Hitchens writes about the lobbying scandal involving members of the UK parliament:

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A human sacrifice won't clean up politics

I happen to think that entrapment is slimy and unBritish. If you tempt someone into wrongdoing, and then expose them, you have yourself done wrong.

But even if you approve of the latest exposures of an MP and some peers for allegedly taking money to lobby for causes, ask yourself this: are these things really the problem with our political system? Surely it is what is allowed that is the problem?

Nobody exposes MPs when they abandon their principles for the sake of a career, and allow themselves to be bullied into voting against their consciences by the hired government thugs known as whips. This is normal behaviour.

So is that of Mr Tim Yeo MP, a noisy zealot for the Green lobby which is wrecking our economy and our countryside, who last year made a six-figure sum from companies which benefit from unhinged ‘renewable energy’ policies.

So is that of the Prime Minister, who got away completely with being one of the greediest housing expenses claimers in the entire House of Commons (despite also being one of the richest MPs).

Media scandals are selective. Someone picks the victim. While they do so, they are generally ignoring other possible targets.

Some stories are followed by everyone. Some, like your generous subsidy for Mr Cameron’s immense (and perfectly legitimate) mortgage interest payments, remain almost totally unknown to the general public. They still think his only sin was to claim for clearing wisteria from a chimney.

The real story lies elsewhere – in a played-out, incompetent and scornful elite which cannot admit its mistakes and which hates the voters

If that scandal ever properly catches fire, then we may get somewhere.

This stuff is merely the offering of an occasional human sacrifice to the mob, to keep them from seeing what is really going on.

http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co....r-schools.html