a perfect metaphor for the republican way of government

This news out of Denver about the royalty-in-kind program of Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) enjoying cash, sex, and drugs provided by the kind folks of Big Oil is kind of funny.

But it is also a perfect metaphor for the Republican Party's approach to governing in the 21st century.

First, the scandal involves Big Oil. You know, Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin's favorite industry. To realize that Big Oil is involved in corrupting American government is akin to realizing that Corn Flakes taste better with milk on them rather than vodka. It's pretty obvious. It's very Republican.

The MMS was a pilot program to make things easier for Big Oil. Okay, whether a good program or not, that's Republican.

The places these companies drill for oil and gas are federal lands; that's Republican.

Officials in charge "steered contracts to favored clients"? That's Republican.

A former big-wig in the MMS, Lucy Querques Denett, is married to Paul Denett, who is the procurement policy administrator at the Office of Management and the Budget in the White House. Cozy family relations? That's Republican.

And the two Denett's will NOT be charged by the Department of Justice for their crimes while lower-level non-political types are being charged? That's quintessentially Republican.