Much is being made in the blogosphere today about the article in this morning’s Times in which we learn that Rudy tried to help Purdue Pharma stave off federal prosecution for misleading pretty much everyone about the dangers of Oxycontin. The tale is sordid, and apparently not unique. As one blogster noted (I can’t remember which), Rudy was in the business of selling his reputation, and only criminals needed to buy. Why anyone with sense would have bought into that reputation is another matter, but not the subject of this piece.
Rather, we must consider the following. Osama bin Laden gave Rudy the world’s best going away present. Had the attack never taken place, Rudy would have been a mildly successful, albeit widely loathed ex-Mayor of New York, a “liberal” by Republican standards with no political future. The attack transformed him into a national hero. Besides giving his reputation an unearned boost, it put him in the position to rake in huge amounts of money for basically doing nothing. I, for one, would have no problem contenting myself with the income generated by giving “motivational” speeches at $100,000.00 a pop, though I admit actually interacting with the kind of people who would pay that much to hear anyone talk nonsense would be a bit of a drag.
Here’s my point (I think I have one). Given this gift from heaven, at the expense of 3,000 lives, most people, I like to think, would either turn to doing some good with their lives or at least avoid doing evil. Giuliani, it appears, decided to specialize in doing evil. Covering up for a drug company distributing an addictive drug is evil. Nor is this an anomaly. Steve Benen, writing at Political Animal, points out.
For those keeping score at home, the list of controversial clients, none of which Giuliani is willing to acknowledge publicly, is getting pretty long. There’s the Hank Asher controversy, the business relationship with a Qataran emir accused of sheltering dangerous terrorists (including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed), and the Hong Kong organized crime figure with reported ties to North Korea, among others.
My question is: why? What is it about Republicans that drives these already rich people into lives of evil, when they could do good and still be richer than anyone has a right to be? Is it genetic? Is it on the DSM somewhere? I mean, how much money did Rudy need? After all, his kids are already through college and they hate him anyway.
Lest I be accused of being naive, there are people who have taken undeserved financial windfalls and turned them to good purposes. Bill Clinton comes to mind. He gets people to pony up large sums to hear him talk, but he uses the money and his prestige to fight AIDS and stuff like that. He’s making big bucks, keeping plenty of them, but putting the rest, along with his reputation and standing, to good use. Why would anyone in a similar situation choose the Dark Side?
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