I've long recognized that asking members of congress to police themselves for ethics violations is a hopeless prospect. But even so, this decision is a new low. Their finding:
The House ethics committee has declared that an earmark requested by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) to build a commuter transit center near a handful of properties he owns would not be an impermissible financial conflict because any benefit to Calvert would be shared by other similarly situated landowners.
Out in the real world such behavior would be considered conflict of interest. But not in DC, and particularly not in congress. There its considered entirely appropriate.
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