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PoliticsOL.com Editorial - Week of May 6, 2001
Traficant: Time to Beam Him Out
Two-time presidential candidate, Adlai Stevenson, once observed, "the people get the government they deserve." Likewise, it can be said that the citizens of Ohio's 17th Congressional District get the Congressman they deserve.
This Friday, a federal grand jury levied a 10-count indictment against Rep. James Traficant of Ohio (D-Youngstown). The charges include bribery, filing false income tax returns, seeking and accepting illegal gratuities, racketeering, conspiring to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice.
Traficant [at left] is colorful, but often loud and brash. He is well-known to political junkies and viewers of C-Span for his short diatribes on the House floor against big business, big government, the U.N. and just about anything else he disagrees with. To stress his utter disgust with whatever issue he is railing against that day, he'll invoke that popular Star Trek phrase, "Beam Me Up!" In fact, a word search of the Congressional Record for the 107th Congress found that that the nine-term Congressman used the quote 23 times on the floor so far this year -- and it's only the first week of May.
Traficant maintains that he is just a victim of over-zealous prosecutors -- that Justice Department officials are seeking revenge for a previous failure to convict him. A former Mahoning County Sheriff in 1980, Traficant admitted to accepting bribes from organized crime figures in exchange to overlook illegal gambling, drug trafficking, prostitution and loan-sharking. During his 1983 trial, Traficant acted as his own attorney and successfully convinced a jury that the bribes were merely part of his own sting operation. A year later, he ran against a three-
term Republican incumbent and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Ohio 17th is strongly Democratic. It voted solidly for former Vice President Walter Mondale in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan was carrying the by a 19-point margin. As such, Traficant rarely faces any opposition by the GOP in the general election. Republican Party money is sent to more competitive races in the
state and Traficant usually wins by lopsided margins.
But this year, Traficant faced the toughest re-election bid in his Congressional career due to a spirited campaign in the 2000 Democratic Primary by former state senator Robert Hagan. Two other candidates challenged Traficant and several union groups withheld their endorsement of him. Many Democrats were angered by Traficant's vote for Republican Dennis Hastert as Speaker of the House, as well as Traficant's increasingly conservative views while representing an area of the state that hasn't voted for a GOP candidate for president since Richard Nixon.
Hagan was helped by airing ads featuring his sister-in-law, actress Kate Mulgrew, who plays Captain Katherine Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager. Mulgrew, wearing her Star Trek uniform and standing on the set of her popular series, asked the 17th's voters to "beam out" the incumbent who is always asking to be "beamed up." In the end, Hagan received 34% of the vote, while Traficant was held to a career low of 50%. He then won his usual lopsided victory against his Republican opponent in the November general election.
Interesting, Traficant warned voters early last year that he would likely be indicted again. But, nonetheless, citizens there ultimately decided that they would rather have a familiar incumbent spending his term in office fighting a strong criminal indictment than on attending to the concerns of his district's constituency.
If Traficant, 59, is convicted he could face up to more than 20 years in prison, as well as substantial fines. He also could be removed from office by his House colleagues.
Traficant could spare the House of Representatives yet another embarrassing spectacle by resigning, but don't look for that to happen. In fact, depending on how long Traficant's trial lasts, including likely appeals, voters in Ohio's 17th District may get yet another chance in 2002 to "beam him out." If not, they have no one else to blame but themselves.
PoliticsOL.com reserves the right to shorten or to edit letters for clarity. Only signed letters will be considered for publication. (i.e., include name, city & state of residence)
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This Friday, a federal grand jury levied a 10-count indictment against Rep. James Traficant of Ohio (D-Youngstown). The charges include bribery, filing false income tax returns, seeking and accepting illegal gratuities, racketeering, conspiring to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice.
