The Culture of Corruption continues
Remember the 109th Congress, when it seemed like every few weeks another Republican lawmaker would become the subject of a criminal inquiry? Unfortunately for the GOP, the 110th isn't looking much better.
A senior House Republican has come under criminal investigation in the Justice Department's widening inquiry into alleged influence-peddling and self-dealing in Congress.
Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the former chairman of the House Transportation Committee, now is the subject of a continuing criminal inquiry involving possible political favors for a company in Alaska, people close to the case said. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the powerful former chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the longest-serving Senate Republican, is also now under criminal investigation, these people said.
In other words, Alaska has three members of its congressional delegation, all Republicans. Two are currently facing criminal investigations, and the third may be soon. It's quite a GOP caucus, isn't it?
Democracy is broken. The questions is: how to repair it?
Clinton must be involved somehow.
theWalrus @ 1:
After dealing with the criminals, how about Instant Runoff Voting and proportional representation instead of a winner take all system?
Instead of wasting all the time on Congressional investigations, and criminal investigations, and trying to get the DOJ to do anything, why not just throw all republicans in jail for a while, and get on with the legitimate business of the nation?
After all, if nothing else, they're all guilty of voting for and supporting Bush, and what could be more criminal, and deserving of incarceration, than that?
Another day, another republiscum scandal. Ho hum.
What's wrong with Alaska? My brother in law is from there and a better guy you couldn't find. Maybe a better question is what is wrong with their elected officials?
Just a quick fyi. Bruce Fein was on Hardball tonight and he said the only way the senate can bring gonzo down is to impeach him. It was so great listening to him explain all this and I learned a ton. If you can stomach Chris, try to catch the show tonight. :)
If I said prayers, which I don't, knowing that Ted Stevens had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar would be an answer to those prayers.
Hey, in our defense we have had 4 state republicans indicted, and one convicted over this VECO thing.
What is wrong with us? B.P. and Phillips have more money than all of the citizens combined, we can't buy our legislature like they can.
It figures that the party of criminality and thuggery is only going to attract criminals and thugs.
Now we are hearing astronauts have gone into space drunk and to quote an email from CNN a bit ago "NASA says it has found wires which may have been deliberately cut on computers bound for the international space station."
WTF is going on with NASA?
SHOCKED!!! I am absolutely shocked. Maybe Stevens can hide inside those tubes. With all the traffic on the internet they must be HUGE
This is what we get with drunkards and criminals running things.
A Reign of Error
In the last 5-6 years in AK:
- Senator Frank Murkowski was elected and ran for Governor, he won, and by
Alaska law, the governor appoints the vacant Senate seat. He appointed HIS OWN DAUGHTER!
- Two years later, the term was up, the voters of AK elected her essentially on a 'I will build the gas pipeline' platform.
- Frank then worked behind the scenes deals with VECO, BP, and Phillips on tax structure on the oil they remove from the state, as well as a completely corrupt gas pipeline proposal that would build a gas pipeline along the oil pipeline.
- The citizenry was fed up with Frank, and he became the only non-indicted sitting governor to not win his party's support for the next gubernatorial election. However, the
citizens did elect another Republican, Sarah Palin.
- One State legistlator has been convicted of receiving bribes from VECO, 3 more have been indicted for that. These legislators even had hats and shirts made calling themselves the Corrupt Old Bastards.
- Don Young and Ted Stevens are under investigation for the same crime
So, I honestly don't know what it will take to rid the house of all of these people. I hope in the next election, when Young and Stevens are up, we finally vote some other people in.
I,
Booty K Jones @ 8:
A fine example of special interests over those of the people. Can we talk about term limits yet?
Pelosi "We'll drain the swamp"
How's that working out for ya?
OT
Really worthwhile article you all may be interested in :
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2007_07/011753.php
a portion of it:
"Have you been following the Scott Thomas story? He's a pseudonymous soldier in Iraq who wrote a couple of columns for TNR describing the ways in which war robs us of our humanity. One soldier dug up a skull and wore it on his head. Another one amused himself by running over dogs in his Bradley. Thomas himself mocked a woman who had been disfigured by an IED."
See, it so cold in Alaska, the elected officials just have to get in bed with lobbyists.
Guess they better dust off that “criminalization of politics” talking point again.
Shit Birds of a Feather Flock Together.
Isn't that why Repugs go into government? To Steal? Or, do they come to it by associating with criminals like Delay and Bush?
Say it aint so Teddy you rancorous old fart.
Let us *cough* build a "bridge" to um.."somewhere" to help us heal our partisan wounds...
Or conversely,let us wallow gleefully in the fact that you've stepped in the shit.
You forgot Lisa Murkowski. She is desperately trying to take back the sweetheart deal she made buying land at 1/10 of the worth.....they think they will never get caught and when they do they are desperately trying to back pedal.
When is Larry Flynt going to drop some more Rethug. lowdown cheaters with prostitutes??
Thats it. Might as well sell Alaska back to the Russians. Its just costing us way to much.
the repubs love to steal while using carrot on a stick culture war talking points to their ever poorer base
As a student who grew up in Alaska (seven years of my life!) and now lives and goes to school in Pennsylvania, I can tell you this comes as no surprise. Alaska's other Congressperson, Lisa Murkowski, didn't exactly get there by the most kosher of means. Her father, Frank Murkowski, held the seat in Congress before her. When he was elected governor during that term, Alaska state law at the time gave the governor power to fill vacancies in the Senate. Anyone surprised it was Lisa? The good thing is that nepotism ALMOST cost her the Senate seat. Alaska is and has always been VERY red and it was a miracle that Tony Knowles, a quite liberal Democrat almost beat her. It shows signs of hope that the people of Alaska aren't stupid enough to overlook unethical, questionably legal activities by its Senators. Hopefully this will be a wake up call and lead to better Congressional leadership for such a great state. One can only pray.
GOP?? ....Goddamned old perps??? I guess the truth is in ones perceptions.. Mine leans towards the short definition I just gave above.. But it is the behavior of the people calling themselves republicans that have 'embedded' this perception in me....JD
The ENTIRE republican party is rotten, putrid and rancid with corruption. They are like the bad gangs in all of those old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. There is no longer even one among them who isn't thoroughly covered in the corruption. They STINK with it. They steal from children, the old, the veterans, they lie about EVERYTHING, they kill without conscience while waiting on 2008, they bully sick people lying in hospital beds contaminating them with their sick disgusting germs. There isn't a crime that they haven't committed. And those yet to "make their bones" are the enablers who tell the American people to "go f*ck themselves" when they complain about the lawlessness of the republicans.
The only ones worse than the putrid disgusting republicans are the democrats who refuse to do anything about them.
Murkowski actually lost a few bucks on the deal, and will not get penalized. Count on it. Next!
Republiscums = Crooks & Liars, its as simple as that.
And Democrats Jackson, Murtha and Feinstein are not part of the 110th "culture of corruption" Congress????
Sadly Sen. Harry Reid used Sen. Ted Stevens as a shining example a fine Senator. Surely Harry knows that Ted is under investigation for wrongdoing. Why would Sen. Reid chose ol' Ted to point to as worthy (of anything).
kerplunk @ 31:
Are you sure that Reid didn't say the Sen. Ted Stevens is a shining example of a Republican Senator?
So.......what's up with TOM DELAY and Mark FOLEY?
It is true then, that evil is allowed to flourish when good men do nothing. These Republicans, while I believe that all of them individually have good in them; and probably all are good and kind people to their loved ones --- they also appear to be shallow and selfish and greedy. Whether they got caught up in the headiness of being wooed by lobbyists and the promise of quick money and lavish living or whether is was a sense of entitlement on their part, I do not know and perhaps it doesn't matter.
What does matter is the damage that these men have done to the Congress, (to oversight in general), to the American people and to the Constitution as well as to our great nation. And that makes me angry.
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WHEN WILL THE REPUBLICAN PARTY BE BANNED FROM THE AMERICAN POLITICAL LANDSCAPE?
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We heard this was in the making some time ago. So now it is a little formalized. They don't usually start investigations when they announce them. They usually are pre investigated for some idea of what they'll find................................................
I'm the biggest looser @ 30:
Jackson? Go check your redstate talking points. I think you mean William Jefferson. You sure you don't want to bring up Bill Clinton's penis?
But good point, as long as you can point to a democrat in the last twenty years who was currupt it excuses all the corruption on the part of the republicans. I think that's what I learned in civics.
Old Billy @ 37:
No, they're not, but thanks for asking.
Arroyo @ 38:
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