Which state is the LEAST corrupt?

[Archae]

Based on the states I've been to, the one I'm in.
Wisconsin.

Heck, the biggest scandal I can remember is Milwaukee's mayor, got caught up in a sex scandal.

And a couple state politicians were using their campaign money for their own personal use, but these are piddly amounts.

Just ONE Bush is more corrupt than all the corrupt politicians in Wisconsin.

Hopefully none of them will ever want to retire to Wisconsin.

[Randi_Listener]

1. Nevada

or New York

[lcordero]

2. He said least corrupt I thought

New York makes it in the top 10 easily for the most corrupt.

[Nevernose]

30. And NV would have to be a close second

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. I'd agree - could very well be Wisconsin

Maine could be a contender, maybe even Orgeon or Washington, though I've never been there so hard to say. The three I just mentioned might have some issues of corruption with the lumber industry, but then WI definitely has some issues (though slight in the overall schema) with industry in general. But ME, OR, and WA all seem to have generally healthy and well thought progressive and normalized governmental functions. MN, too.

Corrupt states are much easier to determine - NY, IL (of course!), HI, probably AK, the southern states, TX, WY, UT, CA, etc.

maybe NM isn't corrupt, either.

[LibertyorDeath]

4. Canada!

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Canada's not a state, it's a national park

isn't it? Or is it a territory? All I remember is that somehow we, in America, are helping those poor third-world develop a civilization and even, perhaps, a written language, eh?

[JailForBush]

6. Thanks for helping me with my research!

I'm working on a "Kids' Politix" site that will feature information about government and politics in all 50 states. I've got the basic framework online at http://www.politix.us/, but it's really not much more than a rough draft. (I don't know WHAT happened to the home page.)

But I wrote some preliminary introductions for a few states and got them critiqued here on DU. One state I did a little research on is Indiana -
http://www.politix.us/na/us/in/index.php I was amazed to learn that it was once the Ku Klux Klan's capital, with one third of the state's white males belonging to the Klan!

But it sounds like Indians is unusually clean today. Again, I really haven't studied it in detail yet, but there doesn't seem to be an exceptional amount of graft there. I'll have to check out Wisconsin soon.

I think the most corrupt states have to include New York (based on New York City, the home of Wall Street), Texas and Washington State. Virginia may also rank among the most corrupt. It's a very conservative state and is home to the Pentagon and other suburbs of Washington, D.C. That portion of Maryland adjacent to Washington, D.C. also appears to be a real hotbed of public schools corruption. Washington is unusual, because its largest city is Seattle - far smaller than New York City and Chicago and not typically associated with gangs or corruption.

But corporations have a death grip on Seattle, and they include a couple of the biggest and sleaziest - Microsoft and Boeing. The Seattle School District is a pioneer in screwing children, and the late Seattle Schools Superintendent John Stanford - a retired general who was one of Colin Powell's chums - was being groomed for appointment as U.S. Secretary of Education. Al Gore wrote the foreword to his book, but I'm convinced that George W. Bush would have appointed him to the position, too, if he hadn't died of leukemia.

Another thing that I think distinguishes Washington State is the public - they may rank as some of America's biggest kooks. Granted, most Americans are afflicted with terminal apathy and aren't terribly bright, but I really thing Washingtonians are little more touched than most. Keep in mind that the Pacific Northwest is a haven for Neo-Nazis and Skinheads. Eastern Washington's conservatives love to vote for religious kooks; when Pat Robertson ran for President, Washington was the only state that voted for him.

Yet Seattle's liberals may be even more stupid. I've lived in Seattle for nearly two decades, have been very politically involved for the last seven years or so, even running for public office three times, and I can count the intelligent political conversations I've had with people on the fingers of one hand. It's truly amazing.

I would think the least corrupt states much include Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. After all, they have small populations, and Vermont and New Hampshire are noted for their political involvement.

I'm from South Dakota, and I suspect the Dakotas and Nebraska are relatively clean, even if there are some frightening Repugs in South Dakota. They have small populations and little industry.

I lived in Alaska on and off for a few years, though I wasn't politically savvy at the time. There are a lot of rednecks up there, but, again, there's a notable lack of corporate power, which I think keeps the state relatively clean.

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. You seem to base corruption on corporate influence

so you have missed some issues - it's not all whether corporations have too much influence. There's also the basic inbred kind of corruption, and also union corruption. Union corruption we definitely get in Hawaii and NY (and NY, of course, has many other forms of corruption). Hawaii also has corruption in the form that a lot of contracts and government money will end up going to the contractors who have ties to the current government - whether family ties, friendly ties, or - unique to Hawaii - ties based on mutual high school attendance (that is, if person A is in charge of something, then contracts will likely go to family, friends, or someone who went to the same high school as person A). Jobs and getting hired - even in high level professional quarters - can also be based on the high school one attended.

VT and NH might have small populations and progressive politics, but there is still the possibility of a certain level of corruption there (though I know little of those states, and am not making a judgment on them since I have nowhere near enough info to make a judgment).

But it's not just corporate involvement - unions and inbreeding also cause a lot of corruption around the country, amongst others.

[JailForBush]

11. Unions = Corporations

Yes, there are indeed different kinds of corruption. The "inbreeding" you speak of is out of control here in Seattle. I refer to it as bureaucratic incest, and it may indeed be independent of corporate influence - but keep in mind that corporations ultimately run just about everything, and they tend to suck up and magnify bureaucratic incest and other evils.

Speaking of corrupt unions, why are liberals so afraid to blow the whistle on one of the worst - the National Education Association? I spent more than fifteen years working in public education, and all the NEA ever did was stab me and my students in the back.

But this is another thing that isn't entirely independent of corporations. After all, the NEA is in bed with Big Business. The Seattle Education Association and Seattle School Board are both in bed with the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. In fact, I'm not aware of ANY union in Seattle that isn't corrupt.

But it's obvious that they've been infiltrated by corporations, and are now being manipulated to screw the workers they're supposed to be helping.

[Zuni]

16. I agree about the NEA

they have kept some of the worst public school officials, teachers and such in place despite the fact that they are not helping kids at all, which is their first (or should be their first) priority.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

7. North Carolina

nevermind , we gave the world Jesse Helms - enough scandal and corruption right there

[ncrainbowgrrl]

33. *ahem*

Forget about Meg Scott Phipps?

[markses]

8. Louisiana

Awww, I'm just kidding!;-)

[IronLionZion]

36. haha, it's hard to find a politician there who is not a criminal

and there are a lot of corrupt democrats.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

9. Vermont seems pretty straight up, so does Maine

[SiobhanClancy]

20. Maine is my choice for least corrupt...

Vermont looks good,too:)

[GreenPartyVoter]

26. I like living in Maine

We have our down side, but overall I am very happy here.

Mind you, though, I've never actually lived anywhere else. ;)

[SmileyBoy]

12. North Dakota.

Nobody ever does anything here, anyway.

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. Except for that crazy Milwaukee alderman who threatened to blow

up the circus parade. Remember that? Other than a few odd politicos here and there I would say Wisconsin is up there. Far sight better than Michigan.

[noonwitch]

19. As a Michiganian, I have to agree

Michigan politics are so corrupt and so are many of our courts. It's a bi-partisan thing, too. Former Governor Engler (R) and former Wayne County Executive Ed McNamara (D) are probably the worst. We had a major airport fiasco in Detroit. McNamera was giving all the construction and vendor contracts to his friends, so Engler threatened to investigate. They ended up splitting up whose friends got what contracts and turned it into a bipartisan pig out at taxpayers' expense. They were both leaving office, so nobody did much about it.

Plus, we have unions and the companies that inspired unions to organize. We also have Amway, or whatever they call themselves these days, which is one of the biggest scams ever. I always take pleasure in the fact that my dad made a lot of money selling janitor supplies to Amway, a company known for making cleaning supplies. Scamway still supports radical right wing causes, and Betsy DeVos, an obnoxious GOP big wig, is part of the founding family.

Wisconsin might be better, but Michigan is still less corrupt than Texas or Florida.

[Archae]

21. Michael McGee

He's pretty much out of the spotlight now.

Thankfully.

[ScreamingMeemie]

29. That's it!! Thanks Archae. I'll be able to sleep now.

:hi: He was a nut.

[LTR]

14. Wisconsin is a nut house!

There's corruption all over. Gary George, although he is a so-called Dem, is a thief plain and simple. He doesn't even live in the inner city district that he supposedly represents (has a huge spread in the North Shore suburb of Mequon, right on the lake). He was recently defeated in a recall, and is on trial for misdeeds.

Chuck Cvala and Don Ament are GOP dirtbags that strongarmed government for years and finally got snagged with their hands in the cookie jar one time too many.

Or former mayor Norquist using city money to hush his mistress.

Wisconsin is teeming with corruption.

I'm thankful we have excellent, honest senators in Herb Kohl and (especially) Russ Feingold to make us look somewhat decent to the rest of the country. Even Rep. Sensenbrenner (a Pug) is an okay guy. Not bad, for a Republican.

And I do respect the Dem state legislators who stood up to bullying by a Missouri archbishop who tried to ban them from the Catholic church unless they changed their views on abortion. They took it to the media, and called this punk's bluff! :yourock:

All in all, there were some pretty black marks on Wisconsin politics in the past few years. But the Bush Misadministration eclipses them all.

[cosmicdot]

17. I would think Wisconsin ... but, then, there's the 4-term T.Thompson thing

... it's time for a new Robert LaFollette ...

interesting that as a progressive, he ended up serving in the House as a Republican

http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/side/lafoll.html

[LTR]

18. The Republicans were different back then

Up until the 50's or so, the Republicans were the progressive party in many respects. Look at T. Roosevelt and Lincoln.

The Dems had a lot of Conservatives from the south. And they were pretty conservative back in the 1800s.

During the first half of the 20th century, the parties shifted gradually.

Goldwater, Thurman and FDR, among others had much to do with this.

[Archae]

23. Except most of these are really piddly

Compared with some of the scuzzballs from Illinois, or CT, Florida or Texas.

I never said our state was perfect.

But Wisconsin throws corrupt politicians out.

Texas and Florida re-elects them.

[forgethell]

15. alabama

ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

I say this as a native, and long-time, although not continously, resident, and present inhabitant and citizen, of the Yellowhammer state.

[trof]

24. Dead right!

With judges like Roy "10 Commandments" Moore, how can we be anything but pure and blameless?

[forgethell]

25. At least, though,

with Roy Moore you know where he stands. What about "Slimy Don" Siegalman, or "Million Dollar Bob" Riley?

You could throw a rock anywhere in Montgomery and stand a 50/50 chance of hitting a corrupt politician.

[Bucky]

22. Iowa's got a pretty good reputation.

But it sure ain't Texas

[Lefty48197]

27. Two words:

Joe McCarthy.

[Archae]

31. Joe McCarthy has been dead for almost 50 years.

It's assholes like Ann Coulter who keep celebrating him.

[RushIsRot]

28. The state of...

CATATONIA

[1a2b3c]

32. Florida, California, New York, and Texas...in that order

Or not.

[DEM FAN]

35. Sorry. We Have Jeb Bush Here. So Florida Is Out.

:-)

[DEM FAN]

34. What Is Up With You People. Nobody Picked Washington,DC.

:evilgrin:

[IronLionZion]

37. PA because the corruption helps the Democrats

in Philly I mean. That's why the Dem mayor won the last election. And a lot of dead people voted for Gore.

[IronLionZion]

38. And the Dem party in Fayette county hands out free whiskey on election day