Enough is finally enough

Well, it's finally happened. She got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

My state senator has been indicted for Bribery. I won't bore you with details, you can check the local papers. Or you can read the indictment itself.

Now, Dianne Wilkerson is no stranger to trouble She has been convicted of "minor" crimes in the past - tax evasion, campaign irregularities, being sued for non-payment of fees, and the latest was lying under oath. but through all this, she keeps getting re-elected. It's become very controversial, and very racially charged. Calls of "only a minority can represent a minority district" are often heard. And most elections the 'white' districts, who have "had enough" vote overwhelmingly to get rid of her, while the black districts, who say "she helps all of these low income people" support her enough to get re-elected.

last election, she didn't even qualify to be on the ballot, so she got her supports to put her on as a write-in candidate, and she subsequently won that election. This past election, she lost the primary, yet did not let that dissuade her, and was starting another write-in campaign to get elected.

And then this morning, she was lead off in handcuffs.

The FBI has pictures, audio and video of her accepting bribes, not even big money. Small bribes to get licenses, delay legislation, and other various favors. the latest was just a few weeks ago where she 'demanded' more money from the under cover agent, supposedly this extra money to help her reelection campaign.

Now, all the charges in her past you could almost explain away. (almost). But bribery is another story. You can't explain that away. there is no "but in the end I was helping someone". Putting cash in your pocket is helping only yourself. This is beyond the 'last straw'. This is betrayal. To herself, to those she worked with, and to those she is supposed to be representing. This is going from being a Robin Hood one day to Al Capone the next.

Politics in Massachusetts is a strange beast, but an out and out betrayal of public trust seems to be what it takes before people wake up and smell the coffee... This whole mess is best surmised with a quote from a fellow senator

"This has moved far beyond the sad transgressions of her past," Senate Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei said in a statement. "The latest charges brought against Senator Wilkerson rise to a whole new level, and significantly tarnish the reputation not only of the Massachusetts Senate, but government as a whole."