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by boringg 841 days ago
I'd argue that no one stays clean anywhere. Humanity is messy.
1 comments

I don't like when wrong is made to seem tolerable by calling it merely messy.

The world is of course actually messy and not b&w, but that fact doesn't change that.

It's like saying that killing is wrong, but sometimes we still have to kill. Yes we do, and killing is still wrong. If you kill someone, it's not because "humans are messy". Oh humans are just imperfect and sometmes you just kill your neighbor, it just happens, no way to avoid it. If you actually want to get anything done you can't be so aspberger absolutist and figure out how to work WITH the neighbor killers.

My point is the line 'no one stays clean in the beltway' is and very much greater than thou attitude. We all like to rip on k-street and politicos however I don't think tech is on some great white horse that we can speak down on everyone else.
I say "no one stays clean" from 20 years working with lobbyists I believed in and still sincerely think we did some good work.

The corrupting influence of DC can't be avoided. You swim in the cesspool with the gators, you come out covered in crap.

Fair but who do you think funds k-street?