Oregon State Rep. Dan Doyle — “the champion of the fiscally conservative, no-new-taxes wing of the House GOP caucus” — resigned today after pleading no contest to theft for listing his wife on his health insurance forms before they were married. (Domestic Partnership benefits, anybody?)
But I was particularly amused by the following statement from the AP article:
Doyle becomes the first lawmaker to resign because of legal troubles since former state Rep. John Mabrey, R-The Dalles, left the Legislature last May.
Wow… what a streak! Oregon Republicans managed to go eight whole months without one of their own being forced to resign due to legal troubles!
Congratulations Oregon GOP!
Correction:
It was Mabry who listed his wife on his health care forms, Doyle diverted campaign funds for personal use. Thanks to Richard for pointing out my mistake.
Wait. That’s impossible Goldy. We know from our local blogs its only democrats that are unethical and like fraud.
Say it isn’t so.
Gee Goldy…
I don’t consider myself a Republican and I don’t subscribe to Reagan’s 11th Commandment so let me start by saying this type of conduct is unacceptable by an elected official. PERIOD. He should have resigned!!
Just like Jim McDermott should have resigned for what he did with those ILLEGALLY recorded conversations!!
People who make errors in judgment ought to accept the consequences. Leftist wacko’s like McDermott believe that the end justifies any means….therefore all is fair (FOR THEM)!
And how about Teddy Kennedy? He literally got away with killing a young woman because of his name.
We can always find folks who fall way short of our idealistic marks. We don’t always find people who fall short and then impose the proper punishment upon themselves.
Hey, how about that Gary Condit!!!
And how about Jesse Jackson?
I figure we can waste a lot of time debating which Party has the most lowlifes, don’t you think? As a non-Party guy, I say let’s root out all the cheatin’, lyin’ SOB’s!
Mr. Cyn, you have to admit, there is quite a bit more irony in a politician making a name for themselves on certain issues and then getting busted for the very same behavior … see Gingrich, Livingston, Hyde (philanderers all) going after Clinton, this anti-tax fellow who was scamming the system in Oregon, a minister from Wisconsin who stood with Bush at a “pro-values” rally last fall getting fired for relations with a teen … etc. In other words, hypocrites. And somehow the hypocrites usually seem to have the same party label attached.
putting aside the partisan snark, does someone have an opinion on the effect this will have, politically, on budget strategies? Since they just lost one of their anti-tax champions, I mean…
And how about Teddy Kennedy? He literally got away with killing a young woman because of his name.
Now, now, Mr. C., be careful about accusing someone of murder unless you can prove it’s true.
David–
I didn’t say it was “murder”.
I said he got away with “killing a young woman”.
Are you saying Teddy wasn’t driving that car???
Even he admitted it….it was just everything was such a “fog” for him, he couldn’t exactly remember all the details.
Please David…defend Teddy’s actions!!
For the record, I was just poking a little fun at the misfortune of others, and wasn’t implying anything in particular.
That said, this should have some repercussions for the conservative wing of the Oregon GOP, as they have lost one of their (for want of a better word) leaders. I’m not sure if there is a GOP legislator in WA whose resignation would have an equal impact.
*Begin Kennedy digression*
I said he got away with “killing a young woman”.
Are you saying Teddy wasn’t driving that car???
Actually, I think he wasn’t. The best explanation I’ve seen of the Chappaquiddick accident was an investigative TV special some years back…perhaps on Fox? Their conclusion was that Teddy, parked with Mary Jo Kopechne on “lover’s lane,” got spooked when someone approached; he ended up giving Mary Jo directions over the bridge and telling her to drive off while he walked home. The poor girl, who (unlike Kennedy) wasn’t familiar with the bridge, panicked and drove too fast, missed the bend and crashed over the edge.
The show mustered several pieces of forensic evidence to support their thesis: The right side of the car was smashed in, but Mary Jo had no injuries, implying she hadn’t been sitting in the passenger seat (leaving the possibility that she’d been driving). Kennedy didn’t have any injuries or marks of having been in an accident either, which makes sense if he wasn’t in the car at all. After the accident, Kennedy didn’t stop at the closest house to the bridge to get help; that’s a lot easier to explain if he wasn’t at the accident scene and didn’t yet know about the crash. And Kennedy’s clothes were allegedly dry when he was first seen after the accident.
I’m no expert on this, and for all I know it could be completely bogus, contradicted by provable facts. But it’s interesting food for thought. And it still leaves Kennedy lying to cover up whatever actually happened.
*End Kennedy digression*
Get all the bad guys!!
Like your blog! Very refreshing from talking to my liberal friends in Snohomish County. You are much more intellectually stimulating.
While you may hate Bush, I am getting tired of the “I hate Bush” reasons for everything.
Yeah, that’s why progressives and liberals have been losing — it’s not enough to hate Bush, you have to articulate why, make it simple (reduce it to its essence) and connect it to a moral framework.
Goldy, you really need to get your facts straight. Please re-read the story you linked us to very carefully. It actually says that John Mabry, the Oregon state representative who resigned last May (2004?), was the one pleading no contest to theft for listing his wife on health insurance forms before they were married. Recently resigned Oregon state representative Dan Doyle, on the other hand, hasn’t been convicted of anything yet, but is being investigated for suspected campaign finance irregularities. (Doyle’s wife, Victoria Doyle, is also being investigated for campaign finance reasons, based on her own campaign last fall for county clerk in Marion County, Oregon.)
I am sick of tired of one party claiming to have the higher moral ground. It’s never been true and it seems that those who harp on most about moral issues often have the biggest likelihood of doing bad things. Plenty of examples in the US leadership on both sides of the aisle….
Yeah, that’s why progressives and liberals have been losing — it’s not enough to hate Bush, you have to articulate why, make it simple (reduce it to its essence) and connect it to a moral framework. -Comment by David— 1/31/05 @ 4:17 pm
NO! NO! NO! NO!
You still don’t get it.
“Progressives and liberals have been losing” because ALL you are offering is hatred of Bush. People cannot be convinced of something or anything through a NEGATIVE. You can articulate the whys and wherefores of your Bush animosity till the cows come home but you will not woo one single fence-sitting voter until your team offers BETTER ideas for America.
So please, please, please keep hating Bush, keep encouraging the likes of Michael Moore, George Soros, and the Hollywood nutburgers, please clap loudy, early and often at the rants of Pelosi, Kerry, Kennedy and Kucinich, and please, God, PLEASE, please please, please, let team DNC choose Dean as chair.
Goldy, Richard Pope is right — Mabry is the one convicted of theft. Doyle is being investigated for diverting campaign money to personal use and falsifying his campaign finance report (a la Tim Eyman). The Eyman parallel continues, too, because the fine for diverting campaign money to yourself is ridiculously small there too ($75 for a first-time offender).
The gist of the article is correct, though; over 8 months, 2 Oregon GOP legislators have stepped down because of ethics problems.
You can articulate the whys and wherefores of your Bush animosity till the cows come home but you will not woo one single fence-sitting voter until your team offers BETTER ideas for America.
Correct, ProudASS. I left out a step. I assumed that people “hate” Bush for doing particular things or enacting particular policies. Articulating anger is pointless. Articulating policy positions, connecting them to a moral framework and reducing them to a simple, easy-to-grasp concept is what’s needed.
Apparently, in Oregon, if you divert campaign money to yourself, you only have to pay a $75 civil fine. But if you falsify your campaign finance reports to cover up the diversion of campaign funds, then you can be charged with a crime and maybe even go to jail. In Washington, however, falsify your state campaign finance reports will only get you a civil fine — although potentially a very large one, as Tim Eyman found out.
I wonder how many campaign money diverters in Oregon actually report that they have improperly pocketed the money on their official reporting forms?
Typical Repugs. THEY are special. You see, THEY have been in business. THEY have “met a payroll”. Only THEY are the productive ones.* Therefore, THEY deserve a little more than the average person. THEY think “ME FIRST” and truly believe THEY have entitlement. *Workers are like cattle and deserve less – especially any guaranteed security in old age – that would be Socialism! But, what was he thinking? Can’t get caught? I always wonder.
You can see that entitlement attitude everywhere there’s been a Repug around. It’s kind of like a dirty spot that just stinks for a while after the smelly dog has wandered off to sell citizens on another lie about how government is causing all the problems.
The only thing that needs said about this is in this case it is good that a dirty guy is out, but in retrospect, when this happens to a republican or a conservative, all agree, lib or conservative alike he should be out, but when it happens to a lib like Mr. “I didnt have sex with that woman” Clinton all of the liberals and democrats circle their wagons around the worm and defend them…
Chuck @ 18, and what about your idols? RMN “I don’t give a shit what happens. I want you all to stonewall it, let them plead the Fifth Amendment, cover up or anything else, if it’ll save it—save this plan. That’s the whole point. We’re going to protect our people if we can.”, “I condemn any attempts to cover up in this case, no matter who is involved.” and “This fellow they’ve nominated claims he’s the new Thomas Jefferson. Well let me tell you something; I knew Thomas Jefferson. He was a friend of mine and Governor… You’re no Thomas Jefferson!” , or GHWB “I will never apologize for the United States of America – I don’t care what the facts are.”, “The Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push, and I’ll say no, they’ll push again and I’ll say to them, read my lips, no new taxes.”, and the current idiot, “You know I could run for governor but I’m basically a media creation. I’ve never done anything. I’ve worked for my dad. I worked in the oil business. But that’s not the kind of profile you have to have to get elected to public office.”, “I think we ought to raise the age at which juveniles can have a gun.”
Comment by jpgee— 1/31/05 @>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
What the hell are you talking about? I dont speak ebonics?
lol, maybe you don’t, but Nixon, Reagan and the bush’s sure seemed to
Cynical @ 6
Teddy Kennedy got drunk, drove his car off a bridge, and Mary Jo Kopechne drowned. Most of us would go to jail for that, and arguably he got off because of who he was. He atoned for it by spending the rest of his life being a champion for the poor, dispossessed, and voiceless. That’s good enough for me. By the way, Jesus’s death on the cross washed away Teddy’s sin. Yours, too.
David @ 10
The fact Rossi is supported by BIAW is reason enough for him to never become governor.
Ass @ 13
“‘Progressives and liberals have been losing’ because ALL you are offering is hatred of Bush.”
If you want something positive try reading our platform. You know — supporting education, taking care of old folks, protecting kids, that sort of stuff.
You picked a good name for yourself.
supporting education= your idea of supporting education is blindly giving money to things that are proven not to work (reason is we havent pumped enough into the dry hole), taking care of old folks= with a retirement system that is destined to fail if you can do math….lower birth rates+people living longer and longer=failed system…it will eventually happen and the earlier we really FIX it the less painful, protecting kids= Anti death penalty, anti 3 strikes laws, sticking up for the rights of pediphiles, that sort of stuff= Help us out here….