Don’t ask me why but I was researching the history of the show Sesame Street last night when I realized that the muppet named Elmo has actually testified before Congress.
That’s not a misprint. The caption to the above photo reads:
NAMM President Joe Lamond confers with Sesame Street’s Elmo during their testimony before the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittee on Capitol Hill April 23 [2002]. Lamond and Elmo asked Congress for $2 million to support school music education.
I thought this was kind of cute, in its own way, but I wondered who was responsible for inviting a muppet to testify before Congress. The answer was pretty amusing.
The 17-member House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education is chaired by Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio). Elmo’s appearance took place at the invitation and with the assistance of Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-California).
You can read about Duke Cunningham’s stunning corruption here. Somehow, Elmo’s Cunningham sponsored appearance before the Appropriations subcommittee strikes me as a perfect metaphor for the era of Bush.
Elmo asked for a measly $2 million for music education. Meanwhile, Cunningham was working on a higher level.
In 1997, Cunningham pushed the Pentagon into buying a $20 million document-digitization system created by ADCS Inc., one of several defense companies owned by [Brent] Wilkes. The Pentagon didn’t want to buy the system. When it hadn’t done so three years later, Cunningham angrily demanded the firing of Lou Kratz, an assistant undersecretary of defense he held responsible for the delays. It later emerged that Wilkes reportedly gave Cunningham more than $630,000 in cash and favors.
Which, of course, led to this:
* In January, the Justice Department requested the resignation of U.S. Attorney Carol Lam, who led the corruption prosecution of Cunningham. For further information see Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy.
* On February 13, former CIA executive director Kyle Foggo was charged with fraud and other offenses in the Cunningham corruption investigation. The indictment also named Brent Wilkes and John T. Michael.
Tickle me, so I know I’m not dreaming.
