I complain a great deal about this subject, but I also have promised you the truth. Those who are powerful and wealthy rarely receive just punishment for their crimes. No justice exists for the average man or woman who cannot afford the best attorneys, or fails to have powerful and influential friends to come to their defense.

Dennis Hastert was the Speaker of the House during the George W. Bush Administration. He pushed through the president’s agenda without consideration of the morality or legality of the issue.

Today he has finally been punished, not for past crimes of sexual assault, but for illegal monetary transactions. But does the punishment fit the crime? You can be the judge and jury on this one.

As a high school teacher and wrestling coach in Illinois, before his life in politics began, Hastert has been accused of “sexually molesting, or improperly touching” five members of the team. The crime for which he was originally indicted, and subsequently revealed his wrong doings of the past, was paying ‘hush’ money to one of the victims with illegal monetary transactions.

Hastert admitted his guilt. “The thing I want to do is say I’m sorry to those I’ve hurt and misled,” he said. “They looked at me, and I took advantage of them.” He added: that he was “deeply ashamed” because he had “mistreated some of the athletes I coached.”

Today a federal judge sentence Hastert to 15 months in a federal prison. That’s three months for each accusation.

Someone less regarded by politicians would have received punishment far more severe, and a sentence which was comparable to his misdeeds. But this is the way our justice system works if you are a member of the wealthy and prestigious upper class.

This is actually excessive punishment based on previous crimes committed by politicians. There is no need to look into distant history, all we need to do is explore the criminal and immoral actions of former Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich was in office during the Clinton Administration. He led the ‘party of family values,’ as he attempted to impeach President Clinton for his alleged sexual escapades in the White House. Meanwhile, Gingrich committed several felonies for which he was never prosecuted. His crimes were egregious enough that his own party forced him to resign. His ‘family values’ were exposed when he flaunted his mistress in public while his wife lay dying in a hospital bed suffering from cancer.

One other example is former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Telling his family and his constituents that he was taking a vacation with the intent of ‘hiking the Appalachian Trail,’ he actually flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to be with his mistress, María Belén Chapur.

When his affair was reported by the press, only a few of his constituents demanded his resignation. He remained in office for 18 months before he was censured but not impeached for his immoral activity. And what is this scumbag doing today? He is serving in Washington as an elected member of the House of Representatives. Really.

These three members of the Republican Party clearly demonstrate the hypocrisy and sanctimonious attitude of the right wing. They profess to being ‘good Christians,’ but in fact are members of the devil’s army. This is my biggest complaint about millions of Americans and hundreds of Congressmen who claim to be religious, when in fact they denounce the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

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Photo Courtesy of Matt Stoller

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