Remember Richard Gephardt: He Sold His Soul

Does anyone remember Richard Gephardt. He probably hopes you don't or if you do that you pay no attention to what he is doing today. For those who do remember Gephardt they will remember that he was the long time Congressman representing St. Louis. Gephardt ran for the Presidency twice, credibly in 1988 and a short candidacy in 2004. While in Congress Dick Gephardt was always a friend to the working man. He consistently received the highest support of America's unions, was strongly against NAFTA, and at one point in 2004 was floating his own,very viable plan for National or Universal health care.

Gephardt retired in 2005 with accomplishments to make any man proud. I speak about Gephardt because I am currently reading the seminal political book What It Takes by Richard Ben Cramer. This book, telling in depth, very in depth in fact, the story of the 1988 Presidential race is a work of art for political junkies like me. As I am about half way through I am reading about Gephardt a great deal as he was a strong candidate. After finishing my reading one evening I was curious to find what the former Congressman was doing these days in his retirement.

When reading a description of what he has been doing since leaving office a person can feel nothing but disgust and like he has been punched in the stomach. Gephardt for reasons that I certainly do not know has turned into a political whore, a hack lending his name and good faith to causes which go against everything he stood for in his political career.

A sample of his efforts. As a lobbyist for the country of Turkey he has lobbied the United States congress not to pass a resolution calling the Turkish actions against the Armenians in 1915 genocide.

Worse the former Congressman in 2009 advised one of America's largest health insurer's on how to fight any public option in the pending health care bill. This labor friendly Democrat who had campaigned for Universal health care worked against a public option.

Gephardt also has worked with pharmaceutical companies lobbying for the extension of patents and against the release of generic medicines. Certainly this does nothing to benefit his former constituency.

As a final insult Gephardt works as a lobbyist for Boeing and sits on the board and works as a lobbyist for Spirit Aerosystems going so far in that role as to lead an agressive anti union effort against employees there.

Reading Cramer's book and seeing this eager, earnest and energetic young Congressman run for President and comparing the person with this jaded, cynical, lobbyist we see today we see perhaps the greatest illustration of the corruption of the soul that takes place in Washington.

I do not know what changed Richard Gephardt but I hope and pray that it has indeed been a change, a sell out, and that we were not always being played from the beginning.

Richard Gephardt is today's biggest dirtbag.