Think U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Clueless) is going to clip this one for his scrapbook? The New York Times editorializes:
One of Washington’s more amusingly titled institutions – the House ethics committee – is at it again, which is to say not at it again. The panel is a stunning still-life study in Capitol casuistry and partisan standoff. It is dedicatedly not shining a light on complaints pending against a half-dozen members, resolutely holding just one meeting for this entire year, and wallowing in the stagnation that Tom DeLay, the indicted, deposed majority leader, engineered when he purged the committee’s chairman and watered down its rules.
Mr. DeLay now faces criminal charges in Texas for allegedly violating campaign laws, but taxpayers should still not expect much of a stir by the House’s moral arbiters. The new committee chairman, Doc Hastings, a Republican from Washington State, made that clear last week when he stoutly defended the innocence of Mr. DeLay, his political mentor, while insisting that the House ethics committee would continue to shy from its own inquiry. “We don’t have the resources,” Mr. Hastings told The Yakima Herald-Republic, even though the committee received a 40 percent budget increase this year.
The Republican majority is in dire need of a sense of shame. Speaker Dennis Hastert should prod something better from Mr. Hastings. The committee also needs a nonpartisan staff with credible bipartisan rules and an agenda that dares to come to life.
What are the people’s lawmakers afraid of finding out about themselves?
To describe Hastings career up until now as “low profile” would be charitable. During his decade in the House, Hastings has earned a well-deserved reputation as the quietest member of our state’s congressional delegation… a do-nothing attitude that probably plays well with some of his “small government” supporters in WA’s largely rural 4th District. But as Ethics Chair, the chronic torpor that rendered him relatively harmless as just another congressman, totally undermines what little institutional integrity and effectiveness the committee has left. Which of course, is exactly why DeLay gave him the job in the first place: what better way to assure that ethics investigations grind to a halt than to mire the committee with a chair who is not only reliably partisan, but who favors a parliamentary style that borders on the inert?
The Ethics Committee’s year-long dormancy under Hastings’ putative leadership, combined with his ill-considered public statements in defense of DeLay, is not only an embarrassment to Congress, but to the voters of WA’s 4th District. The Yakima Herald-Republic also chimes in with an editorial today, and while I don’t quite understand their assertion that Hastings has acquitted himself by clarifying his position on DeLay (unless by “clarify” they mean “contradict”… am I missing the sarcasm?), they are clearly sending a message that they will hold Hastings responsible should he fail to follow through on his responsibilities.
DeLay will get his day in Texas courts. That’s proper because an indictment is not a conviction.
But once that process is finished, he must then get his due before the Ethics Committee. If you buy into the old saying that “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” in DeLay’s case we should be thinking Five-Alarm.
As we said in this column before, DeLay is at least an ethical embarrassment and has come to epitomize everything that’s wrong with politics and many politicians. His brand of hardball, sleazy politics doesn’t belong in Congress, certainly not as a leader.
[…]
Once he’s settled with Texas courts, and if he’s still a member of Congress, DeLay’s case should be brought before the ethics panel headed by Hastings, who has now assured the public that he has “absolutely no predisposition” concerning this case.However it happens, let’s hope that the final solution is DeLay’s exit from Congress.
And if Hastings fails to live up to his obligations and public proclamations, then I can only assume that the Herald Republic will endorse Hastings exit from Congress as well.
Indeed, if not for the fact that Democrats have such a weak bench in Eastern WA — they hold only 6 of 63 county commissioner seats — Hastings would be vulnerable to the corruption and incompetence fueled political storm surge that threatens to deluge Republicans in 2006. As of now the Democrats have no strong candidate to challenge Hastings, but that could change. Somewhere out in Eastern WA there must be a maverick Democrat in the mold of Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer… a rancher or farmer or small business owner with the real life experience and force of personality to appeal to voters leery of the culture of corruption that has captured the other Washington under Republican control.
Such a candidate could put Hastings out of a job, where once again his do-nothing attitude would do no harm.
Hastings is putting WA’s 4th Cong. District on the map as a bunch of country hicks. Only ignorant rubes would tolerate (and vote for) an idiot like “Doc.” He should quit Congress and go back to shoeing horses or whatever the hell he did before his neighbors sent him to Congress to get rid of him.
While Doc has his issues, it’s up to Democrats to provide an alternative. If the state party isn’t reaching out, then it oughta. Republicans should not be allowed to field marginal candidates and run with little opposition.
Ah yes, the Culture of Cronyism and Crime, brought to you by the RNC and the Bush Crime Family.
Now that’s someting to be proud of and vote for.
“To describe Hastings career up until now as “low profile” would be charitable. During his decade in the House, Hastings has earned a well-deserved reputation as the quietest member of our state’s congressional delegation…”
Why would that be a problem to liberals who supported John Kerry who had to run as a fake war hero because he had absolutely NOTHING to show for his 22 years in Congress?
The subject is Doc Hastings, and his failure to fulfill his duties as chair of the House Ethics Committee. Please do not respond to Baynative’s blatant effort to change the subject. This is something that Republicans clearly don’t want people to discuss.
Goldy is right…do not discuss anything unrelated to real or perceived republican shortcomings. It would be so bad if someone dares to mention the shortcomings of the other side and put “politics” and the new modus operandi into question. So let’s discuss Hastings, Delay etc for now and hold off to discuss Schumer and his involvement in the stealing of personal and proprietary information by the NYDCCC when Goldy posts this tomorrow. I’m sure that would be prudent and just fair to everyone, right ?
Every conservative thus far has been unable to stay on-topic… so sad… Come on fellas. Some of you are better than that.
Anyway:
Jay Inslee once held the 4th, and a Foley-type Democrat might have a shot at the 5th. What the Dems need is a Paul Hackett type: good on the basic FDR values, and negotiable on other stuff (guns, gays, abortion). A lot of young vets will be returning from the Big Sandbox who might want to give McMorris a run for her seat.
Roger, you would do well to remember that Hastings embarassment to us here in Eastern Washington is due to his NOT IVESTTIGATING ANYONE. There are dems in there. In defending Delay, he is letting these same clouds hang over other leaders who could use a little scrutiny, and all the while, the worst of the bunch gets a free pass. Don’t you, or any of the righty trolls think for a minute that we over here in the 4th are not watching. Goldy, you are right, Baynative can just shut the fuck up. Same with you Roger. Stick to the subject at hand because in the end, this is not about Schummer or Delay, it is about Hastings in the 4th.
The Dems do need to make an investment. While just 6 or so seats of county commish’s are Dem, that doesn’t mean the ideology is the same. The smart thing the dems could do is capitalize on that fact. Sandy Matheson was a great candidate with little backing. It was wierd. I heard little from Doc and just about as little from her. That was just plain wrong.
Maybe I should run. Newbie eastern wa blogger, left of moderate democrat…hmmmm… naw…..
Jimmy, I think you are actually agreeing with me.:-) Hastings is not really the best choice for a lot of things, but so are most of our esteemed WA representatives, let alone our two Senators. And yes, I am talking about both sides. Anyone who is blindly following the party line is not a representative of the people in my eyes. When you say that Hastings is not investigating anyone and that this is a problem, I agree. But then it’s up to us, right, to request that via our elected reps. Or point it out via other means…blogs, MSM, you name it. But I don’t see this here (or at other places). Let’s call for investigation of all crooks, no matter what side they are on. Ones you do this, your credibility goes up and people with common sense will start looking at you or your info. But if you regurgitate one sided editorials and only call for the investigation of one area/one side, you are the same party hack you accuse others to be.
the right wing wackos get their due with this delay-lackey
hey…sound politics cronies….you proud of this guy or what…
when you say seattle sucks….take a look in the mirror
Jimmy,
Might be the time. The question is whether the R party is monolithic enough for D’s to capitalize on this and swing the pendulum the other way. But then again, I hate the pendumlum paradigm because it swings back and forth over time from conservative to moderate.
Maybe we ought to both stop that thing in the middle?
What I hope is we moderate R’s decide to break out our thumpin’ clubs and clean out the rot that right-wing-holier-than-thou-but-sin-worse-than-anybody evangelicals have brought on all of us.
And if you can help the D’s purge the big-nanny-government-is-good-salmon-are-better-than-people druids we can both run for the 4th and have an ol’ fashioned issues debate and get something accomplished.
DumbDoc, who failed to complete his college career at CWU, is incapable of independent thought. HIs drool cup runneth over. His voting record is the most partisan of any of Washington’s representative. He is nothing more than DeLay and Bush’s bitch. He has no business playing any part in making the laws that govern all of us. Having grown up in his district, I know there are plenty of Brian Schweitzer-types there who could give DumbDoc a serious run. By the way, how about Schweitzer for president?
Goldy,
I’d like to point out that you are going on this witch hunt, pointed out an alleged crime as if it were proof of guilt.
You have some pretty shady things said about you in the past, does this mean that the accusations are true?
prr!!
Hey, remember back in July after the London bombings you said Bush’s approval rating were going to skyrocket because the public would rally around him?
Remember??
Ha Haaaaaa!!
I’m embarrassed for my sister who lives in Kennewick … even if she isn’t.
GBS,
I think you may be confusing people argiung with bush’s policy and dissappvoing of the man.
While I did not vote for the guy in the past election, if he were to run against Kerry again, right now, he would still win the elction.
@ 17
As a Democrat, I agree with you. I don’t think Democrats have broken through yet. But if a Presidential election WERE held today against Former Sen. John Edwards, Bush could lose.
Bush is not a competant president, he has gone at great lengths to prove it (Katrina, Brownie, Chertoff) Even conservatives have been biten in the ass by Bush over Miers. What can members of Bush’s own party expect from an incompetant conservative? Miers, someone who is a failed chance to swing the court to the right. Incompetance hits everyone who surrounds it.
I think we should just take Delay out and throw him in the sea. Before trial. Toss out “innocent until proven guilty”! Off with his head!
Just because you guys don’t like Delay’s methods, doesn’t meant that he belongs in jail. He is no less ruthless than many democrat leaders before him. He must be effective, look how much you all want him gone!
Hastings could have stated his case better, but isn’t he doing exactly what the NYT asked? Wait until a conviction before bringing it before the ethics committee?
By the way, anyone want to clue me in on all the pieces of legislation that Maria Cantwell has written or co-sponsored? It seems like she is too busy chasing those awful oil monsters to actually do her job.
@18…
SBVFUH,
I’m not gonna sit here and defend the guy, but I will say that he has been President during the two largest disasters on American soil, neither of which can be blamed on the man.
I’m quite certain that last comment will prompt every yahoo on this board to go on a rampage on how this is all his fault and i would suggest that before you do that, do a little growing up first.
@ 19
Let me be specific. I don’t blame Pres. Bush for terrorists or for hurricanes. Let’s take 9/11, Madrid off the table. I blame George W Bush for selection of a man who is not qualified to be FEMA chief. Michael Brown’s selection as FEMA likely cost lives. (While locals and LA state people deserve to be held accountable, they will be held to account by THOSE local people)
I think that conservatives mantra of less government is not so much in the size of government, but its effectiveness. I think he picked Joe Allbaugh’s college roommate, Michael Brown, only because of who he knew, not because of qualification for the job.
I think its important for liberals to be diligent in the debate regarding what Bush can be blamed for.
I think liberals should be principled in their criticsm of Bush. I will only plame Bush for his mistakes, not for Al Qaeda or the weather.
plame?! heh heh, sorry, pun not intended
Fair enough…
So I heard a great joke the other day:
Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing.
He concludes by saying: “Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were
killed.”
“OH NO!” the President exclaims. “That’s terrible!”
His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously
watching as the President sits, head in hands.
Finally, the President looks up and asks, “How many is a
brazillion?”
@2
The state party is working on it. They’re having a conference in eastern Washington this month to get ideas from eastern Washington Democrats.
@4
Please spare us your Swift-Boat-Lies bullshit about Kerry. He served in Swift boats. He got shot at. He got 3 Purple Hearts for getting wounded. Whether you like it or not, Kerry is a real Vietnam veteran. You, on the other hand, are a fake American who buys into fake stories circulated by fake veterans groups. The guys who organized and funded the Swift Liars weren’t even veterans, they were GOP operatives and donors who have never been within 5,000 miles of a real combat zone! So you can take your anti-Kerry bullshit and shove it up your un-American ass!
Jimmy @8
I’ll shut the fuck up when I’m good and fucking dead!
Public Notice — I did NOT post the comment by “rabbitwho” @10.
i’m completely bored with the plame/blame and name calling. the response to and handing of resources are the issues. there is lying to protect ones self or family, then there’s lying to manipulate the outcome of results. . .
Reply to 17
“While I did not vote for the guy in the past election, if he were to run against Kerry again, right now, he would still win the elction.”
Of course he would — Ken Blackwell still runs selections in Ohio, and Jeb’s machine still controls selections in Florida.
Swift @19:
Stay up on your facts. Allbaugh and Brown were not roommates in college.
Michael Brown was at the head of FEMA for the last 2 years. Yes, this was overwhelming. Question – what made this one different than previous ones? Larger? Incompetent locals? Flooding caused by levee breaks, not storm surge? Local police AWOL? Local mayor incapable of ordering buses parked on dry ground to drive across dry ground to pick up refugees on dry ground?
The Brown meme is getting old. Go find someone else, who hasn’t resigned from their job, to climb all over.
Still waiting to hear what legislation Maria Cantwell’s name is on.
If Gregoire, Sims, and Logan weren’t chasing ’em away – there’d be quite a few Dems in the mold of Lieberman, Cantwell and pardon the reference to fantasyland Seaborne & Santos whacking this guy like a pinata.
Jimmy @ 8 concerning Roger Rabbit yousaid “Don’t you, or any of the righty trolls think for a minute that we over here in the 4th are not watching”
Jimmy, think erhaps you are new here, or just a tad confused. But then again the next time a wingnut Troll lashes out at RR, he can say “Hey, brother, I am one of you!”
Janet S, have you noticed how few people respond to your posts? I think it is because you, as a libertarian, are much like the easter bunny, or the tooth fairy. You are delusional and live in fairy-land.
Watch out Janet, the one and only thing Donna knows anything about is being delusional and living in fantasy world! HaHaHa
Donnageddon-34 ‘You are delusional..’
To the casual and not-so-casual viewer it is clear that the lefties have no answers to Janet S comments. Yet there are plenty of names to call and diversions to enlist…
Of course he would – Ken Blackwell still runs selections in Ohio, and Jeb’s machine still controls selections in Florida.
Let the republicans have at least two states for crying out load. The democrats own the other 48 other state selections …..especially this one.
I meant “for crying out loud”
Hey donnageddon – figured out any legislation with Maria Cantwell’s name on it yet?
In my fairy land, Maria Cantwell has done nothing. In my delusional reality, Patty Murray has been elected several times as the dimmest bulb in the Senate – bipartisan. And given that you can’t prove otherwise, I must be right.
But go ahead and call names, because it just shows how lame you are.
I just don’t see that the House Ethics Committee SHOULD have very much to do with the allegations against Tom DeLay.
DeLay has been indicted for alleged felony violations related to technical provisions of the Texas Election Code. DeLay is innocent until proven guilty. The criminal process should work itself out, one way or the other, within a few months in Texas under their speedy trial laws.
If the House Ethics Committee adjudicated the ethics case against DeLay BEFORE the Texas criminal process is resolved, then they would be prejudging the criminal case. For example, let’s suppose the GOP-led HEC determines that the allegations against DeLay, even if true, do not constitute a violation of the law? Can you imagine the hue-and-cry from Democrats (INCLUDING GOLDY) for the GOP supposedly ignoring the charges and whitewashing DeLay under such circumstances?
If the Texas courts throw out the charges because no law was actually violated (pre-trial dismissal on legal grounds), then there obviously are no violations of any laws for the HEC to pursue, and doing nothing at this stage will be shown to be appropriate.
Probably a similar result will apply if the judge allows the case to go to the jury, but DeLay is acquitted by the jury. Granted, they can always look at the difference between the preponderance of evidence and beyond a reasonable doubt, but it would be most appropriate to simply dismiss the ethics charges.
On the other hand, if DeLay is convicted of a felony in the Texas case, then the GOP should formally remove him as Majority Leader (as opposed to the current suspension of his status). And if the conviction is upheld on appeal, then he should be expelled (assuming he doesn’t resign first), just like every other convicted felon in Congress has been in recent memory.
There just isn’t much for the HEC to do at this point. Doc Hastings’ alleged lack of diligence just isn’t the case.
Richard @ 40
It seems to me that the Texas courts and the house ethics committee have two different jobs. Even if DeLay is found not guilty, it doesn’t mean he has committed no breach of house ethics. This guy seems to have multiple layers of ethical problems but has only gotten a slap on the hand in the past.
Richard Pope: These LEFTIST PINHEADS are Stalin’s Useful Idiots. They want all righties indicted immediately incarcerated without a trial just like in commie Russia under Stalin. I agree if DeLay is convicted he should visit Dan Rostenkowski.
Janet, you go gurl. These democraps have no answer to just and sound reasoning. THey can’t answer you and don’t worry about stuckonstupiddon, he’s a harmless athiest.
Hey Patty Murray promoted legislation to put school computers on the Internet. She must have copied the Internet inventor himself.
Wabbit: You mean the selection committee run by Daley Family in Chicago? You mean the selection committee run by fiat in NYC boroughs? You mean the selection committee run by Philly mayor? You mean the Landrieu family selection committee in Louisiana? You mean the SAN Fran selection machine run by Gavin Newsom? You mean the Palm Beach Chad Creating Committee in Palm Beach County? You mean the Miami-Dade-Broward selection machine in SouthEast Florida? Come on Wabbit, your kind have been in the fixin’ bidness since Huey Long in LA since 1935?
Another post held up by Goldy and the filter.
Goldy, has Delay been CONVICTED of anything? [hehe] “Progressive”: communist
re 42: And don’t forget “Landslide Lyndon”. The fact of the matter is that we got the goods on DeLay. That’s not going away. And the public is becoming aware that you Reps. stole the last two presidential elections. You extreme righties have an ideology that exalts weakening the American government and gives moral and economic sanction to the notion that it only helps everyone if the uber rich steal from everyone else. Come to think of it, that’s all the Bush regime has been about: weakening the U.S. and stealing from its citizens.
“The Republican majority is in dire need of a sense of shame. ”
It’ll never happen. Their god is on their side and that’s all that matters. The rest of us don’t matter. The innocents they murder overseas don’t matter.
Anything they do is OK.
Let’s start attending their “prayer breakfasts”.I read an article about the organization that started these prayer breakfasts and the dogma that these people believe is that since they’ve given their lives to Jesus, then every thought or desire that floats through their being is “God Inspired.” Seems like a dangerous philosophy to me.
Lucite, each day you write at least one loony statement that shows you are an ostrich but instead of the sand, your head is up your ass!
Where were the elections stolen? Are you as stoopid as JustDumbBozo? Two of the four counting methods are now agreed to by the NY Slimes saying Bush would have won in 2000. If Al Gore won Tennessee, he’d be president. What to Tennesseeans still know today? Do you need that link? Why bother?!! You don’t know how to process facts.
You and your commine lib thinking is why people reject you at the polls. Why not write editorials in the Seattle Slimes? Then people from all walks of life can see the idiot you really are, vs. here on animal hind parts and Sound Politics.
Dan B: I remember you. You hate Israel. You stated it Septmeber 6, 9:15 AM or so. Yet David won’t condemn you for your hatred. You hate unborn donk babies. With all those aborted babies, you could have won the presidency in 2000 & 2004. So much for intelligence in the donko-cratic party.
re 48: Sanity will prevail , Puddwhack. The rapid decline of the “Prayer Breakfast Mafia” is well under way. Tom DeLay is an indicted crook. Frist is under investigation. Rove is soon to be indicted. Everyone can see now that the”Prayer Breakfast Mafia” is just a bunch of wacky fascist Jesus Freaks.
Comment on 33
Is Bush gone? Have things returned to normal? We Democrats are contemplating fratricide again — so all must be well in the world!
33 (continued)
“next time a wingnut Troll lashes out at RR, he can say ‘Hey, brother, I am one of you!’”
I wouldn’t put it past them — they lie about everything else! Could I sue them for libel?
@38
No, you got it right the first time — the operative word is “load” as in “load of crap.”
Reply to 39
“In my fairy land”
First time you’ve gotten anything right. This should preface everything you post!
As for your disingenuous question about what legislation has Cantwell “enacted,” lately no Democratic Senator has been “enacting” much of anything, because the GOP controls both houses of Congress and the White House.
On the other hand, Cantwell has been instrumental in preventing the enactment of plenty of GOP bullshit legislation, such as massive taxpayer giveaways to oil companies, drug companies, and insurance companies. For Bush’s first two years in office, Cantwell’s narrow election victory provided the Democrats with their 51st vote in the Senate — and that vote prevented a lot of things from happening that did happen after the 2002 election — none of it good for taxpayers, wage earners, or middle class folks.
Maria Cantwell has more than earned her congressional salary. George W. Bush has yet to earn a dime of his presidential salary — in fact, the whole country would be well-served if he went on vacation 100% of the time (instead of merely two weeks a month) and let someone else run the federal government.
Putty fer Brains @ 42
Stalin has been dead since 1953. You’ve been brain-dead at least as long.
Reply to 43
“Another post held up by Goldy and the filter.”
No problem — when Goldy gets around to cleaning out his filter, he’ll click on the “Release Stupid Posts” button and your comment will appear as if by magic. Ain’t technology wonderful!
Douglas County PUD Comissioner Jim Davis ran against Hastings in 2000. He’s a gun-toting pro-dam wheat farming veteran moderate Democrat. Friendly, personable, straight-talking. Raised a fair bit of money. Seems like the perfect profile.
Davis fought a hard campaign and got beat very very badly for his effort.
Honestly, we aren’t going to get this seat until Hastings retires. Hastings has got inertia and that nice harmless quality that people never have good reason to *not* vote for him.
Goldy, as a side note, always refer to the Congressman as Richard “Doc” Hastings. It drives his Chief of Staff up. the. wall.
Comment on 47
The most dishonest person I’ve ever known was an extremely conservative “born again” businessman who thought the fact God has forgiven his sins gave him license to lie, cheat, and steal.
Apparently their reasoning works like this: All the shit you’ve done has been forgiven because you found Jesus and your sins were washed away, so it’s okay to go and do more shit because you’ll be forgiven for that, too.
I don’t resent eastern Washington their congressman-for-life. After all, we have Jim McDermott.
But I sometimes wonder if the 4th Cong. Dist. voters have been exposed to too much radiation, which does funny things to the brain.
Roger Rabbit-59 ‘But I sometimes wonder if the 4th Cong. Dist. voters have been exposed to too much radiation, which does funny things to the brain.’
Correct. When Hanford shut down, and even prior when the new construction shut down, the Tri-Cities almost became ghost towns. You may want to close the floppies for this – they migrated to Seattle for the Boeing boom in the 80’s.
Wabbit, exactly on Stalin. So why are you LEFTIST PINHEADS acting the same way 52 years later regarding throwing people in jail over an indictment? I am glad you see my point! Goooo Wabbit!
I have to admit you donks almost got the presidency in 2000. All you needed was just a dozen or two crack dealers in Miami and a couple buses hauling in street drunks and you would’ve had it. You just didnt cheat hard enough. It didnt matter in 2004 because a lot more people were watching and you lost by 135,000 in the closest state that meant anything.
Doc Hastings is a dozy turd. Sorry, I just can’t muster anything more intelligent to say about him. I have been his constituent, and all I could really determine about him was that he seems to enjoy his franking priveleges. That’s about it. From talking to my neighbors, it seemed to me that a lot of people voted for him just because he had an “R” next to his name on the ballot. What a way to waste your voting franchise… sadly, a lot of people do it.
Rabbit@58—
Is having “Jim McDermott” like having venereal disease??