Cross-Posted from DaleGlading.com
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Last week, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey was indicted for bribery for the second time. Let the jokes about corrupt politicians, especially from the Garden State, begin.
To me, the most egregious aspect of Menendez’s 3-part indictment wasn’t that he allegedly used his official position to benefit several individuals and the Egyptian government in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, and a luxury car.
That was simply a case of greed and stupidity on steroids.
No, the most infuriating – and cowardly – facet of the indictment was the way “Gold Bar Bob” responded to it. Instead of doing the honorable thing (I apologize for using the word “honorable” and the name “Bob Menendez” in the same sentence) by admitting his guilt and then resigning, the senior senator from New Jersey loudly proclaimed his innocence, offered a preposterous explanation for his actions, and then repeatedly played the race card.
As a Christian and a minister, I am inclined to offer grace and forgiveness to sinners. After all, I claim to be the chief of them, just like the Apostle Paul. However, I have no sympathy for someone who, when they are caught red-handed, uses his race or ethnicity as a defense.
Instead of offering a mea culpa and throwing himself on the mercy of the court, Menendez claimed that the $480,000 that was found stashed in his coats and closets was the result of years of cash withdrawals from his savings account. Yeah, right Bob, we all keep a half-million laying around the house for a rainy day.
But Menendez would have us believe that all Cubans act that way, especially those whose families had their money confiscated by totalitarian dictators.
Unfortunately for Bob, he was born in New York City in 1954 when Democrat Robert F. Wagner, Jr. was mayor. And unless Mayor Wagner broke into Bob’s house and stole his pacifier, his race card defense is the most shameful disparagement of Cuban heritage since Lucy Ricardo tried to dance her way into Ricky’s rhumba band.
It is also an insult to his constituents, who should demand that Menendez resign immediately. Then let the feds have a crack at him.
