Oxy-moron

In Clay County, Kentucky, political corruption has such a rich history that it almost never raises an eyebrow. But with the latest scandal, which saw eight county officials indicted for election tampering and vote fraud, comes a revelation too absurd to ignore. Aside from the cash rewards voters were given for helping keep Clay County’s elite in office, some were being paid in Oxycontin.

The allegations came after one of the arrested, election judge Paul E. Bishop, pleaded guilty to racketeering for his involvement in vote-rigging schemes perpetrated between 2002 and 2007. Bishop admits paying voters $20 apiece for voting as needed, and says he hosted meetings at his home where candidates pooled together bags of cash to distribute to election officials, who saw it got to the right-voting public. When cash didn’t cut it, Bishop, allegedly at the suggestion of the county’s school superintendent, offered Oxycontin, the drug turned Republican-chic by slovenly imbecile Rush Limbaugh.

It’s yet to be seen whether Bishop, who faces 20 years behind bars, will testify against his co-conspirators when they face trial in September, but he is said to be co-operating with federal investigators.

by SCOTT SAXON