Rostenkowski defends Chicago politicians

by Frank James

Dan Rostenkowski has forgotten more about political wheeling and dealing than most people will ever know.

So it's worth listening to the former congressman from Illinois and House Ways and Means Committee chairman who knows what it's like to be caught in a political and legal scandal, to be convicted on federal charges and to serve prison time.

He also has the years between his humiliation in the early 1990s and now to have a useful perspective.

Writing in The Daily Beast, Rostenkowski wants it known that Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who once occupied Rostenkowski's old House seat, doesn't represent Illinois's political class or politicians generally.

It is painful to recall my situation and, on a personal level, I can sympathize with the pain the governor's family must feel and can uniquely understand their concerns about what comes next.

But I find his reported behavior troubling. There's a big difference between running a sloppy office and staging a personally-beneficial auction to make policy and personnel decisions. That's what disturbs the public. It bothers me, too.

It would be a mistake, though, to conclude that Chicago or Illinois produced a disproportionate share of bad apples. They're present in both parties whenever opportunity appears.

And while they tarnish the reputation of the entire political profession, there's little evidence suggesting the small minority involved is any larger than it is among doctors, lawyers or corporate executives. In each field, honesty and integrity are the norms. In each, a small number stray, some seriously. Cynics who see corruption as pervasive in politics are wrong.

Rostenkowski's piece feels like it's meant to serve several purposes. One is clearly a desire to defend the honor of Illinois politicians. Perhaps it is his way of continuing to pay penance.

A second is to offer his unique perspective as someone who was on the wrong side of federal prosecutor. (Ironically, the federal prosecutor who won a guilty verdict was none other than Eric Holder who President-elect Barack Obama has chosen to be his Attorney General.)

The third is to offer a defense of Rostenkowski to those who believe he was thoroughly corrupt. He tells us he had opportunities to do wrong, opportunities he didn't take:

... When I was in the Illinois General Assembly during the 1950s, I rejected an offer that would have given me a sweetheart stock deal in return for voting to support an expansion of the horseracing season.

A little later he writes:

At the acme of my career, when I chaired the House Ways and Means Committee, which writes tax policy, I struggled successfully to restrain myself when a colleague suggested moving forward legislation he thought it would enhance our ability to raising money from oil interests.

Nearly 81, he wants people to know that he knew the difference between right and wrong and did right more often than not, despite the temptations. That's how he wants to remembered.