I thought Democrats were...

[Justme]

You must admit that under Delay politicians who were bought stayed bought. Something down right unamerican about taking the money and then not delivering.

Both sides take the money, but recently the republicans have been able to deliver the goods more often than not. The Dems have been pretty ineffectual in recent years, but now that they are in power I suspect they will get better.

 

[Wildalaska]

They are all crooks. all of them.

WildcanwemoveonnowAlaska

 

[Mad Martigan]

But let's look at what actually happened, no? When it was apparent that Jefferson had this hanging over his head and it was real (tapes, etc) he was pulled from the Ways and Means committee back in June 2006. Jefferson won re-election in 2006 while under investigation. Until there is an indictment, what do you do?

Ohh, I know, I know!!! You act tough on corruption until you sweep Congress, then you place the same blatantly crooked clown on the HOMELAND SECURITY committee, where the best interests of our country are so much less relevant. Also, while you do this, watch out for darling California senators being caught sucking on the nepotism tit.

What do I win?

 

[Black Adder LXX]

Anyone who sees charges of corruption leveled at one party and not the other and doesn't think "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss," is guilty of partisanship well over the line into naivety.

EXACTLY! You can tell when they're lying b/c their lips move. I'm with WildAlaska: They're all crooks. Every last one.

W was bought and paid for by BIG OIL

Clinton by the Chinese government

Can't wait to see the next 'same as the old boss'.

 

[Eghad]

maybe some justice department incompetence for flavor

Janet Reno?

Seems like the Congressional approval rating is sliding towards the crapper also. They may be lower than Bush now.

wonder why?

The Senate on Wednesday narrowly rebuffed an effort by Texas Sen. John Cornyn to deny legalization to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants previously ordered deported from the United States.

In a day of repeated challenges from liberals and conservatives, the bipartisan coalition that assembled the fragile immigration bill repelled a series of potential deal-killer amendments.

Chief among them was Cornyn's bid to deny legalization to 635,000 people who ignored deportation orders or returned to the United States after being deported — both felonies.

these people committed a felony and now some of the Congress wants to give them citizenship.

sad indeed

Congress needs a colonic to get rid of all the bad apples in both parties.

 

[Fremmer]

My prior post:

And what ever became of the revelations about Senator Boxer's husband and those special appropriations?

And the answer is.....

Nothing, because it was not Senator Boxer's husband, it was Senator Feinstein's husband. Right party, wrong Senator. Boxer, Feinstein, close enough.....

 

[re_kenney]

Freezing Bribery!

Hey SecDef;
Maybe the Dems said they would freeze bribes. Jefferson was just implementing the Dem's policy!?

 

[SecDef]

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who orchestrated Jefferson's ouster from the powerful Ways and Means Committee even before the Democrats won back the House in November, seems unlikely to restore Jefferson to a position of influence, and Jefferson may find it harder to work with his Democratic colleagues as long as the clouds of suspicion follow him. "He looks like a person who will have political difficulties operating in the House, and that's not good for his constituents," says Loyola University political scientist Ed Renwick. "If he doesn't operate from a position of strength, that makes it very hard to get bills that are favorable to us passed."

Those Dems, just sitting on their hands. . .

Exactly how effective do you guys think the ethics committee is? You remember how many times Delay was admonished? (here's a hint... 4) Didn't really slow him down, did it? Criminal charges are being brought against Jefferson, as they should be, and in the meantime he hasn't had any position of power within the party.

 

[Fremmer]

in the meantime he hasn't had any position of power within the party.

Actually, he was a member of the house ways and means committee -- he didn't resign from the committee until the indictment; the Democrats certainly took no action to remove him from the committe and/or to conduct an investigation until the indictment was filed. In other words, a congressman who was videotaped agreeing to a bribe, and who had thousands of dollars in cash (the proceeds of the bribe) stuffed in his freezer, was allowed to sit as a member of a very powerful committee by the Democratic majority, in direct contradiction of the Democrat's promise to "end the culture of corruption."

Edited to add: And I'm getting my committees mixed up, so I'll look again. But the stuffing money in the freezer part is still right. Ayup.

 

[SecDef]

Where are you getting your information? He was removed from the committee last December by Pelosi pretty much as soon as she took power..

WaPo (12/12/2006) has it.

Am I missing something?

 

[Cyrgelman]

November Democrats won control of the U.S. Congress from Bush's Republicans last year, promising to end a "culture of corruption."

Sure, I understood what they meant.
End one "culture of corruption" and begin a new "culture of corruption"!

 

[Mad Martigan]

Where are you getting your information? He was removed from the committee last December by Pelosi pretty much as soon as she took power..

WaPo (12/12/2006) has it.

Am I missing something?

Yes, you are missing something. I pointed it out to you, and you ignored it.

 

[Fremmer]

Man, so many committees, it's hard to keep track. But the Wapo article (which is pretty good) leaves out a few juicy details. I'm getting my info from the Associated Press, which shows how Pelosi handled that little problem by reappointing Jefferson to another committee seat:

After the FBI had found $90,000 in cash in Jefferson's freezer and alleged that stash was bribe money nearly two years ago, Pelosi succeeded in stripping Jefferson of his seat on the Ways and Means Committee — over Jefferson's objection.

The congressman, who represents part of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, was then re-elected in November to a ninth term in the House. Opening the 110th Congress as House Speaker this year, Pelosi granted him the seat on the Small Business Committee.

Not only did Pelosi re-appoint Jefferson to a new committee seat, she has not held any hearings to investigate the bribery and corruption that have obviously occurred. The Democrats seem hesitant to find out themselves what happened with Jeffords, when it happened, and who knew about it -- including the reason for Jeffords' special reappointment.

And the culture of corruption continues.....
P.S. Come on man, ya gotta do better than stuffing it in the freezer.

 

[SecDef]

Some committees are definitely more important than others. Ways and Means is pretty much the peach.

I can agree with you if you think the dems didn't do enough, but I disagree with you if you think they didn't do anything.

Obviously though, steps were taken. Taking Ways and Means definitely hurt him the most.

Being on the other committees doesn't mean he had any advantages.. it simply meant that he had to work for a living.

 

[SecDef]

Yes, you are missing something. I pointed it out to you, and you ignored it.

You pointed out a committee that he was still on. That speaks neither of whether he lost prestige/power/position etc.

What you did was point to the homeless guy that had his house, job, wife, and bank account taken away, and saying look look, he still has shoes! (ok, obviously way too drastic of an analogy, but I am just trying to say that still being on some committees doesn't mean actions weren't taken against him, and all before an indictment)

 

[Mad Martigan]

No. You've missed it three times now. He was taken off the ways and means committee. Then he was placed on the homeland security committee after being caught with $90,000 inexplicable dollars in his freezer, being investigated for bribery, and after the guy who bribed him plead guilty TO BRIBING HIM.

 

[SecDef]

Was the removal of Jefferson from Ways and Means and added to Homeland Security an net gain, a net loss, or a wash for Jefferson?

What I'm saying and you seem to be ignoring is that it's a net loss. I'd love to hear your argument otherwise, because you seem to not be seeing the big picture.

 

[Manedwolf]

I find it ironic that he was put on Homeland Security after being involved in money transfers to Nigeria. I still want to know who the money there went to, and whether it was used in any possible terrorist funding.

 

[Fremmer]

it's a net loss

A net loss? I don't understand why he is serving on any of the committees. I think I'm understanding this correctly, that Pelosi reappointed him to another committee after he was removed from the ways and means committee, and even after they had served the warrant and found all the money in his freezer, yes? If so, something ain't right. I guess that means that he was too unethical for one committee, but ethical enough for another committee.

 

[SecDef]

I don't understand why he is serving on any of the committees.

Well that's what I am having trouble with. I am seeing a pushback with no nuance. There was an ethical violation (which I believe didn't go through the ethics committee, merely through democratic leadership), and there was a response. Removal from ways and means made perfect sense relative to the crime that he has now been indicted with.

The appointment to homeland security has nothing to do with this. I'm not sure I agree with your assessment that an ethics violation means that a congressman shouldn't be seated on any committee. Without an indictment, this was a measured response to a 9th term congressman.

A "culture of corruption" is also more than a single rep who committed an act made prior to the statement itself. But then, the people complaining are also calling for Scooter to be pardoned. (not necessarily those involved in this thread)

I totally agree though that Jefferson should not have been appointed to a committee once the dem leadership decided to remove him from ways and means. I won't go so far as think that this means there is a culture of corruption still in effect. In recent years, that term has meant blocking investigations into impropriety, and not enforcing any punishment for violations at all.