WASHINGTON, April 11 (UPI) -- With his conviction Thursday on all ten counts of bribery, racketeering and income tax evasion, it seems certain that Rep. James Traficant Jr.'s political career finally ran its course.
Although technically still a member of the House Democratic caucus, Traficant has been shunned by his political colleagues since his indictment, barred by his party from serving on any committee and seen his Ohio congressional district disappear as its lines were redrawn to eliminate him.
And now it seems likely that the House will actually vote to remove the maverick Congressman, something it has done only once since the Civil War.
But Capitol Hill mavens will miss his volatile one-minute speeches on the House floor that attack foreign imports, communism, the FBI, the Justice Department, Internal Revenue Service and anything else that got his goat that particular day.
These speeches usually ended with the frustrated cry and Star Trek reference "Beam me up, Mr. Speaker," and were even occasionally profane. In one case, he even renamed the IRS, which had battled him in the early 1980s over unreported income, into something more populist than subtle.
"The legal group Judicial Watch has charged IRS Commissioner Rossotti with conflict of interest involving a company he founded," Traficant said on July 31, 2001. "Rossotti still owns stock in the company, his wife works there, and Rossotti buys software from this company for the IRS. That is right. Rossotti buys from Rossotti. What is the surprise? In addition, Rossotti is scheduled for another big, fat bonus from Congress. Beam me up. The Internal Rectal Service does not need bonuses; they need (to be) abolished. I yield back the fact that if a Member of Congress did what Rossotti did, you would go straight to the slammer."
Besides hilariously overheated rhetoric and little respect for the institutional, or apparently ethical, decorum of the House of Representatives, Traficant also set the standard for couture and hair among national politicians.
Although the denim suits, bell-bottom cuffs and flared lapels stand out in the buttoned-down Congress, it is his hair that sent him completely over the top. He claims that he cuts it with a weed-eater lawn implement. With unruly tufts that stand straight up, mutton-chop sideburns that snarl down the side of his head, and flat spots that seem to move from place to place each day, Traficant's hair sets him apart from the political phonies who dye, weave and rug their hair into office. His hair remains something of a mystery to observers, but one thing is known -- it's real, because no for-profit corporation would make such an abomination for sale.
Originally a drug and alcohol counselor in his native Youngstown, Ohio, he was elected to serve as Mahoning County Sheriff in 1980 and got himself in trouble almost immediately. In keeping with Youngstown's reputation as one of the most systematically corrupt town in the nation, Traficant admitted to taking huge bribes from local mobsters in exchange for protecting their loan-sharking, prostitution, drug dealing and extortion operations.
But serving as his own lawyer -- despite not being an attorney -- he convinced a local jury that it was all part of an elaborate sting he was working against the Mafia and corrupt federal authorities. But he kept the bribes and was forced by the IRS to pay $100,000 in back-taxes on it. He was elected to Congress in 1984, the next year.
The 17th District of Ohio is one of the most strongly Democratic in the nation, with a blue-collar citizenry that adores Traficant's stands against NAFTA, free trade, gun control, the IRS and other steel-belt issues. And despite his profane eccentricity, Traficant was an effective legislator and worked many amendments into bills with bipartisan support. He also passed a bill requiring that the federal government purchase first from American sources.
When the Pentagon waived Traficant's requirement and purchased berets from China, August 1, 2001 saw a classic Traficant one-minute speech on the House floor.
"Mr. Speaker, news reports say the Pentagon is stuck with 600,000 black berets made in China, and the Pentagon is storing these Communist hats in a warehouse in Pennsylvania," he said. "If that is not enough to bust your balloons, the Pentagon is trying to sell these Communist hats to foreign countries; and guess what the Pentagon is hearing from these foreign countries. Why would we buy them? Why would we want our troops to wear hats made in China? Beam me up. The Pentagon just did not waive the Buy American Act, the Pentagon waved Old Glory the wrong way. Mr. Speaker, I suggest that these Chinese berets be made into suppositories and be used on Pentagon brass."
A life-long opponent of gun control, Traficant never limited himself to holding a position if it could be exploited for a minute of comedy on the House floor. On April 25, 2001, he reacted with shock to the news that a new kind of holster for handguns had been invented.
"Madam Speaker, it started with the training bra and then it came to the push-up bra; the support bra, the Wonder bra, the super bra," he said. "There is even a smart bra. Now, if that is not enough to prop up your curiosity, there is now a new bra. It is called the holster bra, the gun bra. That is right, a brassiere to conceal a hidden handgun. Unbelievable. That is next? A maxi-girdle to conceal a stinger missile? Beam me up. I advise all men in America against taking women to drive-in movies who may end up getting shot in a passionate embrace. I yield back all those plain old Maidenform brassieres and chain link pantyhose."
