For all the criticism tough love I showed House Speaker Frank Chopp during the final weeks of the legislative session, at least the Democratic caucus isn’t totally and irreparably dysfunctional. From the Seattle P-I:
Sen. Pam Roach has been forbidden from dealing directly with Republican caucus staff because GOP leaders say she has created a hostile work environment.
In a letter sent to the Auburn Republican last week, Senate Republican leaders say Roach has shown a lack of boundaries with caucus staff, including making them listen to her recount “past perceived slights” by lawmakers, lobbyists and party leaders.
The letter says Roach asks staff to state that their loyalties lie with her and are subject to treatment that violates the Senate’s prohibition on creating an “intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.”
All contact with caucus staff must be between Roach’s legislative assistant and staff, and Roach must not contact caucus staff “in person, via phone, e-mail or through any other means,” according to the letter.
Roach was traveling in Honduras and could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but on Monday evening she sent out an e-mail blasting the leadership and saying she was being targeted for criticizing the caucus’s plan to recruit new members.
And man, what an email that was. In a fisking worthy of Effin’ Unsound, the News Tribune’s Niki Sullivan reprints the press release-ish email, adding her own emphasis and thoughtful interjections. As for Roach, her email earns the appellation of “instant classic” in what was already a vast and impressive oeuvre of id-inspired nuttery. My favorite excerpt…?
Minority Leader Mike Hewitt (R-Walla Walla) has verbally abused members in caucus, and has bent and exposed his backside to a female senator while screaming at her during a caucus meeting.
“He is a desperate man with personal problems,” said Roach.
And you can trust Roach on this, because when it comes to desperate personal problems, she’s an expert.
But there was one other section of Roach’s email that particularly stood out to me, the one in which she mentioned the late State Senator (and infamous sexual hypocrite) Jim West:
“Five years ago, Hewitt joined then leader Jim West, in attacking me fearing I would go public with questionable e-mails that were uncovered. They fired my aide who discovered and reported them, then Hewitt joined West in a campaign to silence me with smear and intimidation tactics.”
Roach was exonerated.“Now Hewitt, with his own closet full of skeletons, is resorting to the same tactics of intimidation and harassment,” said Roach.
Back in 2005, two independent sources suggested to me that it was Roach who originally tipped off the Spokesman-Review to West’s personal indiscretions, something folks at the S-R denied. But… well… you gotta wonder….
As I recall, her son’s Parole Officer had to obtain a restraing order against her. Since she is packing heat most of the time, discretion should be the order of the day for everybody when dealing with this batshit crazy loon.
ratcity @1,
Yeah… I almost titled this post: “Pammy Get Your Gun”
The GOP’s disciplinary action against Roach sounds so … so … so … DEMOCRATIC!!!
A GOP House member mooning, of all people, Sen. Roach?!! Now THAT sounds … REPUBLICAN!!!
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR … don’t you just love it when Republicans eat each other for breakfast? !!!!!!!!!!
This bitch is just a train wreck and very indicative of how the GOP is totally screwed up.
Republicans, it seems, have a lot of PECCADILLOES —- and that ain’t no armored rat from Texas!
Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) thinks it’s time to liquidate the bankrupt enterprise which is the Republican Party and start from scratch:
“OMAHA, Neb. (March 20) – U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel writes in a new book that the United States needs … another political party, while suggesting the Iraq war might be remembered as one of the … biggest blunders in history.
“‘In the current impasse, an independent candidate for the presidency, or a bipartisan unity ticket … could be appealing to Americans,’ Hagel writes in ‘America: Our Next Chapter,’ due in stores Tuesday. …
“Hagel said … his standing as a Republican has been called into question because of his opposition to what he deems ‘a reckless foreign policy ….’
“The Vietnam veteran said he had hoped the lessons from that war would give the nation’s leaders perspective before troops were sent to Iraq. ‘To the astonishment of those of us who lived through the agony of Vietnam, these lessons were ignored …,’ he writes. …
“During visits to the Middle East in December 2002, Hagel said, Israel’s top security officials asked, ‘Do you really understand what you are getting yourselves into?’
“Hagel said Bush personally assured him that he would exhaust diplomatic avenues before committing troops to Iraq. The senator said he voted for the war resolution based on those assurances, but regrets the vote because it’s now clear that lawmakers were presented with lies and wishful thinking.”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://news.aol.com/story/_a/s.....5309990001
A companion story notes Chimp’s popularity has sunk to a new low:
“WASHINGTON (March 20) – Five years after he green-lighted the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, President Bush faced strikingly low approval ratings ….
“Just 31 percent of Americans approve of how President Bush is handling his job, according to a poll released Wednesday …. Sixty-seven percent … disapprove of the president’s performance.
“The 31 percent … is a new low for Bush in CNN polling and is 40 points lower than … at the start of the Iraq war. ‘ … [T]hat 40-point drop is almost identical to the drop President Lyndon Johnson faced during the Vietnam War,’ CNN polling director Keating Holland said. …
“During a speech at the Pentagon Wednesday, the president called the debate over Iraq ‘understandable’ but insisted …[,] ‘Defeating this enemy in Iraq will make it less likely we will face this enemy here at home’ ….”
Not far away from the Pentagon, where the president was speaking, … anti-war protesters … including many veterans, demanded the arrests of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ….”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://news.aol.com/story/_a/b.....4509990001
Roger Rabbit Commentary: So now Bush thinks the debate over his ill-advised, ill-fated, and feckless policies is “understandable”? What speechwriter fed him that line? They must have new hires working in the White House press office, because for the last 5 years the administration has considered anyone who wanted to debate the policy as unpatriotic, a traitor, and an ally of Osama bin Laden. Meanwhile, the toilet keeps flushing …
The state GOP legislative caucus muzzles Pam Roach like a snarling dog … a GOP U.S. Senator calls for a new party … Bush’s popularity skids to a new low … quite a news day already and it’s barely noon yet!
Looks like we’re all going to be busy on HA today.
I wonder if we could get a group rate from a psychiatrist if we offer to let him examine Roach, crackpiper, and pudwhacker together? They all exhibit similar symptoms, so maybe a group diagnosis could handle the problem, and they could all take the same pills … we’ll need to order 3 straitjackets, though. There’ll probably be an extra charge for that.
Loooong overdue!!! What gets me is why the voter’s in her district keep sending her back.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/2.....topstories
Finally someone who sees we really are in a recession and it will only get worse!
Oh, sure…. Blame Bush for everything. That’s like blaming the general for losing the battle.”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””Nevermind…
On the economic front, oil prices continue to fall as the economy weakens further:
“Oil Falls on Economy Worries
“By JOHN WILEN,AP
“NEW YORK (AP) – Oil futures extended their declines Thursday … as concerns about the economy and demand for oil grew ….
“For a second day, the oil market appeared focused on the economy and oil’s underlying supply and demand fundamentals ….
“However, some analysts said oil’s price swoon may not last for long; most … expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates several more times …, moves that are sure to put new pressure on the dollar.
“Lower interest rates … weaken the dollar, driving investors to commodities such as oil that they view as a hedge against inflation. A lower dollar also makes oil less expensive to overseas investors ….
“But there are signs the [oil] market may be divorcing itself from its focus on the dollar. Prices were pressured Thursday when the Labor Department said the number of people filing for unemployment benefits jumped … more than expected.
“A sharp slowdown in the economy could reduce demand for oil and gasoline. On Wednesday, the Energy Department said gasoline demand dropped by 1 percent last week. …
“‘(Investors) seem to be coming round to the notion that the deterioration in the U.S. (economic) picture cannot be ignored …,’ said Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global UK Ltd., in a research note.”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://money.aol.com/news/arti.....1709990015
Roger Rabbit Commentary: So there you have it folks: The man in the White House has heard your cries of anguish and is doing something about high gas prices! That’s right, America has a new energy policy, and relief is on the way: MORE UNEMPLOYMENT!!! With fewer people driving to work, demand will weaken, and prices will fall. It’s simple supply and demand. It works every time. When gas prices get painfully high in an election year, the solution is to throw more wage earners out of work so they’ll quit driving!!!
@2 Yeah Goldy, I’d be careful about poking a stick at her. She might come after you.
@10 I’ve long thought they’re as loony as she is, but then I began to wonder if senate elections in her district work like ladies’ garden club elections, where the officers take the ballot box home with them and announce the results at the next meeting ….
Lunacy is an essential characteristic of any Republican politician. Pammy’s colleagues in the GOP caucus should treat her with a bit more sensitivity and respect.
The sad situation of Republican politics in Washington state:
Luke Esser can’t even run a primary
Pam Roach is fighting with her fellow republicans.
She probably deserved to be mooned.
Republicans are going to be down to:
No governor
No Senators
Only two out of 9 congresscritters
No majority in the State house and Senate
Maybe they should give up and form a new party – the whining and harping illegal men’s party, that can’t lead or follow (Whimp’s)
Pam Roach may have a hot temper, but she is one of the most honest Republicans in the legislature. She is actually popular in her district, and moderate enough that she usually ends up with most of the union endorsements. Say what you want about Roach, but she is much more tolerable policy-wise, on the whole, than the likes of Dino Rossi.
You people disgust me. Clearly your belief in democracy and representative government is limited to those think and act just like yourselves. Pam Roach embodies a woefully underrepresented minority in our state. Can none of you acknowledge that she speaks like no one else for the mentally ill, the g*d-fearing, my one kid’s a meth addict and the other’s the dumbest stump in the state house, gun-toting minority that have no other voice but the ones in their heads?
Shame! Shame!
19
You are correct. I am filled with guilt. As the party of diversity, we should seek to have all types represented in the legislature. I will impose upon myself appropriate penance.
@18: Yeah, but which one is more likely to shoot somebody in an incident of road rage?
Roger Rabbit: You’re a lawyer, why not just prosecute the GOP (county, state, national) under the RICO statute? It’s an organized criminal enterprise if I’ve ever seen one.
@21: Organized? the GOP in Washington state? Only a truly dysfunctional organization could achieve the performance that they have – setting the republicans back 100 years with so litle effort. Thank you WSRP.
@19 “Pam Roach embodies a woefully underrepresented minority in our state.”
What underrepresented minority does this screeching gun-waving freak embody? The mentally ill?
@19 Oh sorry, I spoke too soon, you’ve already answered my question!
@20 #19 is obvious satire.
@21 Appoint me as a Special Prosecutor, give me a staff and a budget, and I’ll do it.
Sorry RR. I’d have tried to be more subtle, but satirists tend to get flamed around here. :-)
I’ve actually met Roach several times and, while I find nearly all of her political and social views personally abhorent, she actually is pretty popular in her district where there is a strong libertarian impulse and people want government to stay far away. And regarding the mention that she is in Honduras — it’s not a vacation. She’s been going to a rural village there for many years, helping build wells, a school, a clinic and trying to improve the lives of these people.
She may be pretty damned scary in most of her views — batshit crazy is a reasonable description — but she really does try to live her beliefs. And there’s even something resembling a heart in there. In the last conversation I had with her, she was trying to track down those low-cost hand-cranked computers being developed by MIT, so she could get some for the kids in the village in Honduras. She was passionate about getting them connected with the wider world and giving them more opporunities. Then she started talking about welfare cheats and ham radios… *sigh*
@19
You have made an essential point. We truely need a more representative system.
I wonder what proportions of WA state fit each of these need-to-be-represented categories:
Creationists
Kucinich supporters
Cascadians
Regular Republicans
ACLU
Polygamists
Millenialists
Reform Republicans
Liberal Bloggers
Red Sox Fans
Hannity Heads
Sasquatch believers
Wikkans
Russian Orthodox Church
Devout Democrats
Bush believers
Royalists
Trekkies
Jackson Liberals
Bankrupts
Old Right Catholics
Gay Catholics
Green Party Members
Vegans
Basque separatists
Feinman followers
Animal Rights
Mahayana Buddhists
Earth First
Duwamish Residents of Seattle
Reparitions for slavery
Pedofiles
Aquaduct Fans
Neo Maoists
KKK for Obama
Dittoheads
Flying Saucer Abductees
Those who talk with Jesus
Jews for Krishna
Billionaires
Sonics Fans
If we knew the numbers of each of these., we could allocate
legislative positions in a fair way. To that end I suggest each citizen fill out a form and we can each be allowed to check up to three of the above. We will then use the results to refine the results of the next election.
SeattleJew:
So what’s your point? Going down your list I’d say that every one of those constituencies is currently represented in the legislature with the possible exception of Red Sox Fans, Basque Separatists and billionaires. Hell, there are probably even a few Sonics fans left…
I read the Roach story in the paper this mornign and thought it was one of the funniest things I had ever read. I knew there would be an HA post on it, you guys here being as you are.
Popular in her district, but crazy. She’s a freakin’ loony, but she’s OUR freakin’ loony.
Well, thats kind of the Rev. Wright thing as well, right? I mean, like, “I raised my kids in this church, and I ain’t leavin’. Now that the Rev is gettin’ all crazy in the press, I’ll still go to church here, but maybe not when he’s preachin’. “
SeattleJew is the last reasonable liberal posting on this blog.
At least Roach loves america unlike obamanation.
32
Your claim that Obama does not love America is the product of a mind that does not function well. He loves America, with all of its warts, wingnuts, and weaknesses. He also believes America can be made better. Your kind only loves a very small slice of America–the kind that thinks, acts, and spews like you do. As for the rest of America, well, you could do without that. Obama’s views are far more mainstream American than are yours, pal.
re 31: That would be 100% more than the WingNutz™, of which you are a prime example.
Your moniker itself is a litote.
Look it up.
@32 mark and your ilk
I am very angry. As an early Obama supporter I told others and myself that the race issue was largely over and BHO would be able to win because he is a great American.
Unlike Mr. Obama I lack the kindness and tolerance to forgive and understand the reactions I have seen to Jeremiah Wright’s sermons. The outrage shown by the press is an ungly charade. Rev. Wright surprised no one who has ever been to a Black church are spent time with African Americans. There is great pain in that community. To misue that pain is not a lot different than bringing back lynching.
Guess what, my Jesus worshiping friends, we Jews say many of the same things about you! As much as I try to forget, there are six million memories that make me respect even the extremists within our people. I know Armenians, American Indians, and .. frankly even Southerners who have similar feelings toward the Turks, the US Army, and Lincoln. Why, why would the grandchildren of American slavery feel anything different?
Goddamn America for what happened is, indeed, too gentle an expression, for the people who committed such sins.
Yet, Rev. Wright has moved on from his own anger. He has helped many people and he NEVER taken out his anger on “white” folk. Do his words hurt? Yes. A better questionmay be “Should they hurt?”
But then, Rev. Wright is an American, he is not like
The gutter trolling racists of the right. He is not out to hurt this country but to fix it. Nor is he like Ms. Clinton’s campaign willing to hide from an ethical dilemma as long as the hurt is to others.
Hannity, OReilly, Limbaugh …folks like yourself, are traitors to MY country. You no more deserve to live under MY flag than did the KKK or American Bund. In fact, as much as treasure the flag my father and I served under, I think I will burn one in YOUR honor.
Racism is NOT funny. It is not a small sin. Racism is disgusting. Obama will win and, because he is a much better and more tolerant person than I am, we will all try to heal the wounds YOU celebrate.
Let me know where I can send the ashes
SJ @ 35
Well-stated, the heightened passion appropriate. As the son of a preacher man myself, I find it remarkable that a member of a church would be tagged with his pastor’s sermons. My father’s parishioners were always at odds with him– theologically, politically, socially. Yet, they continued to come to church on Sunday, and many, if not most, became friends. For those of us who do follow Christ, his social Gospel is what trumps all. I think Obama said as much in his speech the other day. To take a few snippets from sermons (snippets with which I might not necessarily disagree except the 9/11 reference) from a man who has done great good in his lifetime, and then attribute the most negative spin from those snippets onto Obama is political viperism of the worst sort. Fox News, rightwing bloggers, and our very own trolls are all incapable of shame. If they were, they should be hiding their faces over this Jeremiah Wright episode (as should Hillary, as well, for not denouncing what is happening). Obama loves America in a way that Mark and his ilk never can.
You gotta love Pam Roach.
The amazingly hilarious situations she often finds herself are the results of her methods. Which are unorthodox.
But rather than focus on Roach, it might be better to focus on many other members of the Senate GOP caucus who are far less talented – and far more dangerous – who ought to be pretty easy to pick off this year.
Someone really ought to follow Val Stevens around, for example. Stevens is a walking/talking example of just how extreme the state Senate GOP has become – her views being pretty much the dominate thinking within that caucus.
Bush’s Ratings are still 11% higher than your Democrats congressional job approval ratings, which linger at 21%. Gas prices trough the roof, recession looming, and all you got to offer is more of the same?
Where’s the Beef?
GS- And the reason that its REPUBLICANS who are retiring early from Congress is…………?
Our current recession explained….finally someone who aknowledges we are in a recession and the reasons behind it, how it could have been prevented and what is to come..
http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/2.....topstories
38:
That’s why we’re trying to get BETTER D’s into government, and get rid of the ones that drank the Bushevik Kool-Aid. For example, here in Nevada there’s a lot of disgust with Sen. Reid for his constant caving to the Bush Administration. He’s gonna have a hard time getting re-elected.
That’s right Hanah, it’s Congress’ fault (not!!) What was Bush’s plan? They did, after all work last weekend on one. WHat is the Bush administerations responsibility for the fall of the dollar, the increase in our debt or the lack of an energy policy? THey had six plus years. While the D’s have not shined, most of the time they did not have a working majority. See Lieberman and the incapacitation of Johnson, ND.
K, Most of the people retiring from that town get mega pensions and but for the power trip most from both party’s are on, one would be a fool to stay in that do nothing hole any longer than one had to.
In fact they should have to go out and work in this Nafta economy and try to support a family on it, they might see how the real world lives.
Too bad that HB2142, the workplace bullying bill, didn’t pass this year. Would have been great to have Sen. Roach be the test case.
@36 proud leftist . thanks.
Listening to the radical right call “Move-on” and the NY Times .. FAR LEFT, has been getting under my skin. These people have NO loyalty to this country. Their only interest ois t rip down those they do not like.
O’Reilly and company are not just rightists or even just radical rightists, they are in the disgusting traditon of Father Coughlin and Jo McCarthy.
Funny thing, we really do not have an extreme left today, but we once did. The US had Maoists and Marxists and their critics declared such people traiters because these lefties were not really advocating for the good of the nation, they were advocating the destruction of theor own nation.
Just so the radical right. Limbaugh is far more interested in his ceegars and women than he is in democracy of any kind. We should call this behavior what it is ..unpatriotic.
@18-
An honest crazy person is, ultimately, still a crazy person.
@38
If you’d been paying a thimble’s worth of attention, you’d know that Congress’ approval rating is in the tank largely due to their increasingly inexplicable REFUSAL TO STAND UP to Mr. 30%.
So, citing Congress’ approval rating is not the ringing vindication of Bush you seem to think it is. (Not to mention the fact that the Dems have a commanding majority of, um, 1, so it’s delusional to argue that their accomplishments, or lack thereof, reflect on the Democratic party.)
But please, by all means, continue to mindlessly recite Rush’s talking points, if it makes you feel better.