The Detroit Free Press broke the story over the weekend concerning multi-year $24 million no-bid contracts issued by the City of Detroit to implement that acme of liberal programs, HEAD START.

An FBI investigation is underway.  Meanwhile, the City  "failed to pay rent at some of its Head Start locations" while at the same time paying "inflated salaries."  Perhaps in an effort to get ahead of this story, Joe Klein (of all people) just wrote an article in TIME recommending that it may be time to reconsider the effectiveness of Head Start this concurrence implies to me that similar corruption is being uncovered in the Head Start programs in other cities. 

We're always told that liberal politicians are "in touch with the people," "attuned to their needs," "taking the pulse of the streets," "community organizing," etc. etc.  "Authentic" liberal Democratic Representative John Conyers is serving his 24^th term in Detroit's congressional district.  John Dingell is serving his 29^th term in a neighboring district.  Sander Levin is serving his 15^th term.  And Carl Levin (Sander's brother) has represented Michigan in the US Senate since 1978. 

This scandal didn't happen overnight. So let's ask a simple question.  After approving the expenditures for Head Start year-after-year, decade-after-decade -- in the name of the poor and downtrodden -- how is it that these long-standing Southeastern Michigan liberals  haven't a clue as to what is actually happening in a federally-funded marquee liberal program in Detroit?  Perhaps their union-endorsed political careers are so enduring precisely because they won't ask any difficult questions.