From today’s Washington Post:
The House ethics committee, the panel responsible for upholding the chamber’s ethics code, has been virtually moribund for the past year, handling only routine business despite a wave of federal investigations into close and potentially illegal relationships between lawmakers and lobbyists.
…
The committee’s last formal action of note was its recommendation to admonish former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for the second and third times in 2004. Since then, the committee has been crippled.Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) was ousted as the ethics chairman early this year by House GOP leaders. His successor, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), has been slow to take up the reins because of disputes between Republicans and Democrats over the panel’s rules. Hastings and Mollohan also feuded for months about the makeup of the professional staff.
It has been a year since Hastings took the reigns, and the House Ethics Committee still doesn’t have a chief of staff on the job, nor even begun the process of hiring investigators. During that time at least seven lawmakers have been indicted, pleaded guilty, or are under investigation for conspiracy, fraud, campaign finance violations, and other improper conduct. Last week Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif) resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion, and the other Washington is abuzz with rumors of lawmakers, spouses, and aides entangled in the growing scandals surrounding lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon.
Government watch dog groups from across the ideological spectrum are decrying the Committee’s failure to act, and the erosion in public trust that has resulted.
“There is no ethics enforcement in Congress today, and it’s inexcusable,” sad Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a conservative monitor of government ethics.
“No matter what level of corruption the members of Congress engage in, the ethics committees do nothing,” agreed Melanie Sloan, executive director of the liberal-leaning Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “It’s a national embarrassment.”
This is Hastings’ committee, and by failing to act he is complicit in the corruption he is responsible for investigating and punishing. The citizens of WA’s 4th Congressional District deserve to know the crucial role their congressman is playing in preserving our Capitol’s crooked money machine. The citizens of the 4th District deserve a better congressman.
Its not like there’s a shortage of crooks in Congress. These guys should be busy as all-get-out.
Now if we can just get our candidate, Richard Wright, to pipe up on this… if he is actually the candidate. He says he is and so does the 4th Dems but I haven’t heard boo out of him.
Goldy, your article is an excellent argument for term limits: a shorter time in Washington, DC means less chance for the corruption to develop. Throw the bums out BEFORE they start cheating.
Jimmy @2,
As far as I can tell, Wright doesn’t even have a campaign website. If he did, I would have linked to it. It’s hard for me to make an evaluation of whether he is a serious challenger, when I can’t find information on him… but it’s not a good sign.
Libertarian @3,
Hey… if you’re a libertarian, why would you want to infringe on my right to vote for the candidate of my choice? In any case, you make the assumption that given the time, all elected officials will become corrupt, when in fact, only a small percentage do. Most of our representatives are ethical… even those I disagree with politically. The need is to clear out the bad ones.
OK, Goldy, I know you’re against term limits, at least for those politicos that you like. I understatnd that just fine. I’m for term limits primarily as a way of preventing entrenched politicians from behaving like royalty rather than elected representatives. Haven’t we had enough political dynasties in this country? How about some diversity (good granola word, don’t you think?) in the word of politics? No more Strom Thurmonds or Robert Byrds, OK?
term limits don’t work in practice IMO. it leads to inexperienced politicos versus extremely experienced lobbyists.
gee, 10 experienced former congressmen lobbying 1 rookie current congressmen, now that’s gonna work out well.
I estimate it takes roughly -100 days for corruption to develop if the rep is going to be corrupt. ;)
I mean, the deals are made during the election campaigns as much as any other time!
part of the problem is that there is a very thin line between corruption and representation.
Well, I’d like us to try term limits. Say, three terms for a Representative and two for a Senator. If those guys and gals can’t make an impact in that time frame, they rpobably aren’t gonna make much of an impact, ever.
As far as Prez is concerned, I think one six-year term ought to do it. No sense keeping someone in THAT job for more than six years, in my view.
Sure, there can be corrupt guys and gals right out of the shute, but I’m pretty sick and tired of the dynasties. Let’s give some other folks a chance. The lobbbyists don’t give me much grief because there are so many of them on all possible sides of the issues. Lobbysits for the Democrats are just as bad as lobbyists for the Republicans. In a way, they cancel each other out.
Let’s give term limits a whirl and see how we like it.
Like I’ve said before, Hastings is a “dozy turd.” The Democrats need to put forward a real alternative to Hastings, and then make a concerted effort to educate his constituents about what an utter waste of space he is. I’ve lived out there in Hastings-land, and most of my neighbors voted for him just because there was an “R” next to his name. (None of them could give me a sound reason for voting GOP, though.)
There are less than 350,000 voters in the district, but the 4th CD Democrats seem to do little to make their presence known out there (at least in my experience). A little education goes a long way — and they should be doing something to counterbalance the ubiquitous right-wing talk shows on the AM dial out there.
I must have missed Goldy’s “embassassment” thread on Senator “Oldsmobile” Kennedy, and black shit-for= brains Cynthia McKinney.
And “Baghdah Bob” out of Communist Seattle isn’t a national Embarrassment??? [hehe]
Hillary “Cattle Futures” “Rose Billing Records” “Fire Bobby Dale In The Travel Office” sure seems like a “national embarrassment” to me!!
Doc is just taking his marching orders from the GOP leadership. It’s amusing to see all those “rugged individualists” in central WA hitching their political star to a consummate “team player” political machine hack.
They truly deserve better.
bob@9
well, you know the ol’ chestnut…
“in a democracy, people tend to get the Government they deserve“
Hastings is just further proof of the Republican culture of curruption. And that should be something that we talk about non-stop during the mid-term election campaign. Maybe someone should build a website that lists all the republican lies, arrests, incarcerations, etc. Oh I forgot, that would take WAY too much bandwidth to be practical.
Disgruntled @ 6
“Do we have anyone in the WA Congressional delegation who gets any kind of national respect?”
We did…. Tom Foley.
He was defeated by George What’s-His-Name after telling the people in NE Washington, “I’ll serve only 6 years and then quit.”
also “Scoop” Jackson, the so-called “Senator from Boeing” and inspiration to the neocons
@12
Oh you mean Weasel Nethercutt… What a scumbag that guy was!
So, has anyone looked for a yacht named “Doc-Stir?”
Jim McDermott gets a lot of respect.
I’ve done quite a bit of travel through Hastings land myself. I’d be really surprised if the folks out there replaced him with a brighter-bulb Republican if at all a Democrat.
Maybe you can get your “Progressive Hero”, Norm “Screwed up WTO and cost taxpayers MILLIONS” Stamper to move from Lily-White San Juan Island’s to the Tri-Cities????
-Government watch dog groups from across the ideological spectrum are decrying the Committee’s failure to act, and the erosion in public trust that has resulted.-
Didn’t Nixon and Reagan (now Bush 43) prove that ‘erosion in public trust’ is actually the movement conservative’s ultimate goal? By mouthing religious-based “values” when they talk about the “moral authority” their leaders possess, Talibangelists can keep promoting corrupt politicians who lie outright (Condi did it again today in Europe) while still pretending to be morally superior.
A quick visit to the Sound Politics will reveal there aren’t many non-jihadist Republicans left – you know, the sane ones.
So how is it that the Christian Right basically became an excuse machine for corruption and lies? Wasn’t Christianity supposed to provide moral guidance for a culture driven by greed and materialism?
LiberalRedneck,
I agree with you, pardner. My major complaint against the Republicans is that they’re in bed with the Religious Zanies. You know the type. They’re the kind of folks who lay awake at night worrying that somebody may be having a beer somewhere and actually enjoying himself!
-I’ve done quite a bit of travel through Hastings land myself. I’d be really surprised if the folks out there replaced him with a brighter-bulb Republican if at all a Democrat. –
Yep, FTC, the Tri-Cities is made up of a vast majority of people sucking off the government trough, while at the same time decrying taxes, Democrats, and “big government.”
This inherent inconsistency between what they say and what they do produces pathetic politicians like Doc Hastings, who have learned how to lie to people who yearn to be lied to – since they are living a lie themselves.
Looks like MrCynical might be a product of the Tri Sh!tties himself. Self-hatred is usually caused by people who lead contradictory lifestyles, no?
Libertarian – it’s not the beer that keeps ’em up late at night – it’s what happens after the beer is consumed that worries the the Red State Taliban.
The Red State Christian-types spend most of their time worrying about what other people’s families are up to, since their kids are all down at Daytona Beach filming Girls Gone Wild shots each Spring Break. Most religious ideologues got that way because of their own demons and problems – not other people’s problems.
26….Libertarian – it’s not the beer that keeps ‘em up late at night – it’s what happens after the beer is consumed that worries the the Red State Taliban. [The Blue States include solid black districts such as Phiily and Detroit. The beer is “King Cobra”, and they kill each other. Enjoy these fine Democrat districts!!]
Back on topic: This (Hasting’s inaction), if nothing else, shows that all the rethuglicans’ talk about “values” and “morals” is just so much eyewash. If Hastings had an once of moral fiber, he would be doing something…anything for God’s sake. And if any of the conservative posters on this board were really honest, they would be as disgusted as I am about that inaction.
Note: This isn’t a republican or democrat issue, this is a man in a position of authority NOT DOING HIS JOB, the job WE pay him for. (I think the term is “gross malfeasance” (sp?))
And conservative posters on this board like to say that progressives are too “morally relavistic” . People are being investigated left right and center, and the GOP controlled ethics committee does nothing. Ha! Is that black and white enough for you?
@3
Term limits is passe. Term limits was held unconstitutional. Why are we still debating term limits?
Also, Libertarian, how is telling people they can’t run for a public office consistent with libertarian beliefs and principles?
“OK, Goldy, I know you’re against term limits, at least for those politicos that you like.”
The main point is that SCOTUS is against term limits, which is problematical.
Problematical to your argument for term limits, that is.
@8
“Well, I’d like us to try term limits.”
Have you been living under a rock? We TRIED term limits! The courts said no. Sheesh.
The “Contract with America” wanted to amend the constitution to allow term limits, but they were blocked by the Democrats.
If you want term limits, you must amend the Constitution. Congress can’t do it by passing a term limits law. Same is true of our state constitution and legislature.
@32
“they were blocked by the Democrats”
That’s a crock! The term limits amendment was opposed by veteran congressmen of all stripes, including Republicans. One of its leading opponents was Rep. Dick Armey, who became GOP Majority Leader.
The only thing that WILL work is outlawing lobbyists. The only guy I have heard speak on that subject was John Edwards in the last election. As long as our Congressmen and Senators are for sale, the Corporations will run the Govt.
There are less than 350,000 voters in the district, but the 4th CD Democrats seem to do little to make their presence known out there (at least in my experience). A little education goes a long way – and they should be doing something to counterbalance the ubiquitous right-wing talk shows on the AM dial out there.
It’s a tough district. Came very close in 1996 with Rick Locke but the Dems didn’t put forward anyone credible in 1998 and Hastings just absolutely entrenched himself.
I think there’s a real desire out there for an alternative to Hastings amongst the Republicans, but they want another Republican, not a Democrat. That’s why you see weird stuff like the Tri-Cities “Give money to Matheson, vote for Hastings” endorsement last year. They desperately want a race.
Jim Davis in 2000 I think was about as perfect a profile for a Democrat out there (gun-toting pro-dam wheat farmer from Douglas county who raised a lot of money) and he still got throttled. Sandy Matheson in 2004 did no better.
I think we could potentially get the seat with the right candidate and a lot of money, but only if it’s an open seat.
Robert “KKK” Byrd [Democrat-WV] isn’t quite ready to support term limits. [hehe]
Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives since 1994. The GOP-controlled House rejected the term limits amendment in 1995 and again in 1997.
Hey Roger, why don’t you say things in one posting rather than rambling on and on.
I know term limits would have to be enacted through amending the Constitution. I’m OK with that. I’m trying to stop the political dynasties that have developed. The guys that put together the Constitution never intended for there to be “career” politicians, yet we have them in abundance. Both the Dems and Repubs have their patron saints of political careerism. Enough!
If it means amending the US and State Constitutions, then let’s get on with it. Afet all, it was an amendment that gave women the right to vote!
The only thing that WILL work is outlawing lobbyists. The only guy I have heard speak on that subject was John Edwards in the last election. As long as our Congressmen and Senators are for sale, the Corporations will run the Govt.
Comment by fire_one — 12/5/05 @ 1:50 pm
[Er, Fire_one, Would that include the NEA and the “guvment” labor unions? How about the NAALCP? The AFLCIO?? Welfare Rights Organization?? NOW?? [hehe]]
“Red State Christians”? Is that an insult?? How about “Blue State Blacks”?? Or “Blue State “guvment union hack Jews”?? Seems to me that two can play!!!
@23
“So how is it that the Christian Right basically became an excuse machine for corruption and lies? Wasn’t Christianity supposed to provide moral guidance for a culture driven by greed and materialism?”
Hmmm … how is it that our culture, which is something like 90% Christian, totally commercialized Christmas? How is it that all those Christian businessmen and Christian consumers out there turned Christmas into an orgy of materialism? Could it be hypocrisy?
It’s been my experience that the more loudly people advertise their Christianity, the less Christian-like their behavior is.
This is Roger Rabbit’s “Law of Inverse Proportionality” — the more some advertises himself as a Christian, the less likely he is one.
Condi Rice/ J. C. Watts in 2008!! [Hillary’s worst nightmare!!!] Think about it!! If you vote against Condi and J.C. you are racist, sexist, and trying to keep the black man down!!!! [hehe……I love giving you Democrat commie libs the same shit you give out!!]
Libertarian,
There’s nothing preventing the candidates you support from term limiting themselves. Of course, even those most libertarian candidate in the House – Ron Paul seems to ignore is own rhetoric on the subject.
38
“Hey Roger, why don’t you say things in one posting rather than rambling on and on.”
Get real! I’m only a 9 5/16ths-lb. bunny, with a hare brain! I don’t have a 10 1/2 lb. brain like you humans. My thoughts don’t come all at once. They dribble out in pellets, like my rabbit droppings. Cut the bunny some slack!
Alternatively, write your complaint here [ ] and send it here ___.
Or
you
can
e-mail
your
complaint
to
Goldy
.
Another alternative is, you can go fuck yourself.
Roger Rabbit has posted 42.5% of the comments in this thread (22 divided by 53).
Want to get rid of dynasties and corruption? Throw out campaign finance laws, and go for 100% disclosure of within 24 hours of all political contributions.
Dynasties develop because the people in this country are too stupid to learn about their candidates, so the guys with the familiar names and lots of money win. If you tear down the barrier to advertising, and let a candidate get big money backing, then they can compete on even ground.
If you don’t like the corruption, then vote out the rascals. I am an adult – I don’t need Doc Hastings or some other rep telling me who they think is ethical. If a crime has been committed, that is for the legal system. Otherwise, let the people decide who should be in office. An ethics committee is just a big waste of time, and an excuse for the media and voting public not to do their jobs.
Roger,
Are you an adult rabbit or just some kid rabbit with too much time on his hands?
Hey kiddies, it’s time for the Roger Rabbit Weekly Poll! This week’s poll question is,
If Stefan wins his lawsuit against Dean Logan and KCE, why won’t he share the money with the generous contributors to his “legal action fund” who paid for the lawsuit?
A. Because he can’t hold a job and needs the money.
B. Because he’s a selfish prick.
Term limits are a bad idea and are inherently undemocratic. If you want DC to be completely run by staffers and lobbyists, term limits are one way to do it.
Term limits only address a symptom of the real problem – noncompetitive congressional races.
I think in the long-run, the only solution is either public financing of campaigns or drastically limiting TV time(which is *by far* the largest expense of campaigns).
Increasing the number of House reps I think would be a good idea too. The reason TV is so necessary is that there’s no other way to communicate with 650,000+ people in an effective and timely manner.
Redistricting needs to be fixed as well since it exacerbates the problem. Washington State’s redistricting commission should be implemented nationwide. More than half the seats in the state are competitive(or would be if not for the state GOP’s current ineptness). It works.
Libertarian,
Are you an asshole on a cat, or on a dog?
Hey Roger, you waste everyone’s time by continuing to put blather on the thread. I guess you never get lonely spending time with your overly inflated ego. Of course, since half of your posting are garbage, no one bothers to read any of them – the joke is on you!
Hey Janet, why do you waste your time reading blather on a political blog that only 1800 people of the 7.2 million people residing in Washington ever read? You have too much time on your hands. Get a job.
Why do Republicans hate free speech? Why do they hate the Constitution? Why do they hate America? But, more importantly, why do they hate themselves?
Why does R hate free speech? Why does R hate the Constitution? Why does R hate America? Why does R hate himself?
I’m curious…
With all of the Republican hate talk going on with this board, have any of you been reading up on the Saddam trial?
Saddam trial told of horror in Room 63
By Michael Georgy and Paul Tait 2 hours, 25 minutes ago
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Men and women were tortured for days and babies left to die in an interrogation facility which featured a meat grinder for human flesh, the first prosecution witness to face Saddam Hussein told the court on Monday.
After weeks of delay and legal arguments over security and the legitimacy of the court, the trial of Saddam and seven co- defendants on charges of crimes against humanity heard confusing but graphic witness evidence of torture and summary execution.
“I swear by God I walked by a room and on my left I saw a grinder with blood coming out of it and human hair underneath,” said 38-year-old Ahmed Hassan, who said he had been kept in room 63 at the Hakmiya intelligence headquarters in Baghdad.
Hassan, the first witness to face Saddam in court, said he was 15 when Saddam visited the village in July 1982 and Shi’ite militants tried to assassinate him.
Speaking technically as an individual plaintiff alongside the state, which is pressing charges of crimes against humanity, Hassan said he and his family were among hundreds of people rounded up in a security operation run by Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti after an attempt on Saddam’s life in the village.
Barzan, one of Saddam’s three younger half-brothers and the former head of the feared Mukhabarat intelligence service, is one of Saddam’s seven co-accused in the case relating to the killings of 148 mostly Shi’ite Muslim men from Dujail.
“Barzan was present. He had red cowboy boots and blue jeans and a sniper rifle,” Hassan, a stockily built worker with a round face and a graying beard, told the heavily fortified court in central Baghdad.
He said Saddam, from the Sunni Arab minority, asked a 15-year-old boy if he knew who he was. “He said ‘Saddam’. Then Saddam hit him in the head with an ash tray,” Hassan said.
Hassan risked reprisals by letting his face appear on television as he gave evidence.
Toward the end of his testimony he stood facing Saddam as the former president challenged his testimony. Hassan held Saddam’s gaze as Saddam asked how he could possibly remember the names and birth dates of people he said were killed, responding that he had memorized them as they were read out by guards.
With Barzan constantly interjecting from the dock and calling the testimony lies, Hassan said he was among hundreds of people taken from the Shi’ite village to the Hakmiya intelligence headquarters, run by Barzan.
He said it was while he was climbing the stairs there that he saw the meat grinder. “No one escaped torture,” he said.
“They would put a mask on my eyes and because I was young it would fall down. I saw women being tortured,” he said.
“My brother was given electric shocks while my 77-year-old father watched,” Hassan said. “They told us, ‘why don’t you confess, you will be executed anyway’,” he said.
“One man was shot in the leg with two bullets… Some people were crippled because they had their arms and legs broken.”
He said they were held in Hakmiya for 70 days. While they were there a woman told a guard that her infant baby needed milk or he would die.
“He died and the guard threw him from the window,” Hassan told the court. “Pregnant women gave birth in the prison. Their babies died.”
Saddam and his co-defendants have all pleaded not guilty to the charges. They could be sentenced to death if found guilty.
I’m curious if you bleeding hearts still feel that having naked men form a human pyramid is still a form of torture?
Prr @71 – Can’t say as I use Saddam as my moral standard… but hey, keep your goal achievable. We don’t want to stress out the Republicans by actually living up to things like the Geneva Convention and all that.
Looks like the House Ethics Committee (technically Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) is composed of five Republicans and five Democrats:
http://www.house.gov/ethics/CommitteeMembers.htm
A lot of the Democrat members seems like real losers too. Probably both parties need to name better and more conscientious people to this panel.
It does appear that this committee — and I mean BOTH the five Republicans AND the five Democrats — hasn’t done very much at all during 2005.
Nindid,
That’s funny. As far as I cann see, tegenral consensus on this board is that Saddam is a great guy who has been wrongfully attacked by this admisnistration
1. Holding politicians to ethical standards is like asking Lowell Elementary to be competitive with the Seahawks.
2. Without term limits, we have something like 95%+ of people returned to office. Why? Because they are the best possible candidates? Hah! It’s the money….
3. Ask Nethercutt about term limits.
Pope @ 73 —
This committee is for the fallen — anybody who joins the committe and tries to do a serious job is run out of town.
And to return to the subject at hand… it is good to see the ethics committee under Doc Hastings is doing its job so well.
I guess he is going to get right on investigating Delay now that he is up for trial on money laundering.
But at least he got off on the conspiracy change. Not that he DIDN’T commit conspiracy mind you, just that the specific statute was not put in place until 2003.
It must be a bit hard to be a self-righteous Republican at the moment. All this just makes impeachment over a blow-job so ridiculous….
The Democrats need to put up Gordon Allen Pross, their 1998 nominee for the 4th Congressional District, to take on Doc Hastings again. He pulled a whopping 24.44% in the general election. Here is his platform from the 1998 general election voter’s pamphlet:
My name is Gordon Allen Pross. I am a native born son of Central Washington wielding a true concern for our abundant range of diversity posed within an awesome and vast complexion noted as the 4th District. “The People Rule!” Government by, for and of the people. True representation by the people’s heart beat, service to all people with no exception is the position of virtue afforded a true people’s representative. Mandate to forward the 4th District’s entire populations true needs, desires wishes and praise in good faith to further bring to life the true and exact color of Democracy. It’s not too soon to bring the proper tools to fix complex issues by basic means and pragmatic solutions, facilitated in part by intellectual property so prevalent throughout our greater Federal District. Americans require equity in the law, national defense (in part by secure borders), access to the medical community, nutrition, education. Get a grip, and lower land tax. Eradicate waste of tax dollars, frivolous expenditures, marginal programs, unaccountability of our tax dollar. Systematically maintain our infrastructure of roads, hospitals and schools, charge our judicial branch to afford proper representation under the law to all and not only to those who can afford justice. The people of our 4th District are not pleased with arbitrary governmental behavior running rampant – for example, the national debt of (4) trillion dollars. This is not representative of any families in our district, nor is it representative of a congress that should be keeping close to their heart the true and valid premise of your tax dollar. Make way for a real people’s representative that is overflowing with legislative tools to fix and bring back our American dream of our lives being lived as the law provides. “Pross for the People…”
Pope @73 – Since you are normally well informed, I am pretty surprised that you would say something so ridiculous.
Do you really not understand the Republicans have refused to sit the committee precisely because it is split 5v5?
They attempted to force the Democrats to agree to committee rules that would have allowed the Republicans to block investigations into their members, to control the investigations that did get through and to appoint partisan Republicans to replace the professional staff of the committee. Basically, they wanted no investigations into their ethically challenged K Street ways.
If you would like links I can provide them, but really you should do better then to peddle that crap here.
prr above
I have no problem with Saddam being tried for killing 148 Shi’ite Muslim men from Dujail.
And, I hope individuals in the Bush administration are ultimately tried for committing exactly the same kinds of crimes in Iraq (but, apparently, on a much larger scale).
“I hope individuals in the Bush administration are ultimately tried for committing exactly the same kinds of crimes in Iraq”
Great, let’s hear of examples?
Or is this just another bullshit liberal, “he said a bad word about the koran” accusation?
prr @ 81
Well, one well known example was the attack of Falluja, which resulted in hundreds, if not thousands of deaths of civilians.
But, hardly a week goes by without hearing about an attack that resulted in “the deaths of (some number) of suspected terrorists/insurgents/militants.” Suspected?? Suspected? We are now assassinating people without due process? This is how we “spread democracy?” By killing broadly and with a lot of collateral damage (in the form of innocents being killed)? How does that substantively differ from what Saddam did in 1982?
The general consensus on this blog is that prr is a loony loser.
A rightwing fuckhead who deserves to have Janet, Xmasghost and LardAss’ soiled undies stuffed in his mouth while tied up and forced to listen to Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin non-stop.
DJ,
You may want to put down the bong,.
Since when aren civilian causlries or suspected terrosists deaths in a war zone identified as assisnations?
Rujax, i would definitely take any criticism you have a a compliment
prr @ 84
Really? We can indiscriminantly kill civilians in a war zone?
Isn’t that what Saddam did? He had a little uprising and he killed the suspected insurgents. I hope he is found guilty for that, and for the civilians who died when he invaded Kuwait. Or does Saddam get a “pass” for the civilians who died when he illegally invaded because it was a “war zone?”
Richard Pope @78,
So… um… by pointing out how marginal his candidacy was, what you’re saying is that Gordon Allen Pross was the Richard Pope of the 4th CD?
Hey, dj, do you really think the military are just a bunch of mercenaries? They must be if they are following orders, or acting on their own, to wantonly kill civilians. Way to support the average guy in the trenches.
It isn’t the military that is indiscriminately killing – it is the terrorists living amongst the Iraqis. If the only weapon you have is a suicide bomb, the locals are going to get really tired of you in a hurry. That must be why the Sunnis have joined the Shia and Kurds in trying to get a government up and running.
Of course, it might still be better to just leave the whole lot of them, and let the Islamists slaughter the bunch.
Yes, money is a big factor that keeps the incumbant Congresscritters in power. But most Congressional elections are determined even before filing day– not election day. That is because there is an unholy alliance between the two parties and their elected officials that have resulted in gerrrymandered districts so very few districts can even be considered competitive. The incumbants of both parties dicker and trade to retain their own seats by drawing lines that make them very secure. The same happens in many states in state legislative races. I agreed with California’s Gov. Scwarenegger on this issue– legislative districts should be better balanced to allow viable races to happen.
Goldy I agree!
How long has the ethics investigation of McDermutt sat in limbo without a satisfactory conclusion.
It’s about time the congress finished this iquiry to see if he has done anything that would require action by The House.
jch
“Condi Rice/ J. C. Watts in 2008!!”
Sorry, there was a better pairing offered this past summer: Condi Rice/Rick Santorum. You know, Santorum and Rice… Santorum and Rice… !!!! It’s genius.
prr @ 69
Yes. And I didn’t need your subsequent lengthy cut-and-paste job to help me out, either.
prr @ 71
“I’m curious if you bleeding hearts still feel that having naked men form a human pyramid is still a form of torture?”
That depends, but it’s certainly a violation of the Geneva convention.
Cut and run? Stay the course? Here’s some perspective from General William Odom former Reagan NSA head.
I say take our soldiers out of the meat grinder to Kuwait and Qatar – that hardly qualifies as abandoning our interests in the region.
Arnold ‘Enron’s Bitch’ Schwarzenegger wasn’t trying to draw fair districts.
That’s what it was labeled as, but what it would actually have turned out as was districts drawn by judges appointed by Schwarzenegger.
The military isn’t a bunch of mercenaries, the soldiers who quit and join ‘private security companies’ are mercenaries. Bushco privatization of the military proceeds at full tilt. Bastards.
Janet S. – I suggest you actually read Iraq casualty reports once in a while. You wouldn’t sound as dumb.
prr- Honestly, you arn’t arguing with anyone here, you’re arguing with strawmen of your own devising.
Pope @ 73 — By design and by tradition, the cmte is nonpartisan. Most of the work is done by (traditionally nonpartisan) staff. House members act primarily to initiate and conclude proceedings, and a majority vote necessitates at least one member of the accused’s party voting against the accused to sustain any action.
Consequently, it’s not the kind of cmte anybody fights to get seated on.
When GOP leadership “reformed” the cmte at the start of this session, they held out for partisan staff selection and organization. Dem’s refused, and the situation stalemated until very recently with an agreement on hiring a staff director. Still to be staffed out, and Republicans have no motive to let this proceed quickly.
As for Duke Cunningham, there was no occasion for the cmte to take up his case. They don’t go to work on a criminal case until the courts have disposed of it, and Duke’s plea and immediate resignation left them nothing to act on.
LIbs…
If you can live with Patty Murray, how can Hastings bug you?
She’s the dimmest bulb in washington..
70, 71
Hey, prr, I don’t need you to tell me that Saddam is a bad man. If you want to kill him, go right ahead! Hell, I’ll even dispense with due process on this one.
However, I’m curious why you’re in so much denial that you still believe piling naked men in a human pyramid is the only thing our government did to detainees?
No No No Righton…. Are you talking about Washington State? If you are, that would be State Sen. Jerome Delvin. Nice guy but….
Actually, I wonder if Murray is getting burned out? She has been pretty dang good all in all. But I could imagine a burnout. And I wonder the same thing about Hastings. I haven’t heard any rumors or anything but I do wonder if all this is wearing on him. That is a tough game to play and I don’t think this is what Doc got in the game for. My guess is that he is a bit dillusioned by the whole mess. We shall see. But no matter what, you have to stand up for what is right and reject all the partisan BS. I saw a good comment on Kos today that was not afraid of the Ethics Committee going after Dems. I agree. If you cross that line you loose. Some might call for McDermitt to be checked out. Different matter though when you get down to it. Is it unethical to expose unethical activity? hmmm…..
Goldy @ 86
I carried the 4th congressional district last time I ran against Christine Gregoire for Attorney General in 2000. Only congressional district in the entire state where I outpolled her. So don’t compare me to Gordon Allen Pross.
So, anyway, if the 4th congressional district is so heavily GOP that I can carry it over an 8 year Democrat incumbent without spending a dime or even visiting the district once, how do you think that any Democrat can possibly defeat a well-funded and well-entrenched 12 year GOP incumbent in that district?
@ 99
Something tells me Corky from “Life Goes On” could’ve carried the 4th, if he ran as an R, in a presidential election year.
2006 has a chance to be different, with all those fiscal conservatives staying home because George W Bush and the GOP Congress spend money like Britney Spears on ecstasy.
@81
< <"I hope individuals in the Bush administration are ultimately tried for committing exactly the same kinds of crimes in Iraq” Great, let’s hear of examples?>>
Hope this helps…
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/113005M.shtml
99
“how do you think that any Democrat can possibly defeat a well-funded and well-entrenched 12 year GOP incumbent in that district?”
With a massive voter-awareness campaign. And not exclusively in print form, either, since a lot of people out there don’t really bother to read.
Janet S. @ 87
“Hey, dj, do you really think the military are just a bunch of mercenaries?”
No.
“They must be if they are following orders, or acting on their own, to wantonly kill civilians.”
This statement makes no sense.
“Way to support the average guy in the trenches.”
Ummmm…I was discussing the Bush administration. This seems to be an illusion of your own making.
“It isn’t the military that is indiscriminately killing – it is the terrorists living amongst the Iraqis.”
Not so. It is the U.S. and coalition military, the insurgents, and the terrorists who are killing.
“If the only weapon you have is a suicide bomb, the locals are going to get really tired of you in a hurry. That must be why the Sunnis have joined the Shia and Kurds in trying to get a government up and running. Of course, it might still be better to just leave the whole lot of them, and let the Islamists slaughter the bunch.”
Hmmm…this paragraph suggests that you don’t have a very good understanding of the violence in Iraq….
90.Dr “E”..jch
“Condi Rice/ J. C. Watts in 2008!!â€
Sorry, there was a better pairing offered this past summer: Condi Rice/Rick Santorum. You know, Santorum and Rice… Santorum and Rice… !!!! It’s genius.
Comment by Dr. E — 12/5/05 @ 5:22 pm [Sir, If Rice/Watts even gets 30% of the core Democrat “bought and paid for Democrat black voter slave” vote. the libs will howl like stuck pigs!!! Think about it!! With respects to you, Dr. “E”!!! JCH
Hey kiddies, it’s time for the Roger Rabbit Weekly Poll! This week’s poll question is,
If Stefan wins his lawsuit against Dean Logan and KCE, why won’t he share the money with the generous contributors to his “legal action fund” who paid for the lawsuit?
A. Because he can’t hold a job and needs the money.
B. Because he’s a selfish prick.
Comment by Roger Rabbit— 12/5/05 @ 2:07 pm
C. Use the money to for future voter challanges for 2006 and 2008. This will ensure that the future voter rolls are cleaned up making it more difficult for the democratic challanget to cheat.
dj, I guess I just miss what it is you disagree with. Are you saying that the Sunni’s aren’t beginning to come to the table? What exactly did I say that is incorrect? The last sentence of my post was meant to be sarcastic, representing your viewpoint. Sorry you missed the irony.
By the way, Tech Central Station has an excellent story about our other brilliant Senator, Maria. It points out what a complete hypocrite she is. She makes millions off the tech boom by occupying a chair, but wants to humiliate CEO’s of oil companies for investing in the future. All she ever invested in was herself.
That’s why ethics committees are such a joke. If there is illegal activity, let the legal system handle it. Everything else is interpretive.
Hey kiddies, it’s time for the Roger Rabbit Weekly Poll! This week’s poll question is,
If Stefan wins his lawsuit against Dean Logan and KCE, why won’t he share the money with the generous contributors to his “legal action fund” who paid for the lawsuit?
A. Because he can’t hold a job and needs the money.
B. Because he’s a selfish prick.
Comment by Roger Rabbit— 12/5/05 @ 2:07 pm
C. Neither, use the money to contest future voter registration in 2006 and 2008 to keep the voter rolls clean in King County. This will make it harder for democrats to cheat.
Damn filter
re 105: Janet S: Please define irony. I think what you said was actually sardonic, not ironic.
“Put your hands up”
“This is the literary police”
“Dangle your participles out the window, and come out with your verbs in the air.”
At least McMorriss and Reichert decided to give any of the dirty money given to them by Cunningham to charity, Hastings has not made any comment on the issue, plus he is in the pocket od DeLay, not Cunningham.
The Democrats need to put up Gordon Allen Pross, their 1998 nominee for the 4th Congressional District, to take on Doc Hastings again.
FYI, Gordon’s a Republican now. He ran against Hastings in the primary in 2000 and ran against Nethercutt in the primary for Senate in 2004.
So, anyway, if the 4th congressional district is so heavily GOP that I can carry it over an 8 year Democrat incumbent without spending a dime or even visiting the district once, how do you think that any Democrat can possibly defeat a well-funded and well-entrenched 12 year GOP incumbent in that district?
I doubt Gregoire spent a dime or visited the 4th CD either.
Really, a huge part of the puzzle for Dems in the 4th is the Latino community. They make up a quarter of the 4th. If we can get them out to vote for Democrats, we can win. That’s not happening right now.
@40 Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives since 1994. The GOP-controlled House rejected the term limits amendment in 1995 and again in 1997.
Because it would require a 2/3 majority, not a simple majority. The Republicans have never had a 2/3 majority, and therefore haven’t been able to push through a constitutional amendment on this or anything else.