Bush does have one thing he can consider successful in his Presidency and might lead to his legacy. That is his utmost devotion to cronyism and the adverse effect it has on our government services. We saw that a year ago with FEMA and today we get even more proof with this report by the Washington Post:
A year-long State Department investigation has found that the chairman of the agency that oversees Voice of America and other government broadcasting operations improperly used his office, putting a friend on the payroll and running a “horse-racing operation” with government resources.
The report, released yesterday, marks the second time in less than a year that an internal investigation has found evidence of rules violations by Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
In November, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting inspector general found that Tomlinson had made improper hires, had tried to tamper with PBS’s TV programming and appeared to show political favoritism in selecting CPB’s president while he was chairman, Tomlinson resigned his CPB post that same month.
The new allegations against Tomlinson, 62, stem from his chairmanship of the BBG, which oversees the federal government’s array of international broadcasting services, including VOA, Radio and TV Marti in Cuba and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Tomlinson defended his performance as BBG chairman, saying, “I believe it will become clear that this [inspector general] investigation was inspired by partisan divisions.”
Although the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are unrelated entities, Tomlinson’s alleged violations overlapped both federal agencies. He conducted CPB work and “personal matters” while working for the Broadcasting Board, and directed BBG employees to do the same, the State Department’s investigation found. Investigators said he received compensation from both the BBG and CPB for the same days worked on 14 occasions, but did not specify an amount.
CPB is one of the last few government services we have that actually provides something decent to the people, and Bush, the Republicans and their little cronies would love nothing more than to do away with it. They complain about the quality of television shows aimed at children, yet when they have an effective tool to provide quality programming, they try to destroy it. This is just further examples of how Republican leadership will destroy America if left unchecked.