In other news, another Republican has been charged in relation to the Jack Abramoff scandal.
Showing posts with label Culture of Corruption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Culture of Corruption. Show all posts
6.02.2008
5.08.2008
Culture of Corruption # 1,212
Oh no! Republican Congressman Vito Fossella of New York was arrested last week on DUI charges and admitted today that he fathered a daughter in an extramarital affair. It appears it was his girlfriend that showed up to bail him out of jail. Note to self: when arrested for DUI don't have your mistress bail you out.
This will probably turn into a strong chance for another Dem pickup in November. Though the district leans heavily Republican it will be interesting to see what the Dems can put together in the next couple months.
I'm sure like all Republicans do when they break the law, Fossella will resign or go to jail.
4.30.2008
Culture of Corruption No. 1,316
One of the most dishonest and corrupt bureaucrats of the Bush administration has finally stepped down. Head of the General Services Administration, Lorita Doan, after years of unethical behavior, submitted her resignation and asked for more cookies and milk.
I had the chance to meet Ms. Doan back in November of 2006. She was a little squirrelly but approachable. I guess this means the GOP won't be able to hand out federal contracts to help Republicans in this year's election.
4.15.2008
D.C. Madam Found Guilty
Republican David Vitter's call girl found guilty this morning. Even though he was on the list of witnesses, Sen. Vitter was never called to testify. And if he had been, there is no doubt he would have pleaded the fifth. Amazingly he is still in office. It's a good thing that he's a meager U.S. Senator and not of any importance or leader of a state like my friend Kent says, or else his career would have been in real jeopardy for hiring prostitutes like Spitzer's.
However, if one, like me, tends to think that a man who ran his 1998 House campaign on the moral grounds of the Clinton impeachment and on the very moral grounds of being a "Christian Conservative," should be held to the very standards he sets for others, then such a person, like me, would be wrong. Such logic only belongs in the reality based community in not in the GOP Fantasy World. Republicans are allowed such behavior because God has forgiven them. It's a good thing that we have a Party like the GOP that is ordained by God and washed in the Blood of the Lamb or all of our sins would be judged by liberals.
4.07.2008
Slimeball
So when Republicans get caught in prostitution rings they always do the right thing and resign, or go to jail like Kent says, right? Wrong. They stay in office, tell the press they've repented of their sins and ask the people to forgive them like Jesus did, and then back their cars into street signs.
That is hillarious. First off, I can't believe a warrior patriot like Vitter isn't driving an American owned car. And why the need for a hybrid when global warming is a hoax? I hoped the police filed a report because leaving the scene of an accident is a crime.
3.12.2008
Spitzer Out
Spitzer's resignation effective Monday. Thank God. I do find it odd that he's not being charged with a crime. The feds went through all that trouble to catch him and then don't charge him. I suppose ruining his political and professional career is enough punishment given the crime. I would just think that charging him with a crime would be what the Department of Justice is supposed to do rather than investigating political figures and then once they step aside not following through with their hard labor. Kind of a waste of tax payer money isn't it?
On a side note, I keep reading comparisons between Spitzer and Bill Clinton. Keep in mind that cheating on your wife isn't a crime, which is what Bill did. Hiring a prostitute in the State of New York is a crime. Confusing perceptions of morality with legality can be such a burden.
3.11.2008
Republican vs. Democrat (with Limbaugh update)
My buddy Kent made an observation yesterday about differences in treatment of Republican vs. Democratic scandals from the MSM and the public in general.
Culture of corruption? Sure, the Republicans have had some bad apples like DeLay, Craig, Foley, Cunningham and Rinzi. But there's a key difference. Republicans go to jail. Republicans get harsh media coverage, but when their names are cleared, like in the case of DeLay and when charges aren't filed, as in the case of Foley, nary of mention of it is ever made.Obviously he leaves out quite a few scandalized Republicans as I reminded him in the comments section and I have no clue what he's talking about DeLay being cleared, but the whole thing made me think of Republican Senator David Vitter and his ties to illegal prostitution and his treatment by his fellow Republicans as well as the media. Do Republicans really go to jail, and where are the calls for Vitter's resignation from the media or the GOP?
Not that I support hiring a prostitute by any means. But what's the difference when a Democratic Governor does it and a Republican Senator does it? To me there shouldn't be any difference. However, I will note that whatever they do in their personal lives is up to them. It shouldn't be any of our business yet somehow it always is. To be fair, what Spitzer and Vitter did was illegal, both should resign and let people move on. Both betrayed the publics trust and both, in my view, are cut from the same mold.
Yet, look at the vast differences of attention Spitzer and Vitter have received.
Vitter gets a standing ovation from the GOP after admitting that he had "sinned," notice never fully admitting to any sexual affairs, while Spitzer immediately admits to being involved in the scandal, says he sorry and the NY GOP is calling for his resignation within 48 hours or face impeachment hearings. So, who is really getting a difference in attention? Very similar scandals here. Both are elected officials, both betrayed their wives, their families, their faith and their office. One is celebrated and one is chastised. Who goes to jail and who gets the "harsh media coverage?"
*Update:
Oh no! What's this? "When Rush Limbaugh was investigated under the money-laundering laws for "structuring" the cash withdrawals he used to feed his narcotics habit, he was outraged, and many of his political buddies, in Red Blogistan and elsewhere, shared his outrage. I wonder whether Rush and his friends will be equally upset now that Elliot Spitzer has been caught in the same trap, though with respect to a different vice?"
So druggie, fat ass Rush Limbaugh gets busted for drugs by being tipped off for money structuring and it's a vast left wing conspiracy...aaahhh I see. The sun is shining here. Is it shining where you are?
3.10.2008
Democratic New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer joins the Republican ranks of the Culture of Corruption.
2.22.2008
Another Republican Indicted...
...and the Culture of Corruption continues.
Rick Renzi (R-AZ) indicted for extortion, wire fraud, money laundering, embezzlement amongst other matters in a 26 page federal indictment. Renzi has already said he wouldn't seek reelection in '08, but also says he's not going to resign his seat anytime soon either.
Just hasn't been a good week two years for the Republicans.
*Update:
As is the case when almost every Republican gets indicted or convicted they refuse, actually demand, that they won't resign their post as representative or senator or whatever position they may hold at the time. Republican Tom DeLay is a perfect example. He held on to his post for months after his indictment. Congressman Bob Ney is another example, who by the way is still incarcerated. He held onto his seat for many months before being carted off to prison. Republican Senator Larry Craig is a prime time example. After being convicted of soliciting an undercover male police officer for sex, Craig announced that he would resign and then changed his mind and tried to change his plea. After discovering that he couldn't change his guilty plea, he still kept his seat nonetheless along with his heterosexuality. I don't need to get into the whole Duke Cunningham thing do I? Today we have Rick Renzi as our example of law breaking Republicans who represent their district and their party in our nation's capitol. This from minority leader John Boehner:
“I have made it clear that I will hold our members to the highest standards of ethical conduct,” Boehner said in a statement Friday. “The charges contained in this indictment are completely unacceptable for a member of Congress, and I strongly urge Rep. Renzi to seriously consider whether he can continue to effectively represent his constituents under these circumstances. I expect to meet with Rep. Renzi at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss this situation and the best option for his constituents, our Conference, and the American people.”Renzi, so far, is refusing to give up his seat as he faces a 35 count federal indictment.
**Update:
Even after leader Boehner publicly demands Renzi resign, he still refuses. "I will not resign and take on the cloak of guilt because I am innocent," the statement read. "My legal team. . .will handle these legal issues while I continue to serve my constituents."
2.21.2008
The GOP and Sex
Let me see if I can get this straight. The GOP nominee for president calls the NY Times story that alleges an affair with a lobbyist unfair and a deliberate smear, and here we have Karl Rove, President Bush's political adviser, who by the way was drawing a salary on the taxpayers dime, ordering a GOP political employee to "find evidence that the Democratic governor of Alabama at the time was cheating on his wife." How interesting the timing of both stories. The moral majority, or the GOP, whichever you prefer, kicks into high gear when one of their own is accused in a sex scandal but for a Democrat we have the highest office in the land ordering investigations on the opposition party.
The Times is an independent newspaper. Whatever their perceived interests may be is irrelevant. Any paper that has William Kristol writing editorials can't be too liberal. The difference is Rove was a government employee working in the highest office in the land instigating the surveillance of someone's private life. No affair was ever discovered but that didn't stop Rove from playing politics.
This is what the GOP does. Hypocritical to the core.
*Editor's Note:
Sorry to anyone who subscribes to these posts and got like a million RSS feeds sent to them for this one post. I'm trying out a new collapse post widget and it took me forever to figure it out. I kept having to edit and republish, edit and republish. Looks like I finally got it even though RSS feeds do get annoying.
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