, it doesn’t cost that much to travel from South Carolina to Washington.)
But it would be difficult for Mulvaney to top the list of arrogant Cabinet members whose lodestar is the let them eat cake rule. That honor must go to EPA chief Scott Pruitt. His
$50 per night rental of a Washington condo beats any time share deal
out there (though he missed out on the free meal for listening to the
marketing pitches). And his $43,000 soundproof office phone booth? It’s his idea of transparency without sound. His scheduling director received a 72% raise; his senior counsel, 68%. Hey, does he have any other job openings?
When Trump said he would drain the swamp, he meant, of losers. Now he’s re-filled it with a royal court of big-time grifters and charlatans. They’re laughing at us.
Publishing History
Albany Times Union 4/28
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