Inside the Beltway

Then …

Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman presented an intriguing history of the transfer of power in this country, starting with the earliest days of the republic when the federal government “was a massive spoils system,” in his speech to the career Senior Executives Association.

“To the victor of the presidential election went the spoils,” Mr. Bodman noted. “Federal employment was a jobs program for the winning side — jobs that weren’t intended to serve the American people, but to pay off friends and supporters.

“That made elections very tumultuous affairs, indeed,” he said. “Losing the White House often would result in nearly every person on the federal payroll being tossed out on the street.”

The secretary quoted Henry Clay, the great senator from Kentucky, as saying that government officials after an election were “like the inhabitants of Cairo when the plague breaks out. No one knows who is next to encounter the stroke of death.”

… and now

These days it’s almost impossible to be fired from the federal payroll.

Take a follow-up press release issued in recent days by the Republican Study Committee (RSC), plastered with a frightening mug shot of heavy-metal architect Ozzy Osbourne.

The appearance of the Prince of Darkness in this congressional report pertains to extensive internal credit card abuse at the Agriculture Department, where a previous investigation by the inspector general had determined that certain bureaucrats were using government-issued credit cards for personal purchases — $7.7 million over the course of six months, all paid with taxpayer dollars.

Among the items purchased: Ozzy Osbourne concert tickets, tattoos, exotic attire, enrollment in bartending college, an automobile, cosmetics and cigarettes.

One person made 147 car payments totaling $11,444, another withdrew $17,000 from ATM machines, while a dozen persons spent $196,000 among them.

The USDA, reports the RSC, has since taken several measures to address the abuse, not the least being the deactivation of more than 10,000 credit cards, while instituting a “zero tolerance” policy for credit card misuse.

Which is a good thing, considering the person who pulled the 17-grand from the ATMs landed only a 30-day government suspension, reveals the RSC.

As for the Ozzy Osbourne fan, might we suggest the USDA force the employee to sit through an entire Celine Dion concert, singing along to “My Heart Will Go On.”

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