more chitown politics in dc

[dmarc117]

http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-now-...alth-care-votes

 

Tonight, Barack Obama will host ten House Democrats who voted against the health care bill in November at the White House; he's obviously trying to persuade them to switch their votes to yes. One of the ten is Jim Matheson of Utah. The White House just sent out a press release announcing that today President Obama nominated Matheson's brother Scott M. Matheson, Jr. to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

[driveby]

Is anyone surprised?

[bpwallace49]

If only those on the right used the same magnifying glass to examine their own faults . . . .

 

Both parties play back-room politics . . . do you guys bat an eye at how GWB and Jeb and their political connections of how they got into office? None of it is on the level and none of it helps the country. Inexcusable in any form or by any party . . . .

 

ALL politicians are corrupt . . . but the right only notices/cares when they arent in power (cause they are an oppressed minority ) and the left only cares when they run out of hippy lettuce and cheetos and start noticing their surroundings . . . all of a sudden corruption is in vogue when you aint in control anymore . . . welcome to Washington DC ladies . . . .

[Perchoutofwater]

Speaking of corruption, you know it is bad when the NY Slimes starts piling on the Dems.

 

Rash of Scandals Tests Democrats at Sensitive Time

 

By JEFF ZELENY

Published: March 4, 2010

 

WASHINGTON — The ethical woes facing Democrats are piling up, with barely a day passing in recent weeks without headlines from Washington to New York and beyond filled with word of scandal or allegations of wrongdoing.

 

The troubles of Gov. David A. Paterson of New York, followed by those of two of the state’s congressmen, Charles B. Rangel and Eric J. Massa, have added to the ranks of episodes involving prominent Democrats like Eliot Spitzer, Rod R. Blagojevich and John Edwards.

 

Taken together, the cases have opened the party to the same lines of criticism that Democrats, led by Representatives Nancy Pelosi, now the House speaker, and Rahm Emanuel, now White House chief of staff, used effectively against Republicans in winning control of the House and Senate four years ago.

 

The mix of power and the temptations of corruption can be a compelling political narrative at any time. But with voters appearing to be in an angry mood and many already inclined to view all things Washington with mistrust, the risks for Democrats could be that much greater this year.

 

With Election Day still eight months away, there is time to avert a history-is-repeating-itself storyline. But Democrats, who are already on the defensive over the economy, health care and federal spending and are facing a re-energized conservative movement, suddenly have a set of ethical issues to deflect as well. “Speaker Pelosi famously promised the most open, honest and ethical Congress in history,” Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader, said Thursday. “Yet here we go again.”

 

In 2006, when Democrats were battling for control of the House, the message of their campaign against the Republicans could be boiled down to a three-word slogan: culture of corruption. Democratic leaders aggressively seized on each indictment of a Republican member of Congress or lobbyist, building an argument that the controlling party had become arrogant and was in urgent need of a housecleaning.

 

So is that moment — in reverse fashion — now approaching for Democrats?

 

Tim Kaine, a former Virginia governor and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Thursday that the recent spate of allegations against several political figures in his party was troubling.

 

But he said the recent cases — largely revolving around New York politicians — had hardly reached the nationwide pitch that buffeted Republicans four years ago. Then, Tom DeLay, the Republican House leader, was indicted in Texas, and the influence-peddling scandal tied to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff touched several Republican members of Congress.

 

“I would never say that folks should be blithe about their ethical responsibilities. But I think it’s quite a bit different,” Mr. Kaine said Thursday in an interview. “But a couple things that happened in the same week in one state is different than the kind of corruption that roped members of Congress in from all over the country.”

 

Ms. Pelosi moved quickly this week to deal with escalating criticism surrounding Mr. Rangel, who was admonished by the House ethics committee for accepting corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean. He remains under investigation on more serious accusations.

 

Mr. Rangel stepped down on Wednesday as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, heading off any possibility of a drawn-out political battle over his fate. The National Republican Congressional Committee has been intensifying its pressure on Democratic lawmakers in districts across the country to return political contributions from Mr. Rangel, who was among the most generous contributors to fellow members of Congress.

 

“All Aboard for the Ride to Victory,” screams a poster depicting Mr. Rangel against a train, showing how many Democratic campaigns he helped finance. Republicans have sent around the old Rangel campaign posters this week to highlight his influence.

 

Since last Friday, 29 House Democrats have given back or donated to charity more than $400,000 in contributions from Mr. Rangel’s three political fund-raising committees. But several others have not returned the money. Representative Michael E. McMahon, Democrat of New York, is among those who have not returned the money, in his case more than $70,383.

 

Ms. Pelosi dismissed the criticism on Thursday that Democrats had not lived up to their promise to sweep away a culture of corruption on Capitol Hill. She also noted that she had established an outside group to receive complaints about members of Congress, which could be easily referred to the House ethics committee.

 

“My commitment to the American people is that the public trust will always be honored,” Ms. Pelosi said at her weekly news conference. “And on the floor of the House, that happens.”

 

President Obama, who built his campaign around a pledge to change the way Washington works and to strengthen transparency and ethics, has followed a practice of generally not commenting on the scandals or allegations involving the Democratic politicians. Months ago, several of his senior advisers worked behind the scenes to try to dissuade Governor Paterson from running for election, a pitch that failed.

 

Last week, Mr. Paterson conceded that he would not be on the ticket in the fall, but he has declined to step down. The White House has said that it has no intention of wading into the Paterson situation again, but several advisers said they were following the developments with interest.

 

It is the case of another governor, perhaps, that has drawn even more attention from those inside the West Wing.

 

Mr. Blagojevich, who was impeached last year as the governor of Illinois, faces a criminal trial in June. The proceedings are expected to be unfolding at the very moment that Democrats are battling in several races, including a campaign for the Senate seat once held by the man who now sits in the Oval Office.

 

NY Slimes link

 

bp, is the slimes now a right wing rag?

 

BTW when was the last time the left took a serious look at their own parties corruption? You and several other left leaning members of this board pretty much chose to ignore or play off as no big deal Obama trying to buy Matheson's vote. Now granted you haven't been here long enough to rail against the GOP corruption, but everyone else in that thread rode the GOP just as hard if not harder than I'm now on the Dems. Funny you've always had issue with my avatars, but I've never heard you mention anything about EGOPs screen name.

[bpwallace49]

Speaking of corruption, you know it is bad when the NY Slimes starts piling on the Dems.

 

 

 

NY Slimes link

 

bp, is the slimes now a right wing rag?

 

BTW when was the last time the left took a serious look at their own parties corruption? You and several other left leaning members of this board pretty much chose to ignore or play off as no big deal Obama trying to buy Matheson's vote. Now granted you haven't been here long enough to rail against the GOP corruption, but everyone else in that thread rode the GOP just as hard if not harder than I'm now on the Dems. Funny you've always had issue with my avatars, but I've never heard you mention anything about EGOPs screen name.

 

Perch . . Matheson is qualified. Do you object to his qualifications? Should he be dismissed as a candidate due to his family? Isnt that punitive to a qualified candidate? The spin of "buying the vote" is media driven, maily byb the right. Can you actually prove any of this, or just repeating the Faux News headline? I will be on the front lines with you crusading against this if anything of substance comes out . . until then, it is all rumor and supposition.

 

And you may not have been paying attention to your article, but it states that BOTH parties are corrupt and have been for some time. Something I have agreed with for YEARS. Perch, I live in ILLINOIS. Did you read anything at all about Blagovich, our outsted ex-Governor? Where I am I giving the left a pass at all on corruption? Corruption has been the main business in Washington DC for YEARS

[Perchoutofwater]

Perch . . Matheson is qualified. Do you object to his qualifications? Should he be dismissed as a candidate due to his family? Isnt that punitive to a qualified candidate? The spin of "buying the vote" is media driven, maily byb the right. Can you actually prove any of this, or just repeating the Faux News headline? I will be on the front lines with you crusading against this if anything of substance comes out . . until then, it is all rumor and supposition.

 

And you may not have been paying attention to your article, but it states that BOTH parties are corrupt and have been for some time. Something I have agreed with for YEARS. Perch, I live in ILLINOIS. Did you read anything at all about Blagovich, our outsted ex-Governor? Where I am I giving the left a pass at all on corruption? Corruption has been the main business in Washington DC for YEARS

 

First the info did not come from Fox, but nice try of a typical liberal dismissal of something you would rather ignore. Second, I do not question his qualifications though I question the timing of this appointment, and suggest surely there is someone just as qualified that who isn't related to a congressman that Obama needs to have change his vote. If Matheson changes his vote, then we do know he was bought as he has voted against this in both committee and in the full house.

 

I agree both parties have corruption in them. I find it interesting how Pelosi was going to drain the swamp, and yet look at how much pressure had to be applied just to get Rangle to step down from his chairman ship. Look at the scandals we've had, and for the most Obama, Pelosi, and Reid have remained silent, defended or in the cases of buying vote participated in the shenanigans. So it is hypocritical for me to point out their corruption but you have no problem with them pointing out Republican corruption and running on ti for the last 4 years and yet turning around and doing the same if not more. I guess that makes sense in a liberal alternative universe.

[driveby]

“Corruption and ineptitude are bipartisan, but Dems at the moment seem to have the edge in criminality and incompetence,” observes Doug Muzzio of Baruch College. Several former Democratic assemblymen have rap-sheets. One was sentenced to ten years last May for racketeering; another is serving six years for fraud after a 30-year career in the state Assembly. Hiram Monserrate was expelled from the state Senate last month after he was convicted of attacking his girlfriend. Other legislators are under investigation. Mr Paterson, a state legislator for two decades before he became lieutenant-governor, is as much a product of corrupt Albany as of the Harlem Clubhouse.

 

The Fall of the Harlem Clubhouse

[bpwallace49]

First the info did not come from Fox, but nice try of a typical liberal dismissal of something you would rather ignore. Second, I do not question his qualifications though I question the timing of this appointment, and suggest surely there is someone just as qualified that who isn't related to a congressman that Obama needs to have change his vote. If Matheson changes his vote, then we do know he was bought as he has voted against this in both committee and in the full house. -sigh- Perch it isnt a "liberal dismissal". It waiting for some substance to come out besides your conspiracy theories. Y'know . . like waiting for FACTS and PROOF? Kinda like shrub didnt have any proof for WMDs? havent you learned form that monumnetal misjudgement? I prefer proof as that is a hell of a lot stronger than wild guesses . . but I guess that is the "typical liberal" mindset . .

 

I agree both parties have corruption in them. I find it interesting how Pelosi was going to drain the swamp, and yet look at how much pressure had to be applied just to get Rangle to step down from his chairman ship. Look at the scandals we've had, and for the most Obama, Pelosi, and Reid have remained silent, defended or in the cases of buying vote participated in the shenanigans. So it is hypocritical for me to point out their corruption but you have no problem with them pointing out Republican corruption and running on ti for the last 4 years and yet turning around and doing the same if not more. I guess that makes sense in a liberal alternative universe. Obama spoke out against the tax cheats and ADMITTED he made mistakes in nominating them. Pelosi and Reid are horrible, and the country would be better off without them in office.