The Congressman Is Shocked, I Tell You, Shocked

Stars and Stripes reports:

“‘There is nothing inherently wrong with providing information to the public and the press,” [U.S. Rep. Ike] Skelton said. “But there is a problem if the Pentagon is providing special access to retired officers and then basically using them as pawns to spout the administration’s talking points of the day.”

Skelton, who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was also disturbed by the ties between the military officers and defense firms.”

“It hurts me to my core to think that there are those from the ranks of our retired officers who have decided to cash in and essentially prostitute themselves on the basis of their previous positions within the Department of Defense,” he said.

When members of Congress assume this shocked pose and spout such nonsense to the press, we may rest assured that they do indeed take us for fools. The congressman is hurt to his core, he says, to think that former military officers may be cashing in on their previous military service and their connections with former associates still at the Pentagon. Well, let’s see: this sort of thing has been going on actively for only sixty-five years or so. If Congressman Skelton has not yet become aware of it, especially given his service on the House Armed Services Committee, we may fairly conclude that the man is blind, deaf, and dumb. Come to think of it, reaching that conclusion would be more reassuring than knowing the truth about Skelton and his ilk.