Tammany Ring

[Editorial]

Did you ever hear of it?

It was a major corruption ring in New York City back in the 1890s. The "Tammany Ring" was the inner circle of corrupt political bosses and leaders who ran Tammany Hall, the headquarters of a private political organization. Then in the 1920s, we had the "Teapot Dome" scandal, where public officials bypassed normal channels to hand out lucrative federal assets to private corporate friends behind closed doors.

Hey, wait a minute… we’re not talking about Trump, are we? We’re talking about something that happened a century ago... right?

We’re not talking about the Reflecting Pool fiasco, where the job was rushed through a no-bid process... correct? Teapot Dome was in the 1920s.

And we’re not talking about the "Bleeding Statues" you know, the gold-plated statues on the bridge over the Potomac?

What? You haven’t heard of the "Bleeding Statues"? Well, you know how Trump rushed a $5 million no-bid federal project to regild the "Arts of War" and "Arts of Peace" bronze horse statues near the Lincoln Memorial? Turns out you can’t do that in a week or two. It’s a multi-year project requiring proper curing of the materials used. As a result, the protective layers are bleeding down onto the stone pedestals. Now, where have we heard that before? Oh! I know... the Reflecting Pool!

Meanwhile, the "Arc de Trump" is also a no-bid contract!

And Trump’s pièce de résistance, the White House Ballroom, is yet another no-bid contract! The icing on that cake is that no one can find any building inspection records... you know, for plumbing, electrical, or structural safety. If any of the work was substandard or if corners were cut, we’ll never know!

Now, questions are being raised over Trump’s War. Before the invasion of Iran, financial watchdogs and federal authorities uncovered multi-billion-dollar spikes and suspiciously timed oil market bets made just minutes or days before major conflict announcements.

The "Tammany Ring" and the "Teapot Dome" scandal used to be the benchmarks for American corruption... but Trump has set a whole new gold standard.

[/Editorial]