Senator Feinstein, resign (UPDATED)

I posted a few hours ago on the corruption of Senator Diane Feinstein – how she was forced to leave the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee on account of a major conflict of interest. Her husband turned out to be a significant beneficiary of contracts on which she voted. (UPDATE: the contracts in question included over $1.5 billion for two firms – URS and Perini – in which “Blum, with Feinstein’s knowledge, was a majority owner” – World Net Daily, h/t Stop the ACLU). My view on this was fairly straightforward: “If the Democrats were serious about cleaning up Washington, they’d demand Feinstein’s resignation. Now. But of course, they won’t . . .”

After giving it some more thought, I have decided to become more pro-active on this. As such, I hereby call on Diane Feinstein to resign from the United States Senate.

To some, that may sound extreme. It shouldn’t. Senator Feinstein was overseeing contracts that benefited her husband. The conflict of interest should have been glaringly obvious to her. That she chose to remain on the committee for six years – and did not actually quit the committee until she was caught – reveals an appalling lack of virtue on her part.

Virtue is a word one does not hear very much in politics these days, but it is a vital part of any successful republic. When the people choose their governors from among themselves, they rely on those elected to power to be honest and devoid of corruption. Otherwise, they become unaccountable to voters and more interested in their own selfish interests than in the public interest.

By choosing to have a seat and a vote on a committee that oversaw and decided contracts in which her husband had an interest, Senator Feinstein has certainly placed her own interest above the public interest. By choosing to remain in the U.S. Senate, she has made herself unaccountable to her constituents.

There are many words to describe what she has done; Virtue is not one of them.

Should Feinstein resign, Governor Schwarzenegger will be able to replace her with a Republican. Because of the current division in the Senate, this would flip control of the chamber. So Democrats (both inside and outside of the Senate) have a choice to make. Do they to defend and apologize for Senator Feinstein to maintain their Senate majority? Or will they take the high road and help cleanse the Senate, even at the price of minority status (at least until Californians elect the permanent replacement in a special election)?

Either way, Senator Feinstein has sullied her career, besmirched the Senate, and failed her fellow Californians. It is time for her to do the right thing. Senator Feinstein, resign. Now.