Yes, you have to love the California GOP. Okay, you don't, I certainly don't, but you have to love that Ron Nehring, one of the GOP's golden boys is, well, not really very smart.
How else to explain that he picked Michael Kamburowski, an Australian immigrant who served as the California Republican Party's chief operating officer, and also served some time as a guest of the State of New York, is an illegal immigrant, isn't an American Citizen and can't vote in an election, but he's the best that Nehring could find to fill the job of COO for the State GOP. And make no mistake, he's Nehring's boy.
The 35-year-old Australian citizen was handpicked for the post by Nehring, who became party chief in February.
Kamburowski is a former registered lobbyist for Americans for Tax Reform and a top operative for the Ronald Reagan Legacy Project, both founded by conservative activist Grover Norquist. Nehring -- also a former senior adviser and consultant to Norquist's Washington, D.C., operation -- worked with Kamburowski at Americans for Tax Reform in the 1990s.
That's Nehring's claim to fame, Grover. Nehring, who as a board member of the Grossmont Union High School District wants to privatize the district, charter schools they euphamize it as, but privatize is what it is, disorganize the district the better to run his cronies and contractor favorites into the public trough being the goal.
Always keep that in mind. That's what they do it for, to perpetuate the Rove machine, the culture of greed and power. At the Left Coaster, the talk is about the predator class, that sounds as good a desription for these creeps as any. I remember the Enron tapes of those guys laughing at Grandma Millie, smiling as they killed. That is the GOP of Rove and Cheney and GE and Exxon et al. Never forget that.
Sure, their incompetence isn't always an advertisement for the evils of government, sometimes it's just the level of their fundamental stupidity coming to the fore. Not only is their Party COO illegal, but their Political Director is a Canadian here on one of those coveted H1B visas. Another American Job outsourced, even as the California GOP rails on and on about those illegals taking our jobs, hell, immigrants in general taking our jobs. But it isn't hypocrisy, because that would require a human belief system, an assumption that government has a role, that unbridled capitalism cannot solve every ill or problem.
Nehring's belief system was instilled into him, one of Karl Roves Little College Republicans thoroughly brainwashed into a good little soldier following orders. Without that crap drilled into Nehring's brain, Nehring would be a nobody of consequence. Instead, ironically enough, that anti government banner he operates under is making him an agent of destruction for the California GOP.
Now, if we can only get him off of the school board...
[update 6/26/07 11:02 pm-As the anonymous commenter so smartly points out, Nehring is not on the Board as of the November election, so, poof, presto, he's off the school board, yee-haw. Now, if we can only get him out of the State of California...]
Showing posts with label GOP ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GOP ethics. Show all posts
Monday, June 25, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
What Corruption looks like
I was reading about Sen Stevens and his upcoming fall from grace over at TPM's Muckraker blog and I wanted to read that article where Stevens said this:
''We invite people we think can afford to put a contribution into the till,'' [Stevens] said, ''and people they want to meet.''
Did he really say that? On the record? This is why the corrupt culture of money and lobbyists is so pernicious, so like arundo is in our local waterways, choking out the natives so it can propagate itself in perpetuity.
Clicking on the hoped for link, though, led me to something else. The sponsors for this fishing "event." Just look at that list of sponsors, for a fishing tournament to save a sportfishing river. Think about this for a moment, if you will. The 3 Generals, GE, GM, GD, Big Oil, Boeing, United Technology, SAIC, Raytheon, Northrup Grumman, quite an impressive list so that a bunch of fat cats can continue to sports fish on their Alaskan River, something beyond the reach of most Americans I'd presume to say.
Compare that group to this group, for Stan Humphries Charity Golf Tournament. It's a pretty big event, proceeds benefit Rady Childrens Hospital, the sponsors are mostly local, lots of service and consumer goods corporate sponsors, but you don't see the Big Oil, Big Military Industrial Complex types, many based in San Diego, on the list of sponsors, do you.
It's this sickening contrast that tells you where the priorities lie, plain as can be. Buy a Senator, the Big Boys show up. Help children, you get just some people who care a little, who at the very least, realize that it is for a "good cause" and well worth the cash they toss at Stan and Childrens Hospital.
Marshall notes that Stevens didn't just suddenly become corrupt, on a whim as it were, no, he's been as vile and un-American as can be for quite some time. And the reporters are just now glomming on to that?
How the hell do you think republicans keep getting elected in this country, because of their good works, their good deeds, their wonderful legislative records? Their generosity and compassion as evidenced by their actions to help out the victims of Katrina?
Nope, it's by having slush funds all over the country, fattened by the policies they push, the tax cuts and business opportunities overseas that mark the ways and means of the Bush Presidency. How they sleep at all escapes me, how they justify their crimes defies me, but someday, somehow, these people are going to get theirs. Ted Stevens is in a race with Doolittle and Lewis for the next gopper thug pol to go down, I'm rooting for a three way tie.
''We invite people we think can afford to put a contribution into the till,'' [Stevens] said, ''and people they want to meet.''
Did he really say that? On the record? This is why the corrupt culture of money and lobbyists is so pernicious, so like arundo is in our local waterways, choking out the natives so it can propagate itself in perpetuity.
Clicking on the hoped for link, though, led me to something else. The sponsors for this fishing "event." Just look at that list of sponsors, for a fishing tournament to save a sportfishing river. Think about this for a moment, if you will. The 3 Generals, GE, GM, GD, Big Oil, Boeing, United Technology, SAIC, Raytheon, Northrup Grumman, quite an impressive list so that a bunch of fat cats can continue to sports fish on their Alaskan River, something beyond the reach of most Americans I'd presume to say.
Compare that group to this group, for Stan Humphries Charity Golf Tournament. It's a pretty big event, proceeds benefit Rady Childrens Hospital, the sponsors are mostly local, lots of service and consumer goods corporate sponsors, but you don't see the Big Oil, Big Military Industrial Complex types, many based in San Diego, on the list of sponsors, do you.
It's this sickening contrast that tells you where the priorities lie, plain as can be. Buy a Senator, the Big Boys show up. Help children, you get just some people who care a little, who at the very least, realize that it is for a "good cause" and well worth the cash they toss at Stan and Childrens Hospital.
Marshall notes that Stevens didn't just suddenly become corrupt, on a whim as it were, no, he's been as vile and un-American as can be for quite some time. And the reporters are just now glomming on to that?
How the hell do you think republicans keep getting elected in this country, because of their good works, their good deeds, their wonderful legislative records? Their generosity and compassion as evidenced by their actions to help out the victims of Katrina?
Nope, it's by having slush funds all over the country, fattened by the policies they push, the tax cuts and business opportunities overseas that mark the ways and means of the Bush Presidency. How they sleep at all escapes me, how they justify their crimes defies me, but someday, somehow, these people are going to get theirs. Ted Stevens is in a race with Doolittle and Lewis for the next gopper thug pol to go down, I'm rooting for a three way tie.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Food
Why are we buying basic food products from China? Food products we produce in this country in large quantities, like wheat gluten?
Citing advice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Nelson said any melamine the fish consume is likely to pass out of their systems in a matter of days, won't accumulate in their bodies, and poses no danger to people who might eat the salmon, which wouldn't be consumed until after returning from the sea years from now.
I trust the FDA, don't you? They would never put politics ahead of food or drug safety, would they? No, not George Bush's FDA. A quote from the first one, read the second link about silicone breast implants, VIOXX and Kessler.
Cause he was being investigated for criminal charges of selling stock of companies he regulated.
Why is the Bush Administration still in office? When every branch they run is corrupt and just a tool for the corporations, run from the top as long and as hard as they can get away with it? Thats what's happening at Justice, that's what's happening at FEMAS or HSD, at the FDA, Interior, Defense, well, I guess Frank Rich wrote about it today too, hopefully somebody has broken the barrier to share.
Citing advice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Nelson said any melamine the fish consume is likely to pass out of their systems in a matter of days, won't accumulate in their bodies, and poses no danger to people who might eat the salmon, which wouldn't be consumed until after returning from the sea years from now.
I trust the FDA, don't you? They would never put politics ahead of food or drug safety, would they? No, not George Bush's FDA. A quote from the first one, read the second link about silicone breast implants, VIOXX and Kessler.
Despite recommendations from FDA and independent scientists that the drug was appropriate for [s]ale OTC, the FDA declined to approve it. Virtually everyone involved knew this was a political pay-off to Bush's right wing conservative base. So the FDA is being sued by the Center for Reproductive Rights. As part of this suit, the CRR's lawyers have been taking depositions of FDA officials. On Thursday it was to be Crawford's turn.
[But on] Wednesday Ms. [Barbara] Van Gelder, who is his personal lawyer, asked for a delay, saying she would instruct him to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.
Cause he was being investigated for criminal charges of selling stock of companies he regulated.
Why is the Bush Administration still in office? When every branch they run is corrupt and just a tool for the corporations, run from the top as long and as hard as they can get away with it? Thats what's happening at Justice, that's what's happening at FEMAS or HSD, at the FDA, Interior, Defense, well, I guess Frank Rich wrote about it today too, hopefully somebody has broken the barrier to share.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Peeling Back the Web of Lies
You never know where an investigation is going to lead you, and this business about the USA's is a classic example of that.
What started out as a series of questions about the firings of a handful of US Attorney's has gotten out of the control of Rover and his team of bankrupt bullies. A bunch of people, including Republicans, have said that if they had told the truth from the beginning this would have all blown over in a week or two. Me, I'm not convinced of that, first of all, if it comes from the right it's a pretty much some flavor of lie, excepting the foma they would never use, second because I don't believe that they could just tell the truth.
Not because they're incapable of truth telling, a not unreasonable conclusion to arrive at, but because there is no acceptable version of the truth to this story that wouldn't have started this ball rolling, once the Democrats regained control of Congress. And why? Because the people they wanted to fire, specifically Carol Lam, were right in the middle of serious investigations that would require explanation from Congress. And telling them they fired her because they wanted to was not, and is not, cutting it.
But they had to fire her, because her road was going to end up in Dick Cheney's office, hell it already has, so they came up with a cover story to obfuscate, confuse, muddy the water is todays term, delay, trivialize, delay, and so on. Even if it costs them the Presidents favorite counselor, Alberto Gonzales, a willing sacrifice no doubt.
Ah, Dick Cheney, can't you just smell the sharp tang of petroleum products in the air at the mere mention of his name? Here's a reminder of what all of the actions of Bush/Cheney really boil down to, a story I don't recall seeing much, Laura Rozen linked it from her article above, but you really should read it to see our government in action. It has all the ingredients, and here's a taste.
And so the US Attorney investigation rumbles on, and now it has Rover in the crosshairs. for violations not directly related to the Purge, 5 million freakin e-mails????? Over 6 years, 50 people would average 45 e-mails every day of the year to write that much stuff. Peel the Bush White House onion and everything turns to ashes, lies and deceit. Everything. That story above, they were ripping off Indian Tribes too, you wonder who was involved in that? We don't need a special prosecutor, we need Elliot Ness to clean out this whole rat's nest of RICO violations. The Democrats need to start impeaching Bush's Patriot Act replacement USA's. They need to start removing Bush's appointees wherever they can, but Justice is the place to start. This simply cannot continue, we can't allow them to run out the clock. And don't think I'm criticizing Congressional Democrats at all, I'm not. I'm just saying what I think they need to do.
The thing that I fear, and you can see the media and rover setting it up, is that when the soulless Gonzales resigns to go back to spending time scrabbling in the dirt he "rose" up from, is that will be the end of these investigations.
Rover is setting up Gonzales, he being the perfect empty vessel following orders from his leaders, as the focus of all things evil in this White House. The media, being at turns complicit, lazy, shallow, insipid, and corporate, will certainly sniff at Gonzales' fall, then search eagerly for the first distraction to toss over his still warm carcass, but will Congress, the Blogs, and the Real Media do the same?
Not if I can help it, me and my legion of readers.
What started out as a series of questions about the firings of a handful of US Attorney's has gotten out of the control of Rover and his team of bankrupt bullies. A bunch of people, including Republicans, have said that if they had told the truth from the beginning this would have all blown over in a week or two. Me, I'm not convinced of that, first of all, if it comes from the right it's a pretty much some flavor of lie, excepting the foma they would never use, second because I don't believe that they could just tell the truth.
Not because they're incapable of truth telling, a not unreasonable conclusion to arrive at, but because there is no acceptable version of the truth to this story that wouldn't have started this ball rolling, once the Democrats regained control of Congress. And why? Because the people they wanted to fire, specifically Carol Lam, were right in the middle of serious investigations that would require explanation from Congress. And telling them they fired her because they wanted to was not, and is not, cutting it.
But they had to fire her, because her road was going to end up in Dick Cheney's office, hell it already has, so they came up with a cover story to obfuscate, confuse, muddy the water is todays term, delay, trivialize, delay, and so on. Even if it costs them the Presidents favorite counselor, Alberto Gonzales, a willing sacrifice no doubt.
Ah, Dick Cheney, can't you just smell the sharp tang of petroleum products in the air at the mere mention of his name? Here's a reminder of what all of the actions of Bush/Cheney really boil down to, a story I don't recall seeing much, Laura Rozen linked it from her article above, but you really should read it to see our government in action. It has all the ingredients, and here's a taste.
"There were statements made: 'Don't bother the oil companies,' " Maxwell told the House Natural Resources Committee, which is investigating allegations of mismanagement in the royalty program run by the Minerals Management Service of the Interior Department.
[snip...]According to Interior Department data, enforcement revenue averaged well over $100 million a year during the 1990s, peaking at more than $331 million in 2000. In the six years since then, enforcement revenue has averaged about $46 million a year.
[snip...]The inspector general estimated that the Interior Department had reduced the number of auditors by 15 percent since 2000 and was completing about 22 percent fewer audits than it had six years earlier.
"It does appear that we're getting ripped off, plain and simple," said Rep Nick Rahall 2nd., a Democrat from West Virginia ...
The Interior Department is under fire for other problems in the royalty program as well. It is struggling without much success to correct leasing mistakes that could allow oil companies to escape $10 billion in royalties over the next decade or so.
And so the US Attorney investigation rumbles on, and now it has Rover in the crosshairs. for violations not directly related to the Purge, 5 million freakin e-mails????? Over 6 years, 50 people would average 45 e-mails every day of the year to write that much stuff. Peel the Bush White House onion and everything turns to ashes, lies and deceit. Everything. That story above, they were ripping off Indian Tribes too, you wonder who was involved in that? We don't need a special prosecutor, we need Elliot Ness to clean out this whole rat's nest of RICO violations. The Democrats need to start impeaching Bush's Patriot Act replacement USA's. They need to start removing Bush's appointees wherever they can, but Justice is the place to start. This simply cannot continue, we can't allow them to run out the clock. And don't think I'm criticizing Congressional Democrats at all, I'm not. I'm just saying what I think they need to do.
The thing that I fear, and you can see the media and rover setting it up, is that when the soulless Gonzales resigns to go back to spending time scrabbling in the dirt he "rose" up from, is that will be the end of these investigations.
Rover is setting up Gonzales, he being the perfect empty vessel following orders from his leaders, as the focus of all things evil in this White House. The media, being at turns complicit, lazy, shallow, insipid, and corporate, will certainly sniff at Gonzales' fall, then search eagerly for the first distraction to toss over his still warm carcass, but will Congress, the Blogs, and the Real Media do the same?
Not if I can help it, me and my legion of readers.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
More US Attorney purge
Yes, I can't get enough of it, and so, dear readers, neither can you!
I just wanted to bring attention to this graph from Glenn Greenwald's piece yesterday. For all the apologists and trolls who think that having a Justice Department that you can't trust to do the right thing regardless of the political party being investigated, explain to me why, if this is a whole lot of nothing, why Gonzales and company can't cooperate with the Congressional investigators? [My highlights]
Just like the Libby trial and conviction, there's nothing here yet because the Administration is hiding, covering-up, and probably destroying, the evidence.
And that tells us why there's no there there, because they don't want us to discover the truth. It's just like the stupid Anna Nicole paternity thing, the guy trying to block the DNA testing did so because he knew he wasn't the father. It's really as simple as that. We all can understand some reluctance to air out dirty laundry on the part of normal people, but this intransigence goes way beyond reluctance. It's part and parcel of how the Bushites operate, and they do it for a reason.
Because their actions are not in the least bit concerned with the interests of the American People, with our Nation, our Laws, our Traditions, or our Founding Principles. It's all about keeping the power they essentially stole and using it to perpetuate their corporate and neo-con and insane fundie wet dreams. Plain and simple.
I just wanted to bring attention to this graph from Glenn Greenwald's piece yesterday. For all the apologists and trolls who think that having a Justice Department that you can't trust to do the right thing regardless of the political party being investigated, explain to me why, if this is a whole lot of nothing, why Gonzales and company can't cooperate with the Congressional investigators? [My highlights]
Much of the evidence is, admittedly, circumstantial, but that is so precisely because we have not yet had full hearings with the key witnesses/culprits and full disclosure of key documents. And the reason the pool of information is still so incomplete is because the White House, cheered on by the national media, has steadfastly refused to reveal what it knows (and what it did), choosing instead to hide behind precarious assertions of "executive privilege."
Just like the Libby trial and conviction, there's nothing here yet because the Administration is hiding, covering-up, and probably destroying, the evidence.
And that tells us why there's no there there, because they don't want us to discover the truth. It's just like the stupid Anna Nicole paternity thing, the guy trying to block the DNA testing did so because he knew he wasn't the father. It's really as simple as that. We all can understand some reluctance to air out dirty laundry on the part of normal people, but this intransigence goes way beyond reluctance. It's part and parcel of how the Bushites operate, and they do it for a reason.
Because their actions are not in the least bit concerned with the interests of the American People, with our Nation, our Laws, our Traditions, or our Founding Principles. It's all about keeping the power they essentially stole and using it to perpetuate their corporate and neo-con and insane fundie wet dreams. Plain and simple.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Issa Trip Exposes WH Irrelevence
[Cross posted at DKos. And all bolds are mine.]
That's really what Darrell Issa has done, and judging by Bush's comments, it's obvious even to him, well, maybe his handlers. Funny, on the same day that Dick Cheney is trotting out that absurd canard about Hussein and al Qaeda being linked in unholy matrimony, Issa is in Damascus saying this:
He told reporters in the Middle East that Bush has failed to promote the dialogue necessary to resolve disagreements between the United States and Syria.
“That's an important message to realize: We have tensions, but we have two functioning embassies,”
As the reporter writes,
Whatever else Issa's trip may have accomplished, it seemed to take what little air was left out of the partisan rage over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's meeting with Assad just a day earlier.
President Bush's sharp criticism of Pelosi for her visit left the White House little room to move when asked about Issa's travels.
Events are leaving Bush behind, his policy of isolating Syria serves no purpose except to make war more likely and peaceful solutions to the chaos in Iraq less likely. Which, as we all know, is the Bush Administration objective, and why they need to be removed from office, as soon as possible, rather than later. When Cheney keeps trotting out his delusion speak to try to wrest the dialogue back to his perverted view of things, and when faithful soldiers like Issa slap Bush policy in the face, you know these guys have lost their standing. Like the chicken dashing about sans head, they just haven't had the reality sink in yet.
Consider this comment from Cheney's interview. He's also said the same thing if the bills are loaded up with pork, on nonessential spending. That would be to veto the supplemental spending bill of course. And by non-essential spending Cheney means funds for the victims of Katrina and FEMA, funds to ameliorate some of the devastating effects of the drought on our farmers, gosh, funds to improve the care and treatment of the Veterans maimed by Cheney's delusion run rampant and Veterans from past service to this nation. Yes, that's mighty non-essential isn't it?
Look, this Administration has been, in actual political reality, wrong or totally inappropriate on everything they've done or decided. Granted that they have done all of these things to perpetuate their clawlike grip on power for their real constituency, Wall Street and the Corporate Boardroom, that world is not the everyday world of people's lives, and those more or less removed from their rovian world are showing some inclination to try to return this country back to reality for the people.
Those most invested in BushCo, like limbaugh or Dobson or Doolittle or Lewis or Hatch will not change, but the tide of history is starting to turn against these lunatics, because what they want to do is not sustainable in the real world. We will see more and more of the Issa's of the country turn against these guys, and not a day to soon.
This business with Syria is a perfect demonstration of the realities, and the criminal values of Bush's "policies" as they play out in that real world. It's absurd, and detrimental, and only serves one purpose, to further their war, and all of the benefits that BushCo derives from that. Money, Power, Junkets, House and Senate Fiefdoms, Radio Talk Show Fiefdoms, did I mention Money and Power? And I don't think a place in heaven with virgins and grapes and what not is a part of what they want for themselves.
That's really what Darrell Issa has done, and judging by Bush's comments, it's obvious even to him, well, maybe his handlers. Funny, on the same day that Dick Cheney is trotting out that absurd canard about Hussein and al Qaeda being linked in unholy matrimony, Issa is in Damascus saying this:
He told reporters in the Middle East that Bush has failed to promote the dialogue necessary to resolve disagreements between the United States and Syria.
“That's an important message to realize: We have tensions, but we have two functioning embassies,”
As the reporter writes,
Whatever else Issa's trip may have accomplished, it seemed to take what little air was left out of the partisan rage over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's meeting with Assad just a day earlier.
President Bush's sharp criticism of Pelosi for her visit left the White House little room to move when asked about Issa's travels.
Events are leaving Bush behind, his policy of isolating Syria serves no purpose except to make war more likely and peaceful solutions to the chaos in Iraq less likely. Which, as we all know, is the Bush Administration objective, and why they need to be removed from office, as soon as possible, rather than later. When Cheney keeps trotting out his delusion speak to try to wrest the dialogue back to his perverted view of things, and when faithful soldiers like Issa slap Bush policy in the face, you know these guys have lost their standing. Like the chicken dashing about sans head, they just haven't had the reality sink in yet.
Consider this comment from Cheney's interview. He's also said the same thing if the bills are loaded up with pork, on nonessential spending. That would be to veto the supplemental spending bill of course. And by non-essential spending Cheney means funds for the victims of Katrina and FEMA, funds to ameliorate some of the devastating effects of the drought on our farmers, gosh, funds to improve the care and treatment of the Veterans maimed by Cheney's delusion run rampant and Veterans from past service to this nation. Yes, that's mighty non-essential isn't it?
Look, this Administration has been, in actual political reality, wrong or totally inappropriate on everything they've done or decided. Granted that they have done all of these things to perpetuate their clawlike grip on power for their real constituency, Wall Street and the Corporate Boardroom, that world is not the everyday world of people's lives, and those more or less removed from their rovian world are showing some inclination to try to return this country back to reality for the people.
Those most invested in BushCo, like limbaugh or Dobson or Doolittle or Lewis or Hatch will not change, but the tide of history is starting to turn against these lunatics, because what they want to do is not sustainable in the real world. We will see more and more of the Issa's of the country turn against these guys, and not a day to soon.
This business with Syria is a perfect demonstration of the realities, and the criminal values of Bush's "policies" as they play out in that real world. It's absurd, and detrimental, and only serves one purpose, to further their war, and all of the benefits that BushCo derives from that. Money, Power, Junkets, House and Senate Fiefdoms, Radio Talk Show Fiefdoms, did I mention Money and Power? And I don't think a place in heaven with virgins and grapes and what not is a part of what they want for themselves.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Senatorial Embarassment
Watched VP Gore tonight talking to the Senate. Inhofe musta made ol BartCop proud with that performance. He truly torpedoed his efforts by being such an asshole about the whole thing, I don't think he earned many points with his folks back in OK with the respectful way he treated the former Vice president and Senator and Academy Award Winner, and if my memory serves me, at least this is what the GOP is always preaching about folks in the heartland, it's that they are respectful of people like former Vice Presidents. Not so Jimmy Inhofe.
Call it what you will, wankery, ignorance, fundy fruitiness, general rudeness, I think it was just an act by a desperate man fronting for his masters, Big Oil and Big Utilities. Because Mr. Gore talked about the one thing that can truly get us off of the oil monkey, truly impact global warming, really move in a way that makes us all part of the solution not the problem, that empowers Americans in ways the GOP can't really internalize (to use a phrase from Mr. Gore today) at all.
Distributed energy production. Instead of one big power plant we all shackle ourselves to, Gore thinks we need to have distributed power, and guess who loses in that scenario? Corporations, that's right. And thus we get that ridiculous performance by Inhofe. He's not crazy, he's not even that stupid (yeah, I know, he is that stupid, but a different kind of stupid bred out of greed and fear and personal cowardice), but in reality he's just a tool of the money that doesn't want anything that gives power to the people, literally in this case, at their expense.
You want to get back at those guys? Buy something solar powered, get a little wind generator for the backyard, something that moves you towards distributed power and away from centralization and the attractive colors of its lures, away from those fur lined handcuffs dangling before you courtesy of Springfield Power, away from the tempting Power Company Marlboro Man.
That's what they fear, and that's why they seek to destroy Al Gore, environmentalists, why they attack the very notion of global warming. Why, it's the same strategy they used when Kerry said that nice thing about Cheney's lesbian daughter, attack since the contradictions exposed by Democrats would fracture the GOP coalition of the insane and the insatiable.
It's the same strategy they use for everything they do, the war, US Attorneys, Aids, Global Warmng, Cafe standards, you name it, attack so you won't look at the reality and fracture their untenable coalition of the insane and the insatiable. I repeat that coz it sounds kinda catchy!
Call it what you will, wankery, ignorance, fundy fruitiness, general rudeness, I think it was just an act by a desperate man fronting for his masters, Big Oil and Big Utilities. Because Mr. Gore talked about the one thing that can truly get us off of the oil monkey, truly impact global warming, really move in a way that makes us all part of the solution not the problem, that empowers Americans in ways the GOP can't really internalize (to use a phrase from Mr. Gore today) at all.
Distributed energy production. Instead of one big power plant we all shackle ourselves to, Gore thinks we need to have distributed power, and guess who loses in that scenario? Corporations, that's right. And thus we get that ridiculous performance by Inhofe. He's not crazy, he's not even that stupid (yeah, I know, he is that stupid, but a different kind of stupid bred out of greed and fear and personal cowardice), but in reality he's just a tool of the money that doesn't want anything that gives power to the people, literally in this case, at their expense.
You want to get back at those guys? Buy something solar powered, get a little wind generator for the backyard, something that moves you towards distributed power and away from centralization and the attractive colors of its lures, away from those fur lined handcuffs dangling before you courtesy of Springfield Power, away from the tempting Power Company Marlboro Man.
That's what they fear, and that's why they seek to destroy Al Gore, environmentalists, why they attack the very notion of global warming. Why, it's the same strategy they used when Kerry said that nice thing about Cheney's lesbian daughter, attack since the contradictions exposed by Democrats would fracture the GOP coalition of the insane and the insatiable.
It's the same strategy they use for everything they do, the war, US Attorneys, Aids, Global Warmng, Cafe standards, you name it, attack so you won't look at the reality and fracture their untenable coalition of the insane and the insatiable. I repeat that coz it sounds kinda catchy!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Attorney's and Corruption
Paul Krugman raises a good question, and i was very happy to hear Chuck Schumer make the same point today during the Judiciary Committee hearing. What about the ones not fired? For instance,
[T]he subpoenas that Chris Christie, the former Bush “Pioneer” who is now the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, issued two months before the 2006 election — and the way news of the subpoenas was quickly leaked to local news media.
The subpoenas were issued in connection with allegations of corruption on the part of Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who seemed to be facing a close race at the time. Those allegations appeared, on their face, to be convoluted and unconvincing, and Mr. Menendez claimed that both the investigation and the leaks were politically motivated.
Then there's this piece from New Mexico regarding a local Democratic scandal involving courthouse construction. Here's the key line in the article, after all the Rove involvement is discussed: The courthouse controversy has yet to yield indictments.
We've all heard about this study that out of 375 investigations, 298 involved Democrats. Seeing as how there's some rough parity of elected officials party affiliation across the country, you would figure the numbers would be more like 200 GOP and 150 Dem and the rest others, but then you wouldn't be thinking about who's involved here. Karl Rove, Mr politics is policy.
I have to hand it to the committee today, Schumer made that point, Feinstein made some good points about the obvious politization involved here, and she countered when that jackass Kyl threw in the Clinton fired all 93 US Attorney's canard. And I have to question that based on this article from Minnesota Public Radio, (my bolds) to wit:
Tom Heffelfinger resigned his post as U.S. attorney in Minneapolis last February. He had served two stints -- the first from September 1991 to April 1993, and then again from September 2001 to February 2006. President Clinton took office in January of 1993, so there's one USA he didn't fire, it would appear. I'll bet there's others who they asked for and received resignations from, but who then stayed for a while until replacements were found. After 12 years of Reagan and Bush you know damn well they needed replacing by Democrats, that's just too long for one party to control their positions, especially given the corruption and cronyism, a pale spectre of Bush/Cheney's but present nonetheless, of Reagan and his Spymaster Bush.
Somebody at TPM Muckraker said that Abu would resign and that would be the end of it. But I say no. Perjury is a felony regardless of your employment status, and there are too many threads of corruption running around this issue to be satisfied by the scalp of that wretched little man Gonzales. Not that he's ever going to talk, he knows what would happen to him if he did, there'd be no spider hole deep enough for him to hide in, but putting the squeeze on him and his wretched flunkies is bound to achieve results. Hey, it worked for Khalid Sheik Mohammed, right, it oughta work for Abu G.
[T]he subpoenas that Chris Christie, the former Bush “Pioneer” who is now the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, issued two months before the 2006 election — and the way news of the subpoenas was quickly leaked to local news media.
The subpoenas were issued in connection with allegations of corruption on the part of Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat who seemed to be facing a close race at the time. Those allegations appeared, on their face, to be convoluted and unconvincing, and Mr. Menendez claimed that both the investigation and the leaks were politically motivated.
Then there's this piece from New Mexico regarding a local Democratic scandal involving courthouse construction. Here's the key line in the article, after all the Rove involvement is discussed: The courthouse controversy has yet to yield indictments.
We've all heard about this study that out of 375 investigations, 298 involved Democrats. Seeing as how there's some rough parity of elected officials party affiliation across the country, you would figure the numbers would be more like 200 GOP and 150 Dem and the rest others, but then you wouldn't be thinking about who's involved here. Karl Rove, Mr politics is policy.
I have to hand it to the committee today, Schumer made that point, Feinstein made some good points about the obvious politization involved here, and she countered when that jackass Kyl threw in the Clinton fired all 93 US Attorney's canard. And I have to question that based on this article from Minnesota Public Radio, (my bolds) to wit:
Tom Heffelfinger resigned his post as U.S. attorney in Minneapolis last February. He had served two stints -- the first from September 1991 to April 1993, and then again from September 2001 to February 2006. President Clinton took office in January of 1993, so there's one USA he didn't fire, it would appear. I'll bet there's others who they asked for and received resignations from, but who then stayed for a while until replacements were found. After 12 years of Reagan and Bush you know damn well they needed replacing by Democrats, that's just too long for one party to control their positions, especially given the corruption and cronyism, a pale spectre of Bush/Cheney's but present nonetheless, of Reagan and his Spymaster Bush.
Somebody at TPM Muckraker said that Abu would resign and that would be the end of it. But I say no. Perjury is a felony regardless of your employment status, and there are too many threads of corruption running around this issue to be satisfied by the scalp of that wretched little man Gonzales. Not that he's ever going to talk, he knows what would happen to him if he did, there'd be no spider hole deep enough for him to hide in, but putting the squeeze on him and his wretched flunkies is bound to achieve results. Hey, it worked for Khalid Sheik Mohammed, right, it oughta work for Abu G.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
What is a Republican
As this newest article from Anne Hull and Dana Priest details, the conditions at Walter Reed should come as a surprise to no one. Yet just like Condi and her big "nobody imagined they would hijack an airplane and crash it into a building" lie, there are some who are shocked at these developments.
But what's important to see in all of this isn't fixing the problems at Walter Reed, that's the detail that gets us lost in the symptoms without diagnosing the disease. No, the thing that reveals all is the response of the Republican, Rep Young, R-FL-10 in this case.
Faced with a problem, and in a position to actually correct the problem, as Steve Soto notes, the POS RAN AWAY [My highlights]
Cheney hides in his hole, Bush hid in Air Force One, Young went somewhere because he was made uncomfortable, as opposed to the soldier laying in a pool of urine, or the families stranded at the Superdome while Brownie diddled himself and Condi shopped for shoes and Bush played guitar and golfed.
This is what Republicans do. They see a problem and they calculate it's impact on themselves, how they can benefit from it, what implication it might have for their long term dream of a modernized Dickensian world run by the corporate boardrooms.
Democrats try to fix the problem.
Whether they're capable or resolute or organized enough to do it is a different matter altogether, but that is in general what they try to do.
So tell me again, who would you prefer having run the government, selfish bastards who punish wounded soldiers for expecting their self professed troop loving republican government to actually follow through on their claims, or Democrats who actually proposed and passed these programs in the first place, and who truly do want to help people, the downtrodden and the weak and the insecure?
But what's important to see in all of this isn't fixing the problems at Walter Reed, that's the detail that gets us lost in the symptoms without diagnosing the disease. No, the thing that reveals all is the response of the Republican, Rep Young, R-FL-10 in this case.
Faced with a problem, and in a position to actually correct the problem, as Steve Soto notes, the POS RAN AWAY [My highlights]
Young said he voiced concerns to commanders over troubling incidents he witnessed but was rebuffed or ignored. "When Bev or I would bring problems to the attention of authorities of Walter Reed, we were made to feel very uncomfortable," said Young, who began visiting the wounded recuperating at other facilities.
Cheney hides in his hole, Bush hid in Air Force One, Young went somewhere because he was made uncomfortable, as opposed to the soldier laying in a pool of urine, or the families stranded at the Superdome while Brownie diddled himself and Condi shopped for shoes and Bush played guitar and golfed.
This is what Republicans do. They see a problem and they calculate it's impact on themselves, how they can benefit from it, what implication it might have for their long term dream of a modernized Dickensian world run by the corporate boardrooms.
Democrats try to fix the problem.
Whether they're capable or resolute or organized enough to do it is a different matter altogether, but that is in general what they try to do.
So tell me again, who would you prefer having run the government, selfish bastards who punish wounded soldiers for expecting their self professed troop loving republican government to actually follow through on their claims, or Democrats who actually proposed and passed these programs in the first place, and who truly do want to help people, the downtrodden and the weak and the insecure?
Monday, February 19, 2007
Words to consider
Digby has this great post that compares gop words and actions, you've all probably read it, or you should, but I think you need to ask your congresspeople about it, especially if they're republicans. I think I'll send a letter to presidential wannabe Duncan Hunter and ask him what he thinks about it, he's a veteran, does he see any incongruity in the issue?
And maybe I'll ask him about the healthcare treatment of our Iraq war veterans, see what he says about that. The two issues are somewhat bound to each other. If I get a response, I'll let you all know!
And maybe I'll ask him about the healthcare treatment of our Iraq war veterans, see what he says about that. The two issues are somewhat bound to each other. If I get a response, I'll let you all know!
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
US Attorney Update-Can't Tell Ya
It's always amusing when a White House official explains one of their decisions. In this case I'm refering to the recent spate of US Attorney firings. Now, check out this explanation and let me know if it makes sense, please. My bolds.
All the elements are there. Denial of the obvious, fired without cause, and remember, they've admitted that some of the changes were simply to give other people that notch on their resume, er, I mean, that experience, and the always popular, "I can't tell you, it's secret and would restrict the decision making ability and unfettered advice component required for the duly and proper exercise of the President's power to decide what's right for America."
Let's hope Sen. Feinstein pushes this issue.
A top Justice Department official acknowledged Tuesday that more than a half-dozen U.S. attorneys were fired in the last year, in some cases without cause, but denied Democrats' allegations that they were dismissed and replaced for political reasons.
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty defended the department's firing of seven U.S. attorneys since March, for reasons he would not divulge.
All the elements are there. Denial of the obvious, fired without cause, and remember, they've admitted that some of the changes were simply to give other people that notch on their resume, er, I mean, that experience, and the always popular, "I can't tell you, it's secret and would restrict the decision making ability and unfettered advice component required for the duly and proper exercise of the President's power to decide what's right for America."
Let's hope Sen. Feinstein pushes this issue.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
American Empire
There are those people like Dick Cheney who want to dominate the world and its resources for their own benefit and comfort, who do it in the mistaken notion that this serves America best, that our way of life requires that protection. This from the self styled feckless punditry described "Daddy" party types. Yet I reject that notion for many reasons.
America does not want to rule the world, we never have, and that was not what led to the foundation of this nation by those revolutionary rebels of 1776. And not these supposed ones, not even these discussed by Joe Trippi, although I must note this part of his discussion: (as always, my highlights thruout)
Even on our own continent we claimed concern for those outside our boundaries, as evidenced by this ordinance which said:
The application of which fell tragically and shamefully far short, and I blame those who did not respect the law and the founding principles of the nation for much of that, plus ignorance and bigotry of course.
And I can't leave that ordinance without noting this:
Art. 2. The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus,
Read the histories about WWI or WWII, read what the men on the ground would say, it becomes redily apparent that they're there to help, esp II, but that these fights are not really their business, and best left behind as soon as possible. Except for Japan because of their attack on Pearl.
No, I reject the greed and cowardice of Dick Cheney and, quoting Carlos Fuentes, "Junior, a totally clueless man, a ventriloquist's dummy" who believe America so weak and fragile and vulnerable that her only salvation is to establish this garbage as our founding principles:
We want to keep on keepin on, to live and let live, and enjoy the fruits of our labor, enjoy our families, our National Parks, our hobbies and passions. Yet the government we have today doesn't believe that, is threatened by such notions, scared that, basically, the American People aren't up to the challenges of the global economy, that we're weak and soft. They protect us from ourselves, which I always thought was the charge against the "Mommy Party" yet assumed by the "Daddy Party," and I have to think it's really only a reflection oftheir own insecurity and inadequecy, and I am sick of this country being run by a bunch of gutless cowards, and I welcome all the suffering and slings and arrows they suffer at the hands of bloggers and Democrats in Congress.
It's time for a change in America. The People need to regain their Sovereignty. Marches start on Jan 27th in a place near you. Check it out.
America does not want to rule the world, we never have, and that was not what led to the foundation of this nation by those revolutionary rebels of 1776. And not these supposed ones, not even these discussed by Joe Trippi, although I must note this part of his discussion: (as always, my highlights thruout)
Gary Hart, ... wrote that to Thomas Jefferson “The most effective protection of individual rights, civil, legal, and political was widespread democratic participation in the affairs of governance. The greatest danger to rights was citizen detachment and in the political resolution of public concerns by interested forces dominating a remote central government.”
The Republicans have diagnosed the problem of a remote central government in Washington and rallied against it— offering no real alternative other than to dismantle it.
Even on our own continent we claimed concern for those outside our boundaries, as evidenced by this ordinance which said:
The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights, and liberty they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall, from time to time be made, for preventing wrongs being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
The application of which fell tragically and shamefully far short, and I blame those who did not respect the law and the founding principles of the nation for much of that, plus ignorance and bigotry of course.
And I can't leave that ordinance without noting this:
Art. 2. The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus,
Read the histories about WWI or WWII, read what the men on the ground would say, it becomes redily apparent that they're there to help, esp II, but that these fights are not really their business, and best left behind as soon as possible. Except for Japan because of their attack on Pearl.
No, I reject the greed and cowardice of Dick Cheney and, quoting Carlos Fuentes, "Junior, a totally clueless man, a ventriloquist's dummy" who believe America so weak and fragile and vulnerable that her only salvation is to establish this garbage as our founding principles:
The history of the 20th century should have taught us that it is important to shape circumstances before crises emerge, and to meet threats before they become dire. The history of this century should have taught us to embrace the cause of American leadership.
Our aim is to remind Americans of these lessons and to draw their consequences for today. Here are four consequences:
• we need to increase defense spending significantly if we are to carry out our global responsibilities today and modernize our armed forces for the future;
• we need to strengthen our ties to democratic allies and to challenge regimes hostile to our interests and values;
• we need to promote the cause of political and economic freedom abroad;
• we need to accept responsibility for America's unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles.
We want to keep on keepin on, to live and let live, and enjoy the fruits of our labor, enjoy our families, our National Parks, our hobbies and passions. Yet the government we have today doesn't believe that, is threatened by such notions, scared that, basically, the American People aren't up to the challenges of the global economy, that we're weak and soft. They protect us from ourselves, which I always thought was the charge against the "Mommy Party" yet assumed by the "Daddy Party," and I have to think it's really only a reflection oftheir own insecurity and inadequecy, and I am sick of this country being run by a bunch of gutless cowards, and I welcome all the suffering and slings and arrows they suffer at the hands of bloggers and Democrats in Congress.
It's time for a change in America. The People need to regain their Sovereignty. Marches start on Jan 27th in a place near you. Check it out.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
The Pardon Legacy-Bush II
Good to see everybody has their thinking caps on!
I couldn't help but think as CNBC was extolling Ford and his legacy, how putting the long national nightmare (Nixon presidency? Nixon political career? The two years we'd had of Watergate as opposed to, oh, I don't know, ten years of death and destruction in Vietnam?) behind us only served to cover up the bleeding sore of republican malfeasance, and of course, allowed it to continue to happen.
It happened during Reagan, it happened during Bush I,
It happened during the Gopper Congressional Interregnum, it certainly happened during Bush II.
So who did benefit from the pardon, exactly?
Nixon's pardon, no matter how decent the media tells us Gerald Ford was, and they'll be telling us that for a good week, but that pardon was just a cover-up, and a continuation of the business as usual that marks the parasitic relationship of the MSM and the wholly owned corporation called the Republican Party.
If Nixon had really gone to trial, all sorts or corporate "business" was in danger of being exposed during the trial and investigation, and that could not be tolerated by the Corpse, even the risk, however unrelated to Watergate and Nixon's paranoid actions, that they might be exposed in the process. And with vermin like Cheney and Rum Drunk and Bush I right in the middle of the Nixon Administration, there were plenty of people who would benefit from a pardon in the long run.
Not the American People, mind you, but the Beltway crowd, the K streeters, the Gopper insiders, the Wall Street fat cats. And benefit they have, thanks in no small measure to Ford's pardon of Nixon. So sleep well, Gerald Ford, sleep well.
I couldn't help but think as CNBC was extolling Ford and his legacy, how putting the long national nightmare (Nixon presidency? Nixon political career? The two years we'd had of Watergate as opposed to, oh, I don't know, ten years of death and destruction in Vietnam?) behind us only served to cover up the bleeding sore of republican malfeasance, and of course, allowed it to continue to happen.
It happened during Reagan, it happened during Bush I,
Bush also deftly handled the S&L scandal, signing a bill to bail out countless fraudulent Texan savings and loan corporations, including (at a cost of $1 billion) Silverado S&L, whose board, led by brother Neil, loaned Neil's partners in JNB Exploration $132 million, which they never repaid. George denied any connection, just as he claimed to have no idea that Manuel Noriega, whom he met as early as 1976 (the year that Noriega began receiving $110,000/year from the CIA) was involved in illicit drug dealing...
It happened during the Gopper Congressional Interregnum, it certainly happened during Bush II.
So who did benefit from the pardon, exactly?
Nixon's pardon, no matter how decent the media tells us Gerald Ford was, and they'll be telling us that for a good week, but that pardon was just a cover-up, and a continuation of the business as usual that marks the parasitic relationship of the MSM and the wholly owned corporation called the Republican Party.
If Nixon had really gone to trial, all sorts or corporate "business" was in danger of being exposed during the trial and investigation, and that could not be tolerated by the Corpse, even the risk, however unrelated to Watergate and Nixon's paranoid actions, that they might be exposed in the process. And with vermin like Cheney and Rum Drunk and Bush I right in the middle of the Nixon Administration, there were plenty of people who would benefit from a pardon in the long run.
Not the American People, mind you, but the Beltway crowd, the K streeters, the Gopper insiders, the Wall Street fat cats. And benefit they have, thanks in no small measure to Ford's pardon of Nixon. So sleep well, Gerald Ford, sleep well.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
They Don't Work So Hard For Our Money
TPM has this piece, okay, I saw it there first, but heard it on the AAR radio driving to work, Stacy Taylor riffing a little rant on the outrageous notion that Congress should work for their money, including this offhand comment, which I think is a great idea.
Show them your pay stubs, appropriately blacked out, show Congress how much we work, and how those hours are part of the sacrifice we pay to keep a roof over our beds, and food on our tables, and sanity in our heads. Send it not just to Congressman Kingston, the Vice Chair of the Republican Conference, here, but to your local Rep and Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi.
Congressmen sometimes have a hard time relating to the nuts and bolts of reality, and it would serve them well to see what it is we have to put up with in order to carve out some kind of living in this wonderful free market world the GOP has shoved down our throats.
I see this as a learning opportunity. Show them your hours, then maybe lay out a typical week or day, and ask them why it has to be this way for working Americans, people who don't lie and cheat, who don't live in some fantasy land where opportunity is there for the picking, where everybody was on the school newspaper or the football team or has some wonderful talent that makes them marketable. We have to be marketable or else we aren't worth a damn you know.
And I find that to be unacceptable.
Show them your pay stubs, appropriately blacked out, show Congress how much we work, and how those hours are part of the sacrifice we pay to keep a roof over our beds, and food on our tables, and sanity in our heads. Send it not just to Congressman Kingston, the Vice Chair of the Republican Conference, here, but to your local Rep and Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi.
Congressmen sometimes have a hard time relating to the nuts and bolts of reality, and it would serve them well to see what it is we have to put up with in order to carve out some kind of living in this wonderful free market world the GOP has shoved down our throats.
I see this as a learning opportunity. Show them your hours, then maybe lay out a typical week or day, and ask them why it has to be this way for working Americans, people who don't lie and cheat, who don't live in some fantasy land where opportunity is there for the picking, where everybody was on the school newspaper or the football team or has some wonderful talent that makes them marketable. We have to be marketable or else we aren't worth a damn you know.
And I find that to be unacceptable.
Friday, November 24, 2006
What the Republicans Should Do
Ahh, how delicious is this? The NewsHour had a story tonight about those disappearing GOP moderates, featuring Mike DeWine-OH, Nancy Johnson-CT, Paul Bass-NH, and Jim Leach-IA.
Leach in particular bothered me the most, downcast eyes as he lamented the loss of comity, and along with the others, the increase in the polarization of our politics. Well Jim, I'm pretty sure you need only look at your party for that loss, as it was the thuggery of Lee Atwater, and the gang of cutthroats born of Nixon, and fathered by Reagan, that started the GOP down that road.
It wasn't the stupid Democrats that started this particular brand of polarization, no it was the GOP and their immaturity and greed that turned the key, an immaturity that was unable to grasp the reality of hardball politcs and conflated it into some sort of persecution complex, a persecution that could only be explained as an attack against their essence, which strengthened the bonds of their groupthink, which built The Wall(sans responsibility and thus redemption, George...George?) to protect them against further attack. Remember Gingrich whining about how President Clinton made him get off the back of Air Force One, and the vanity that led to the disastrous government shutdown? Disastrous for the GOP anyway.
Well, there was Jim Leach, moderate, respected, reasonable even, bemoaning his fate, the loss of a "center" in the body politic, and all I could offer him was, well gee, Jim, whose fault was that?
The hapless Democrats rolling over for "Bankruptcy Protection," "Repealing the Death Tax," "Class Action Reform?" Was it their fault, Jim? Did Minority Leader Daschle campaign for the defeat of the guy he would need to work with in the Senate, Majority Leader Frist? No, Jim, that was Frist doing that unprecedented act. Was that John Conyers banishing James Sensenbrenner to a dank basement to hold a hearing, then barging in after it had started and unceremoniously gaveling it to a close? Nope again, that was James in action. Was it Democrats who called the Capital Police out to break up a Bill Thomas meeting? Gosh no, that was cryin Bill calling the cops out.
You want comity Jim, you should have worked for it, instead of saying and doing nothing about it while the GOP systematically conducted an 8 year witch hunt against the Clinton Administration, and completely shut out the Democratic Party from any legislative role in the House, and disenfranchising half the country in the process. That would have been the time to speak up Jim, not now, after you've been shown the door.
If Republicans like Leach and Shays and Snowe and Specter had embraced the principles they claim to have, instead of embracing the delusions and stupidity and greed of Bush and Cheney and Rove and Robertson, then maybe, just maybe, I could feel some sympathy for Jim Leach. But really, I can't. You want comity Jim? Purge your party of hatemongers like Marilyn Musgrave, crooks like Jerry Lewis, amoral dirtbags like Karl Rove, greedy, grasping, selfish men like Newt Gingrich, criminally insane men like Rick Santorum and both of OK's Senators.
Don't come crying to me Jim, I'm busy looking for a bigger anvil to toss.
Leach in particular bothered me the most, downcast eyes as he lamented the loss of comity, and along with the others, the increase in the polarization of our politics. Well Jim, I'm pretty sure you need only look at your party for that loss, as it was the thuggery of Lee Atwater, and the gang of cutthroats born of Nixon, and fathered by Reagan, that started the GOP down that road.
It wasn't the stupid Democrats that started this particular brand of polarization, no it was the GOP and their immaturity and greed that turned the key, an immaturity that was unable to grasp the reality of hardball politcs and conflated it into some sort of persecution complex, a persecution that could only be explained as an attack against their essence, which strengthened the bonds of their groupthink, which built The Wall(sans responsibility and thus redemption, George...George?) to protect them against further attack. Remember Gingrich whining about how President Clinton made him get off the back of Air Force One, and the vanity that led to the disastrous government shutdown? Disastrous for the GOP anyway.
Well, there was Jim Leach, moderate, respected, reasonable even, bemoaning his fate, the loss of a "center" in the body politic, and all I could offer him was, well gee, Jim, whose fault was that?
The hapless Democrats rolling over for "Bankruptcy Protection," "Repealing the Death Tax," "Class Action Reform?" Was it their fault, Jim? Did Minority Leader Daschle campaign for the defeat of the guy he would need to work with in the Senate, Majority Leader Frist? No, Jim, that was Frist doing that unprecedented act. Was that John Conyers banishing James Sensenbrenner to a dank basement to hold a hearing, then barging in after it had started and unceremoniously gaveling it to a close? Nope again, that was James in action. Was it Democrats who called the Capital Police out to break up a Bill Thomas meeting? Gosh no, that was cryin Bill calling the cops out.
You want comity Jim, you should have worked for it, instead of saying and doing nothing about it while the GOP systematically conducted an 8 year witch hunt against the Clinton Administration, and completely shut out the Democratic Party from any legislative role in the House, and disenfranchising half the country in the process. That would have been the time to speak up Jim, not now, after you've been shown the door.
If Republicans like Leach and Shays and Snowe and Specter had embraced the principles they claim to have, instead of embracing the delusions and stupidity and greed of Bush and Cheney and Rove and Robertson, then maybe, just maybe, I could feel some sympathy for Jim Leach. But really, I can't. You want comity Jim? Purge your party of hatemongers like Marilyn Musgrave, crooks like Jerry Lewis, amoral dirtbags like Karl Rove, greedy, grasping, selfish men like Newt Gingrich, criminally insane men like Rick Santorum and both of OK's Senators.
Don't come crying to me Jim, I'm busy looking for a bigger anvil to toss.
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