It is tempting to attribute the scandals now enveloping two right wing icons — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — to both men's lack of an ethical compass. Resisting that temptation is necessary if we are to learn a larger lesson about the roots of much political corruption in this country.
The through-line in those headline-grabbing events involves massive wealth, domestic and foreign, seeking to buy power and knowing how to cultivate those who have it as well as those who have had it and might regain it. Simply put, people with great wealth often seek to enlist the powerful to help them keep things as they are.
