It's been often said that, "...money follows power." and it's the power to do favors for the wealthy that gets so many politicians in trouble. The current list of politicians either convicted, under indictment, under investigation or simply suspect is heavily weighted on the Republican side. The obvious reason for this is that for the past several years, Republicans have held the majority in congress. That majority status enables them to easily obtain earmarks or otherwise do favors for their heavy contributors or, as in the case of some, enrich themselves by several means. Here's a current list:

Randy "Duke" Cunningham, (R) former Representative from San Diego. Incarcerated for eight years and four months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for accepting bribes from defense contractors. Cunningham's crimes were among the most egregious seen in years.

Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who had been House majority leader stepped down in 2005 after being indicted in a state campaign finance case. Delay remains under investigation by the F.B.I. in the Abramoff inquiry. It has been said that much of the inquiry had focused on payments made to Mr. DeLay's wife, Christine, for work at a Washington consulting firm. However, that is and unsubstantiated report from Grand Jury proceedings, which are secret.

If the reports are true, one of the most corrupt examples is that of Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, in his 18th term, that champion of the $200 million bridge to nowhere in Alaska. Young reportedly took campaign cash in return for obtaining $10 million for a Florida construction company to build a highway ramp that would benefit a local developer. At first glance, it seems obvious that it's outrageous that a congressional representative from Alaska would be obtaining earmarks for a Florida developer but when you also consider the fact that the locals didn't want the freeway ramp, neither the citizens nor the local politicians; it becomes a truly repugnant act! That would seem to be the most outrageous thing about this tawdry affair but it isn't! What was really out-of-line, and an obvious assault on our Constitution, was the way Young went about this. Apparently, after the Congress had voted on the 2005 Transportation Department bill which included $10 million for the overall widening of I-75, Young or one of his aides went into the bill and erased I-75 and replaced it with the words "Coconut Road." Now I consider this a true act of prostitution by a politician, a $10 million gift in return for a $40,000 campaign donation. Unfortunately, it's the taxpayer that gets screwed, as usual!

Another hero from Alaska, Senator Ted Stevens (R) 83-years-old and the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, is under investigation for extensive work done on his home by Bill Allen, an oil field services contractor who was convicted this year of bribing state lawmakers. The FBI was seen removing several items from Stevens Girdwood, Alaska home. Common sense tells us that Allen did not spend all this money to renovate Stevens' home out of friendship. One has to wonder how much we taxpayers have been ripped off at the hands of a corrupt Senator who has been serving in congress since 1968!

Jerry Lewis (R) of California, in his 15th term, a strong defender of "earmarks". Prosecutors are examining him for his dealings with lobbyists and contractors, including Brent Wilkes of "Duke" Cunningham fame. Lewis has received $88,252 in campaign donations from Wilkes. When Wilkes, a defense contractor from San Diego, wanted another $10 million dollars for a contract to digitize documents for the Pentagon and the Pentagon balked, Wilkes went to Cunningham and Lewis to complain. They promptly proceeded to cut funding for the F-22 fighter jet, which caused the Pentagon to bow to their pressure and hand Wilkes the additional $10 million.

Tom Feeney (R) of Florida is under investigation for, among other things, his relationship with Jack Abramoff. Feeney was one of the guests of Abramoff on one of those infamous golf outings in Scotland. Feeney was recently named as "Representative #3" in the criminal investigation of Mark Zachares, an aide to Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and lobbyist. In April 2007, Zachares pleaded guilty to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from Abramoff. An interesting side note about Feeney: During a House Judiciary Committee in December 2004, Clint Curtis, a programmer for Yang Enterprises testified that in September 2000, Feeney asked him to write software that could be used to alter vote totals on touch-screen voting machines. Both Feeney and Yang Enterprises vehemently denied those charges. However, it must be noted that Curtis passed a polygraph test regarding his testimony. You decide! In 2006, the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington voted Feeney as one of the twenty most corrupt US legislators.

Representative John T. Doolittle (R) California and his wife are under investigation for skimming political contributions and pocketing more than a quarter-million dollars. Actually, while this is obviously dishonest behavior, as a taxpayer I prefer that these politicians steal from their wealthy benefactors than from us working taxpayers. There's probably more to be discovered about Doolittle.

Representative Gary Miller (R) California reportedly took out $7.5 million in promissory notes from his largest contributor - Lewis Operating Corp. - and used that money to purchase property from Lewis Operating Corp. He then sold some of that land back to Lewis and some of it to Fontana, a city in his district. From those transactions, Miller took a profit of between $1.1 million and $6 million. Not bad making that much money when you don't have to put up any of your own capital! Funny thing, in that same year, Miller pushed for a provision in the Transportation Bill that effectively closed down the city of Rialto's airport, which was the first time an act of Congress closed a municipal airport, that's usually the domain of the FAA. Interestingly enough, that airport is located barely two miles from the land that Miller sold to Fontana. Subsequently, Lewis Operating Corp was awarded a contract to develop the land that had once contained the Rialto Airport. Oh yeah, Miller has received some $19,300 from Lewis Operating Corp employees in campaign contributions. Also in 2005, Miller helped secure $1.28 million in a highway bill for street improvements near a planned residential and commercial development in Diamond Bar, Calif. And yes, Miller co-owns the development with a top campaign contributor. So, here we've got a guy who helps line everyone's pocket - especially his own - at the expense of taxpayers. A real champion!

...More to come