Max Kennerly: The mayor of Portage, Indiana, steered over $1 million in city contracts to a truck dealership, which then wrote him a $13,000 check. The conservatives on SCOTUS—with extensive experience in being lavished with gifts after favorable rulings—say this is very legal and very cool.

The mayor of Portage, Indiana, steered over $1 million in city contracts to a truck dealership, which then wrote him a $13,000 check. The conservatives on SCOTUS—with extensive experience in being lavished with gifts after favorable rulings—say this is very legal and very cool.

www.supremecourt.gov

Bears repeating that this is one of the reasons why ppl in rural America think we should pay the minimum amount possible in taxes- they assume the federal gov looks a lot like their local gov and is full of grifters who aren't actually using the money to benefit society 🤦🏻‍♀️

Only the GOP can run on "the gov is corrupt and inefficient", win, be corrupt and inefficient and just strengthen their own point Rural Americans have a hard time conceiving of a gov that genuinely wants to use money to help ppl (rather than help themselves and cronies) bc that's their experience

This is why rural Americans have an easier time believing democrats have nefarious plans and want to take a huge % of the earnings of the middle class- it's unfathomable to them that there's a group that wants the power to help ppl without getting anything out of it (besides a healthier society)

Our state government here in Ohio is one of the most corrupt in the nation and Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers. Our former Speaker of the Ohio House is now in prison for accepting bribes in exchange for pushing through a $1 billion bailout for a power company.

And it didn't stop with him. Virtually every state official - including the governor and lt. governor - were in close contact with lobbyists from that company and were receiving "legal" PAC money from them.

nation of crooks for crooks by crooks.

If it's all no laws only vibes now, I feel like we should be calling for a better class of criminal taking $13k for $1M in work is not great ROI

Small fish.

Thank you. The fact pattern seems like the best way to explain this ruling.

Ah, because it was 'gratuities for rendered services'... *Nods sagely*

Which fucks up the case against former IL Speaker of the House Mike Madigan. Screw them.

Monoliths of unimpeachable standards that they are.

Oh!

$13,000? The mayor of Portage, IN is a penny ante loser.

See it’s a gratuity not a bribe so it’s totally different.

Dem senator are gonna do some mad tweets now, scotus better watch it

The public good is a noble motive (vote for me, and here is my Venmo)

So as long as payment for the official act is paid in arrears, it’s not a bribe?

The mayor who received the bribe claimed he did consulting work for Peterbilt and that's what he claims he was compensated for. Presumably, they consulted him on how much they needed to bribe him to get that city money.

Of course they're in favor of graft. It's their entire business.

That guy is a cheap whore.

So state government behavior is now legal. Cool.

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