Invoking Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harry Reid, reporter Jeff Gannon said: "Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. . . . How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"
Gannon writes for Talon News, a Web site whose reports also appear on another site, GOPUSA, whose self-declared mission is "Bringing the Conservative Message to America." But White House spokesman Scott McClellan says President Bush didn't know who Gannon was and that it's "nonsense" to suggest the president was trying to get a sympathetic question. Gannon got a day pass to the White House, available to any journalist, commentator or blogger who writes for an audience. "I don't think it's the role of the press secretary to get into the business of being a media critic or picking and choosing who gets credentials," McClellan says.
Gannon, who uses a pseudonym -- he declines to reveal his real name -- sees a "double standard" in criticism from such liberal groups as Media Matters. "I am admittedly a conservative journalist, and that point of view is not represented in the briefing room at all," says Gannon, who also hosts an online radio show for the Rightalk network. Other White House reporters "come from a decidedly liberal perspective, certainly left of center. . . . Call me partisan, fine, but don't let my colleagues off the hook. They're partisan too, but they don't admit it."
There was a whopping inaccuracy in Gannon's question when he told Bush that "Harry Reid was talking about soup lines." Jim Manley, a spokesman for the Senate minority leader, calls that "outrageous" and a "lie." Gannon concedes he picked up the characterization of Reid's views from a Rush Limbaugh monologue and that Reid never referred to soup lines, but he is unapologetic about using the phrase.
Talon and GOPUSA are headed by Bobby Eberle, a Texas Republican activist, who says: "We make no bones about it: It's a partisan site." Eberle says he hired Gannon two years ago, when he was a "writer of conservative commentary," as his only Washington reporter, and that Talon deals in "facts," not editorializing.
Gannon, who was turned down for a congressional press pass, says he's been stalked and threatened by some "nuts" on the left. "I'm a pioneer," he says. "Guys on the front lines, they get shot at, and hey, I'm willing to take it."
Full Version: Ethics/Values in politics
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190
QUOTE(Bee @ Feb 10 2005, 08:03 AM)
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Talk about a fractured fairy tale.
QUOTE(Bee @ Feb 10 2005, 08:03 AM)
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THIS IS AMAZING. Don't try to tell me about so-called Republican "values" and "morals". Here is a wonderful example of their REAL values. God damned criminals. How the hell is this moral?
Texas GOP Trying to Gut Ethics Inquiry, Critics Say
bill introduced in the Legislature is called a blatant bid to protect Republicans, including Rep. Tom DeLay, from a fundraising probe.
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Late last year, Republican leaders in Washington caused a stir, even among some allies, when they tried to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas by revoking an ethics rule that would force him to step down if indicted.
Now, Republican leaders in Texas are pushing a measure that watchdogs call a junior version of the Washington effort.
[B]
A bill filed this week by a veteran state GOP lawmaker would give the Texas Ethics Commission — whose members were appointed by the three top elected officials in the state, all Republicans — the power to quash the prosecution of a politician.
Critics call it a brazen attempt to protect GOP leaders who might become entangled in an ongoing criminal investigation into whether illegal fundraising paved the party's rise to power in the state.
Texans for Public Justice, an organization that tries to combat the influence of money in politics, labeled the measure the "Politician Protection Act." Director Craig McDonald said the bill created a "special criminal justice process for politicians."
State Rep. Mary Denny, who filed the bill, said in an interview Thursday that she was attempting to add oversight, not remove it.
She said it never occurred to her that the legislation could be used to protect Republican leaders who might become targets of the fundraising investigation.
WHAT??? Hey Republicans, WHAT PART OF THIS IS MORAL? What is wrong with you people? How, if you are genuinely moral, can you overlook something as blatantly wrong as this?
Denny, a ranch owner from Aubrey, near Dallas, is serving her seventh two-year term in the state House and is the chairwoman of the House Elections Committee.
She said the bill was intended to provide an additional layer of oversight when allegations of campaign law violations were levied at the local level — in city council races, for instance. Prosecutors often don't have time to vigorously pursue these types of complaints, she said, allowing them to fall by the wayside.
"They have murderers and robbers and rapists. Even the hot-check writers are going to come up higher on a priority list," she said. "And yet to that candidate, it is very important…. All I'm trying to do is give all candidates the opportunity to have their complaints looked at."
The bill would create an investigative arm of the Ethics Commission, which would be authorized to conduct investigations into alleged criminal conduct under the state Election Code.
But the bill doesn't stop there.
It also says that a district attorney, including the one in Austin who is overseeing the fundraising investigation, would be prohibited from continuing such an inquiry if the Ethics Commission did not agree that charges were warranted. Denny said she believed district attorneys would welcome input from people who specialized in election law.
"Why would they want to pursue something when there is no wrongdoing?" she asked.
Sarah Woelk, general counsel of the Ethics Commission, said she was prohibited by law from taking a position on any proposed legislation. But she said the commission did not request the legislation.
"I had not heard anything about it," she said.
Republicans, long the minority in Texas, swept to power in 2002 and now control every statewide office, both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion. The following year, at DeLay's request, the Legislature drew new maps of Texas congressional districts. The maps gave the GOP a six-seat swing in the state congressional delegation last year, helping cement the party's control of Congress.
Travis County Dist. Atty. Ronnie Earle and a series of grand juries have spent two years investigating whether political and business organizations with ties to DeLay illegally financed the campaigns of 22 Republican House candidates in 2002. State law bans corporate contributions to legislative candidates.
Three of DeLay's aides have been indicted and charged with money laundering and unlawfully accepting and soliciting corporate contributions. Republicans have widely criticized the investigation, calling it a witch hunt and pointing out that Earle is a Democrat.
In November, in an act of loyalty to a man known as "the Hammer," Republicans in Congress threw out an internal party rule that would have forced DeLay to resign his leadership post if he were indicted. Under pressure, the GOP later reversed course, changing another rule instead that made it easier to block congressional ethics investigations.
"This seems to be part of the pattern," McDonald said.
Among the politicians who appoint people to the Texas Ethics Commission are state House Speaker Tom Craddick, who appoints two of the eight members, Woelk said. Craddick, a Republican from Midland, is at least a peripheral target of the fundraising investigation. His appointees could, in theory, play a role in determining whether legal action against him could proceed.
"This is a slap in the face to the public," Earle said Thursday.
Craddick's office said he had not read the legislation and would not comment.
This scumbag says HE HASN'T EVEN READ THIS LEGISLATION which will get him off the hook personally. God these people make me want to wretch. Then they praise Jesus in the next breath. But that moron David Limbaugh never EVER says anything about these Christians.
And people wonder why I am so mad at Republicans. This blatant unethical BS is just wrong. Then they lie about it. They are phony conservatives. Morals and values are only labels to beat your political opponent with, it isn't true AT ALL.
Why would I ever, EVER, EVER even start to consider Republicans MORAL? That is the biggest scam job EVER pulled on this country. Morals? Jeez, what a damned farce. No wonder I despise most Republicans now.
The question this morning on Washington Journal was about the difference between Democrat and Republican morals.
Phony assed morals.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation
Texas GOP Trying to Gut Ethics Inquiry, Critics Say
bill introduced in the Legislature is called a blatant bid to protect Republicans, including Rep. Tom DeLay, from a fundraising probe.
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Late last year, Republican leaders in Washington caused a stir, even among some allies, when they tried to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas by revoking an ethics rule that would force him to step down if indicted.
Now, Republican leaders in Texas are pushing a measure that watchdogs call a junior version of the Washington effort.
[B]
A bill filed this week by a veteran state GOP lawmaker would give the Texas Ethics Commission — whose members were appointed by the three top elected officials in the state, all Republicans — the power to quash the prosecution of a politician.
Critics call it a brazen attempt to protect GOP leaders who might become entangled in an ongoing criminal investigation into whether illegal fundraising paved the party's rise to power in the state.
Texans for Public Justice, an organization that tries to combat the influence of money in politics, labeled the measure the "Politician Protection Act." Director Craig McDonald said the bill created a "special criminal justice process for politicians."
State Rep. Mary Denny, who filed the bill, said in an interview Thursday that she was attempting to add oversight, not remove it.
She said it never occurred to her that the legislation could be used to protect Republican leaders who might become targets of the fundraising investigation.
WHAT??? Hey Republicans, WHAT PART OF THIS IS MORAL? What is wrong with you people? How, if you are genuinely moral, can you overlook something as blatantly wrong as this?
Denny, a ranch owner from Aubrey, near Dallas, is serving her seventh two-year term in the state House and is the chairwoman of the House Elections Committee.
She said the bill was intended to provide an additional layer of oversight when allegations of campaign law violations were levied at the local level — in city council races, for instance. Prosecutors often don't have time to vigorously pursue these types of complaints, she said, allowing them to fall by the wayside.
"They have murderers and robbers and rapists. Even the hot-check writers are going to come up higher on a priority list," she said. "And yet to that candidate, it is very important…. All I'm trying to do is give all candidates the opportunity to have their complaints looked at."
The bill would create an investigative arm of the Ethics Commission, which would be authorized to conduct investigations into alleged criminal conduct under the state Election Code.
But the bill doesn't stop there.
It also says that a district attorney, including the one in Austin who is overseeing the fundraising investigation, would be prohibited from continuing such an inquiry if the Ethics Commission did not agree that charges were warranted. Denny said she believed district attorneys would welcome input from people who specialized in election law.
"Why would they want to pursue something when there is no wrongdoing?" she asked.
Sarah Woelk, general counsel of the Ethics Commission, said she was prohibited by law from taking a position on any proposed legislation. But she said the commission did not request the legislation.
"I had not heard anything about it," she said.
Republicans, long the minority in Texas, swept to power in 2002 and now control every statewide office, both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion. The following year, at DeLay's request, the Legislature drew new maps of Texas congressional districts. The maps gave the GOP a six-seat swing in the state congressional delegation last year, helping cement the party's control of Congress.
Travis County Dist. Atty. Ronnie Earle and a series of grand juries have spent two years investigating whether political and business organizations with ties to DeLay illegally financed the campaigns of 22 Republican House candidates in 2002. State law bans corporate contributions to legislative candidates.
Three of DeLay's aides have been indicted and charged with money laundering and unlawfully accepting and soliciting corporate contributions. Republicans have widely criticized the investigation, calling it a witch hunt and pointing out that Earle is a Democrat.
In November, in an act of loyalty to a man known as "the Hammer," Republicans in Congress threw out an internal party rule that would have forced DeLay to resign his leadership post if he were indicted. Under pressure, the GOP later reversed course, changing another rule instead that made it easier to block congressional ethics investigations.
"This seems to be part of the pattern," McDonald said.
Among the politicians who appoint people to the Texas Ethics Commission are state House Speaker Tom Craddick, who appoints two of the eight members, Woelk said. Craddick, a Republican from Midland, is at least a peripheral target of the fundraising investigation. His appointees could, in theory, play a role in determining whether legal action against him could proceed.
"This is a slap in the face to the public," Earle said Thursday.
Craddick's office said he had not read the legislation and would not comment.
This scumbag says HE HASN'T EVEN READ THIS LEGISLATION which will get him off the hook personally. God these people make me want to wretch. Then they praise Jesus in the next breath. But that moron David Limbaugh never EVER says anything about these Christians.
And people wonder why I am so mad at Republicans. This blatant unethical BS is just wrong. Then they lie about it. They are phony conservatives. Morals and values are only labels to beat your political opponent with, it isn't true AT ALL.
Why would I ever, EVER, EVER even start to consider Republicans MORAL? That is the biggest scam job EVER pulled on this country. Morals? Jeez, what a damned farce. No wonder I despise most Republicans now.
The question this morning on Washington Journal was about the difference between Democrat and Republican morals.
Phony assed morals.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation
well there goes my Chi.
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 11 2005, 06:49 AM)
THIS IS AMAZING. Don't try to tell me about so-called Republican "values" and "morals". Here is a wonderful example of their REAL values. God damned criminals. How the hell is this moral?
Texas GOP Trying to Gut Ethics Inquiry, Critics Say
bill introduced in the Legislature is called a blatant bid to protect Republicans, including Rep. Tom DeLay, from a fundraising probe.
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Late last year, Republican leaders in Washington caused a stir, even among some allies, when they tried to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas by revoking an ethics rule that would force him to step down if indicted.
Now, Republican leaders in Texas are pushing a measure that watchdogs call a junior version of the Washington effort.
[B]
A bill filed this week by a veteran state GOP lawmaker would give the Texas Ethics Commission — whose members were appointed by the three top elected officials in the state, all Republicans — the power to quash the prosecution of a politician.
Critics call it a brazen attempt to protect GOP leaders who might become entangled in an ongoing criminal investigation into whether illegal fundraising paved the party's rise to power in the state.
Texans for Public Justice, an organization that tries to combat the influence of money in politics, labeled the measure the "Politician Protection Act." Director Craig McDonald said the bill created a "special criminal justice process for politicians."
State Rep. Mary Denny, who filed the bill, said in an interview Thursday that she was attempting to add oversight, not remove it.
She said it never occurred to her that the legislation could be used to protect Republican leaders who might become targets of the fundraising investigation.
WHAT??? Hey Republicans, WHAT PART OF THIS IS MORAL? What is wrong with you people? How, if you are genuinely moral, can you overlook something as blatantly wrong as this?
Denny, a ranch owner from Aubrey, near Dallas, is serving her seventh two-year term in the state House and is the chairwoman of the House Elections Committee.
She said the bill was intended to provide an additional layer of oversight when allegations of campaign law violations were levied at the local level — in city council races, for instance. Prosecutors often don't have time to vigorously pursue these types of complaints, she said, allowing them to fall by the wayside.
"They have murderers and robbers and rapists. Even the hot-check writers are going to come up higher on a priority list," she said. "And yet to that candidate, it is very important…. All I'm trying to do is give all candidates the opportunity to have their complaints looked at."
The bill would create an investigative arm of the Ethics Commission, which would be authorized to conduct investigations into alleged criminal conduct under the state Election Code.
But the bill doesn't stop there.
It also says that a district attorney, including the one in Austin who is overseeing the fundraising investigation, would be prohibited from continuing such an inquiry if the Ethics Commission did not agree that charges were warranted. Denny said she believed district attorneys would welcome input from people who specialized in election law.
"Why would they want to pursue something when there is no wrongdoing?" she asked.
Sarah Woelk, general counsel of the Ethics Commission, said she was prohibited by law from taking a position on any proposed legislation. But she said the commission did not request the legislation.
"I had not heard anything about it," she said.
Republicans, long the minority in Texas, swept to power in 2002 and now control every statewide office, both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion. The following year, at DeLay's request, the Legislature drew new maps of Texas congressional districts. The maps gave the GOP a six-seat swing in the state congressional delegation last year, helping cement the party's control of Congress.
Travis County Dist. Atty. Ronnie Earle and a series of grand juries have spent two years investigating whether political and business organizations with ties to DeLay illegally financed the campaigns of 22 Republican House candidates in 2002. State law bans corporate contributions to legislative candidates.
Three of DeLay's aides have been indicted and charged with money laundering and unlawfully accepting and soliciting corporate contributions. Republicans have widely criticized the investigation, calling it a witch hunt and pointing out that Earle is a Democrat.
In November, in an act of loyalty to a man known as "the Hammer," Republicans in Congress threw out an internal party rule that would have forced DeLay to resign his leadership post if he were indicted. Under pressure, the GOP later reversed course, changing another rule instead that made it easier to block congressional ethics investigations.
"This seems to be part of the pattern," McDonald said.
Among the politicians who appoint people to the Texas Ethics Commission are state House Speaker Tom Craddick, who appoints two of the eight members, Woelk said. Craddick, a Republican from Midland, is at least a peripheral target of the fundraising investigation. His appointees could, in theory, play a role in determining whether legal action against him could proceed.
"This is a slap in the face to the public," Earle said Thursday.
Craddick's office said he had not read the legislation and would not comment.
This scumbag says HE HASN'T EVEN READ THIS LEGISLATION which will get him off the hook personally. God these people make me want to wretch. Then they praise Jesus in the next breath. But that moron David Limbaugh never EVER says anything about these Christians.
And people wonder why I am so mad at Republicans. This blatant unethical BS is just wrong. Then they lie about it. They are phony conservatives. Morals and values are only labels to beat your political opponent with, it isn't true AT ALL.
Why would I ever, EVER, EVER even start to consider Republicans MORAL? That is the biggest scam job EVER pulled on this country. Morals? Jeez, what a damned farce. No wonder I despise most Republicans now.
The question this morning on Washington Journal was about the difference between Democrat and Republican morals.
Phony assed morals.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation
[right][snapback]50646[/snapback][/right]
Texas GOP Trying to Gut Ethics Inquiry, Critics Say
bill introduced in the Legislature is called a blatant bid to protect Republicans, including Rep. Tom DeLay, from a fundraising probe.
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Late last year, Republican leaders in Washington caused a stir, even among some allies, when they tried to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas by revoking an ethics rule that would force him to step down if indicted.
Now, Republican leaders in Texas are pushing a measure that watchdogs call a junior version of the Washington effort.
[B]
A bill filed this week by a veteran state GOP lawmaker would give the Texas Ethics Commission — whose members were appointed by the three top elected officials in the state, all Republicans — the power to quash the prosecution of a politician.
Critics call it a brazen attempt to protect GOP leaders who might become entangled in an ongoing criminal investigation into whether illegal fundraising paved the party's rise to power in the state.
Texans for Public Justice, an organization that tries to combat the influence of money in politics, labeled the measure the "Politician Protection Act." Director Craig McDonald said the bill created a "special criminal justice process for politicians."
State Rep. Mary Denny, who filed the bill, said in an interview Thursday that she was attempting to add oversight, not remove it.
She said it never occurred to her that the legislation could be used to protect Republican leaders who might become targets of the fundraising investigation.
WHAT??? Hey Republicans, WHAT PART OF THIS IS MORAL? What is wrong with you people? How, if you are genuinely moral, can you overlook something as blatantly wrong as this?
Denny, a ranch owner from Aubrey, near Dallas, is serving her seventh two-year term in the state House and is the chairwoman of the House Elections Committee.
She said the bill was intended to provide an additional layer of oversight when allegations of campaign law violations were levied at the local level — in city council races, for instance. Prosecutors often don't have time to vigorously pursue these types of complaints, she said, allowing them to fall by the wayside.
"They have murderers and robbers and rapists. Even the hot-check writers are going to come up higher on a priority list," she said. "And yet to that candidate, it is very important…. All I'm trying to do is give all candidates the opportunity to have their complaints looked at."
The bill would create an investigative arm of the Ethics Commission, which would be authorized to conduct investigations into alleged criminal conduct under the state Election Code.
But the bill doesn't stop there.
It also says that a district attorney, including the one in Austin who is overseeing the fundraising investigation, would be prohibited from continuing such an inquiry if the Ethics Commission did not agree that charges were warranted. Denny said she believed district attorneys would welcome input from people who specialized in election law.
"Why would they want to pursue something when there is no wrongdoing?" she asked.
Sarah Woelk, general counsel of the Ethics Commission, said she was prohibited by law from taking a position on any proposed legislation. But she said the commission did not request the legislation.
"I had not heard anything about it," she said.
Republicans, long the minority in Texas, swept to power in 2002 and now control every statewide office, both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion. The following year, at DeLay's request, the Legislature drew new maps of Texas congressional districts. The maps gave the GOP a six-seat swing in the state congressional delegation last year, helping cement the party's control of Congress.
Travis County Dist. Atty. Ronnie Earle and a series of grand juries have spent two years investigating whether political and business organizations with ties to DeLay illegally financed the campaigns of 22 Republican House candidates in 2002. State law bans corporate contributions to legislative candidates.
Three of DeLay's aides have been indicted and charged with money laundering and unlawfully accepting and soliciting corporate contributions. Republicans have widely criticized the investigation, calling it a witch hunt and pointing out that Earle is a Democrat.
In November, in an act of loyalty to a man known as "the Hammer," Republicans in Congress threw out an internal party rule that would have forced DeLay to resign his leadership post if he were indicted. Under pressure, the GOP later reversed course, changing another rule instead that made it easier to block congressional ethics investigations.
"This seems to be part of the pattern," McDonald said.
Among the politicians who appoint people to the Texas Ethics Commission are state House Speaker Tom Craddick, who appoints two of the eight members, Woelk said. Craddick, a Republican from Midland, is at least a peripheral target of the fundraising investigation. His appointees could, in theory, play a role in determining whether legal action against him could proceed.
"This is a slap in the face to the public," Earle said Thursday.
Craddick's office said he had not read the legislation and would not comment.
This scumbag says HE HASN'T EVEN READ THIS LEGISLATION which will get him off the hook personally. God these people make me want to wretch. Then they praise Jesus in the next breath. But that moron David Limbaugh never EVER says anything about these Christians.
And people wonder why I am so mad at Republicans. This blatant unethical BS is just wrong. Then they lie about it. They are phony conservatives. Morals and values are only labels to beat your political opponent with, it isn't true AT ALL.
Why would I ever, EVER, EVER even start to consider Republicans MORAL? That is the biggest scam job EVER pulled on this country. Morals? Jeez, what a damned farce. No wonder I despise most Republicans now.
The question this morning on Washington Journal was about the difference between Democrat and Republican morals.
Phony assed morals.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation
[right][snapback]50646[/snapback][/right]
Do you have the same kind of morals and values?
better?
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 11 2005, 07:09 AM)
better?
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[right][snapback]50652[/snapback][/right]
I have some. Do you?
QUOTE(Bart Katz @ Feb 11 2005, 07:16 AM)
I have some. Do you?
[right][snapback]50659[/snapback][/right]
[right][snapback]50659[/snapback][/right]
what? morals?
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 11 2005, 07:20 AM)
what? morals?
[right][snapback]50663[/snapback][/right]
[right][snapback]50663[/snapback][/right]
If you cannot follow the thread of discussion, don't expect me to do it for you.
Yeah ol aka gannon and the liburul media.
Keep crying bushlovers.
Keep crying bushlovers.
QUOTE(underhi2p @ Nov 17 2004, 08:17 AM)
Tom Delay has more "values" than most politicians in Washington.
[right][snapback]20339[/snapback][/right]
[right][snapback]20339[/snapback][/right]
When
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 11 2005, 06:57 AM)
well there goes my Chi.
[right][snapback]50647[/snapback][/right]
[right][snapback]50647[/snapback][/right]
Best get it back!
QUOTE(Grigorii @ Feb 12 2005, 05:00 AM)
When
[right][snapback]51103[/snapback][/right]
A Kilroy smiley. Havent seen ole Kilroy for a long time.
QUOTE(Grigorii @ Feb 12 2005, 05:07 AM)
Best get it back!
[right][snapback]51104[/snapback][/right]
[right][snapback]51104[/snapback][/right]
nice. Calvin and Hobbes was always a favorite.
Special law for special people.
QUOTE(SpaceCowboy @ Feb 13 2005, 01:32 AM)
Special law for special people.
[right][snapback]51513[/snapback][/right]
Who do you think you are the Texas legislature
No doubt,
...and
....Grounds for a "just shoot".
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[CENTER]
[/CENTER]
[/CENTER]
What a idiotic statement, coming from Bushie
Uh, ya know, um, like, do as we say not, uh, like we, er, do.
QUOTE
"I have a good relationship with President Putin," Mr. Bush said in an interview with Slovak State Television at the White House on Friday. "And the reason - and that's important, because that then will give me a chance to say in private - ask him why he's been making some of the decisions he's been making."
Mr. Bush added: "I want him to be able to have a chance to say he's done it for this reason or done that, so I can explain to him as best I can, in a friendly way, of course, that Western values are, you know, are based upon transparency and rule of law, the right for the people to express themselves, checks and balances in government."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/internat...pe/20prexy.html
Mr. Bush added: "I want him to be able to have a chance to say he's done it for this reason or done that, so I can explain to him as best I can, in a friendly way, of course, that Western values are, you know, are based upon transparency and rule of law, the right for the people to express themselves, checks and balances in government."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/internat...pe/20prexy.html
Uh, ya know, um, like, do as we say not, uh, like we, er, do.
QUOTE
...Western values are, you know, are based upon transparency and rule of law...
Just not this far West, right GW? Honestly!!
QUOTE
Western values are, you know, are based upon transparency and rule of law, the right for the people to express themselves, checks and balances in government
Yeah, yeah ... THAT'S the ticket!!
I am astounded that those words came out of his mouth. With all the secrecy of his administration, hiding everything ... wanting to totally dominate every facet of our government... checks and balances? where? jeez...
No wonder a whole hell of a lot of people despise him.
Arrogant.
No wonder a whole hell of a lot of people despise him.
Arrogant.
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 20 2005, 10:54 AM)
I am astounded that those words came out of his mouth. With all the secrecy of his administration, hiding everything ... wanting to totally dominate every facet of our government... checks and balances? where? jeez...
No wonder a whole hell of a lot of people despise him.
Arrogant.
[right][snapback]54827[/snapback][/right]
No wonder a whole hell of a lot of people despise him.
Arrogant.
[right][snapback]54827[/snapback][/right]
Hubris.
But the bigger they are....
These guys learned a lot with Iran/Contra. If you thought they were nasty then, lol, you haven't seen anything yet.
QUOTE(Bee @ Feb 20 2005, 09:59 AM)
But the bigger they are....
[right][snapback]54830[/snapback][/right]
More penile envy?
QUOTE(Bee @ Feb 20 2005, 07:59 AM)
Hubris.
But the bigger they are....
[right][snapback]54830[/snapback][/right]
But the bigger they are....
[right][snapback]54830[/snapback][/right]
...the more likely they don't have to work for a living?
Here’s a plan: Hire the liar
A not slacking Friday…. First Negroponte, now Abrams
• February 18, 2005 | 12:19 PM ET
I’ve got a new Think Again column up here entitled, “Weird Science.”
What Liberal Media? Here's Michael Crowley flacking for Elliott Abrams, who has (naturally) just been promoted to a top job in the Bush administration, in not so liberal Slate. He writes,
But Abrams undercut his credibility by stubbornly defending the U.S.-backed military regime in El Salvador even after evidence emerged of regime-sponsored massacres. This made him a villain among liberals like New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis, who accused him of whitewashing human rights abuses.
In fact, Abrams did not merely “stubbornly defend” the U.S. backed military regime, he made McCarthyite accusations against diligent reporters who revealed the truth. He then lied, both to reporters and to Congress about his own involvement with illegal activity.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/
A not slacking Friday…. First Negroponte, now Abrams
• February 18, 2005 | 12:19 PM ET
I’ve got a new Think Again column up here entitled, “Weird Science.”
What Liberal Media? Here's Michael Crowley flacking for Elliott Abrams, who has (naturally) just been promoted to a top job in the Bush administration, in not so liberal Slate. He writes,
But Abrams undercut his credibility by stubbornly defending the U.S.-backed military regime in El Salvador even after evidence emerged of regime-sponsored massacres. This made him a villain among liberals like New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis, who accused him of whitewashing human rights abuses.
In fact, Abrams did not merely “stubbornly defend” the U.S. backed military regime, he made McCarthyite accusations against diligent reporters who revealed the truth. He then lied, both to reporters and to Congress about his own involvement with illegal activity.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/
Texas Ethics Bill Could Allow Appointees to Bar Prosecutions
By Sylvia Moreno
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 20, 2005
AUSTIN -- A key Republican legislator has introduced a bill that would give a Texas agency authority to stop prosecution of election law violations, drawing comparisons to a recent attempt in Washington to rewrite ethics rules to keep House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in power if he is ever indicted.
The move by GOP leaders to protect DeLay (R-Tex.) was quashed late last year when even some Republicans in Congress objected. In Texas, critics are calling the bill there a similar bold attempt to protect Republican lawmakers who might get caught in a criminal investigation into illegal campaign fundraising. The bill has yet to get a public hearing, but already, opponents have lined up to fight it.
Republican Rep. Mary Denny's bill could make it more difficult for Texas prosecutors to probe ethics violations. (Deb Cannon -- AP)
The bill was filed by state Rep. Mary Denny, the chairwoman of the House elections committee. It would require the Texas Ethics Commission, an eight-member panel appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker, to create a special office to investigate criminal violations of the state election code. Prosecutors would have to notify the office of any alleged violations, and the office would have 45 days to evaluate the information. If the office determined an offense had not been committed, the prosecutor would be prohibited from pursuing charges relating to the alleged violation.
Denny agreed that her bill, as proposed, would hinder prosecutors in doing their jobs. Faced with a firestorm of criticism, she said Thursday she was working on changing her proposal to do what she said she intended: to make it easier for the ethics commission to investigate complaints about election law violations at the county, city or school district level. She said that prosecutors usually do not investigate such local complaints until after an election to avoid being accused of partisanship.
"By then, the damage is done," she said. "My intention was only to allow local candidates to file complaints with the ethics commission and to allow the commission to go in and look [at them]. The ethics commission could assess a fine and a record could be built, and hopefully there would be better compliance and a better following of the rules."
Critics say that Denny's bill could result in the hampering of a continuing criminal investigation into campaign finance violations allegedly committed during the 2002 election by a political action committee called Texans for a Republican Majority, whose directors are close associates of DeLay. TRMPAC, as the committee is known, is credited with raising millions of dollars that funded the Republican takeover of the Texas legislature.
Last fall, three DeLay associates who ran TRMPAC or raised money for the committee and eight corporations were indicted by a Travis County grand jury on charges of illegal fundraising. Charges against three of the corporations were subsequently dropped. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is continuing the investigation, which political observers speculate could lead to DeLay or to Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick ®.
In Washington, the House ethics committee admonished DeLay three times last fall for unethical conduct, but the panel has been reined in recently. Earlier this month, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) removed the chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), and two other members. On Wednesday, the new chairman, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), announced he was removing two staff members who worked on the investigations that led to the rebukes of DeLay. Hastings's office said he would replace John Vargo, the staff director and chief counsel, and Paul Lewis, who was Hefley's counsel and the committee spokesman.
House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) called the staff firings "one more step in the elimination of consideration of ethical violations in the House of Representatives." Fred Wertheimer, president of the watchdog group Democracy 21, said that Republicans have "created the clear public perception that the ethics enforcement process is being shut down in the House."
In Texas, watchdog groups and others said Republicans also appear to be using their power to protect GOP leaders.
Texans for Public Justice, a watchdog group that tracks the influence of money in statewide politics, dubbed Denny's bill the "Politician Protection Act" and the "get-out-of-jail-free card for politicians."
The effect of her original proposal "would be absolutely to limit prosecutions by putting extra steps in front of a prosecutor and putting the ability to veto a prosecution" with the Texas Ethics Commission, said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice. "Prosecutors and local juries should judge politicians, not bureaucrats appointed by the governor and the legislature."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2005Feb19.html
Morals and values, Republican style.
And I think we've heard enough about ugly liberals.
By Sylvia Moreno
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 20, 2005
AUSTIN -- A key Republican legislator has introduced a bill that would give a Texas agency authority to stop prosecution of election law violations, drawing comparisons to a recent attempt in Washington to rewrite ethics rules to keep House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in power if he is ever indicted.
The move by GOP leaders to protect DeLay (R-Tex.) was quashed late last year when even some Republicans in Congress objected. In Texas, critics are calling the bill there a similar bold attempt to protect Republican lawmakers who might get caught in a criminal investigation into illegal campaign fundraising. The bill has yet to get a public hearing, but already, opponents have lined up to fight it.
Republican Rep. Mary Denny's bill could make it more difficult for Texas prosecutors to probe ethics violations. (Deb Cannon -- AP)
The bill was filed by state Rep. Mary Denny, the chairwoman of the House elections committee. It would require the Texas Ethics Commission, an eight-member panel appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker, to create a special office to investigate criminal violations of the state election code. Prosecutors would have to notify the office of any alleged violations, and the office would have 45 days to evaluate the information. If the office determined an offense had not been committed, the prosecutor would be prohibited from pursuing charges relating to the alleged violation.
Denny agreed that her bill, as proposed, would hinder prosecutors in doing their jobs. Faced with a firestorm of criticism, she said Thursday she was working on changing her proposal to do what she said she intended: to make it easier for the ethics commission to investigate complaints about election law violations at the county, city or school district level. She said that prosecutors usually do not investigate such local complaints until after an election to avoid being accused of partisanship.
"By then, the damage is done," she said. "My intention was only to allow local candidates to file complaints with the ethics commission and to allow the commission to go in and look [at them]. The ethics commission could assess a fine and a record could be built, and hopefully there would be better compliance and a better following of the rules."
Critics say that Denny's bill could result in the hampering of a continuing criminal investigation into campaign finance violations allegedly committed during the 2002 election by a political action committee called Texans for a Republican Majority, whose directors are close associates of DeLay. TRMPAC, as the committee is known, is credited with raising millions of dollars that funded the Republican takeover of the Texas legislature.
Last fall, three DeLay associates who ran TRMPAC or raised money for the committee and eight corporations were indicted by a Travis County grand jury on charges of illegal fundraising. Charges against three of the corporations were subsequently dropped. Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle is continuing the investigation, which political observers speculate could lead to DeLay or to Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick ®.
In Washington, the House ethics committee admonished DeLay three times last fall for unethical conduct, but the panel has been reined in recently. Earlier this month, Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) removed the chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), and two other members. On Wednesday, the new chairman, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), announced he was removing two staff members who worked on the investigations that led to the rebukes of DeLay. Hastings's office said he would replace John Vargo, the staff director and chief counsel, and Paul Lewis, who was Hefley's counsel and the committee spokesman.
House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) called the staff firings "one more step in the elimination of consideration of ethical violations in the House of Representatives." Fred Wertheimer, president of the watchdog group Democracy 21, said that Republicans have "created the clear public perception that the ethics enforcement process is being shut down in the House."
In Texas, watchdog groups and others said Republicans also appear to be using their power to protect GOP leaders.
Texans for Public Justice, a watchdog group that tracks the influence of money in statewide politics, dubbed Denny's bill the "Politician Protection Act" and the "get-out-of-jail-free card for politicians."
The effect of her original proposal "would be absolutely to limit prosecutions by putting extra steps in front of a prosecutor and putting the ability to veto a prosecution" with the Texas Ethics Commission, said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice. "Prosecutors and local juries should judge politicians, not bureaucrats appointed by the governor and the legislature."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2005Feb19.html
Morals and values, Republican style.
And I think we've heard enough about ugly liberals.
With looks like this, all a person can have is morals
She may even give Ivins a run for her money. (the run for the roses that is)
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 20 2005, 06:20 PM)
She may even give Ivins a run for her money. (the run for the roses that is)[right][snapback]55070[/snapback][/right]
Thorns.
Looks like Buddy Hackett in drag.
This, like dropping the Independent Council due to Clinton is probably a mistake. If the parties take turns lowering standards to p[rotect themselves we all lose. It isn't really Dem versus Rep because they're all in collusion. Dems will fuss, but they don't really want higher standards.
This, like dropping the Independent Council due to Clinton is probably a mistake. If the parties take turns lowering standards to p[rotect themselves we all lose. It isn't really Dem versus Rep because they're all in collusion. Dems will fuss, but they don't really want higher standards.
QUOTE
Looks like Buddy Hackett in drag.
You shouldn't use 9/11. You sure don't compare the hit made by a bugetary shortfall to 9/11. Here is a Democrat apparently trying to use it. I know, I know, Republicans use 9/11 almost every day, but that doesn't make it right. I noticed he came out with a retraction pretty fast.
<snip>
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s02-coop.html
He was right about firing the guy. The using 9/11 bs has got to stop. Has common sense and decency, like Elvis, left the building?
QUOTE
Moral doughnuts, backbone, and you
By Brad Rourke
ROCKVILLE, MD. – This month, a politician showed backbone, something many of us believe no longer exists in politics. Ask Americans how they feel about politicians, and most will use words like "sleazy," "corrupt," and "liars." In the discussions that follow, an idea eventually emerges that captures it all: "They will say or do anything to get elected." Heads then nod agreement.
Maryland Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. fired an aide this month for spreading apparently unfounded - certainly mean-spirited - rumors about a political rival and possible 2006 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. In firing Joseph Steffen, who'd been with him since his days in Congress, Governor Ehrlich cut to the chase: "I don't put up with this, and I will not put up with this. Bottom line."
While Mayor O'Malley and his supporters may say the move doesn't go far enough (they want an apology directly from the governor as well as an independent investigation), it goes light-years beyond the norm. Typically, wagons would be circled, denials issued, and there would be a statement amounting to, "Well, where there's smoke there's fire - there must have been something to hide in the first place." But, standing on principle, Ehrlich made the point that, in fact, there are principles left to stand on. This is news that may come as a shock to an inured public.
On the same day O'Malley made his accusations of gossip, he delivered an address in the capital opposing the president's latest budget proposal, which appears to contain a $2 billion cut in aid to metro areas. O'Malley said the cuts are "attacking our metropolitan core," just as "back on Sept. 11, terrorists attacked our metropolitan cores, two of America's great cities."
By Brad Rourke
ROCKVILLE, MD. – This month, a politician showed backbone, something many of us believe no longer exists in politics. Ask Americans how they feel about politicians, and most will use words like "sleazy," "corrupt," and "liars." In the discussions that follow, an idea eventually emerges that captures it all: "They will say or do anything to get elected." Heads then nod agreement.
Maryland Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. fired an aide this month for spreading apparently unfounded - certainly mean-spirited - rumors about a political rival and possible 2006 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. In firing Joseph Steffen, who'd been with him since his days in Congress, Governor Ehrlich cut to the chase: "I don't put up with this, and I will not put up with this. Bottom line."
While Mayor O'Malley and his supporters may say the move doesn't go far enough (they want an apology directly from the governor as well as an independent investigation), it goes light-years beyond the norm. Typically, wagons would be circled, denials issued, and there would be a statement amounting to, "Well, where there's smoke there's fire - there must have been something to hide in the first place." But, standing on principle, Ehrlich made the point that, in fact, there are principles left to stand on. This is news that may come as a shock to an inured public.
On the same day O'Malley made his accusations of gossip, he delivered an address in the capital opposing the president's latest budget proposal, which appears to contain a $2 billion cut in aid to metro areas. O'Malley said the cuts are "attacking our metropolitan core," just as "back on Sept. 11, terrorists attacked our metropolitan cores, two of America's great cities."
<snip>
QUOTE
Stated standards are rising - yet personal behavior seems to be in a death spiral. It's as if there's an ethics-free zone around many of us. Some of us are like moral doughnuts, demanding an ever-wider moral perimeter, yet demanding little when it comes to our own behavior.
It's one thing to know that one always ought to strive for better behavior on a personal level. We can all use that advice. But it's another thing when public life seems filled with moral doughnuts around people demanding apologies and expressing shocked dismay while behaving badly themselves in some other area. One of the tests of that is what one does when confronted with poor behavior from one's own organization, or even oneself. The adage that urges those who live in glass houses to throw no stones is becoming more apt. Today, when news stories circle the globe with increasing speed, the total effect is to confirm what so many seem to believe: "These guys will do anything to get elected."
And so, we ought to applaud instances of moral backbone. Not only do they seem increasingly rare, but they're precisely the antidote we need if public life is going to plug its leaky holes.
It's one thing to know that one always ought to strive for better behavior on a personal level. We can all use that advice. But it's another thing when public life seems filled with moral doughnuts around people demanding apologies and expressing shocked dismay while behaving badly themselves in some other area. One of the tests of that is what one does when confronted with poor behavior from one's own organization, or even oneself. The adage that urges those who live in glass houses to throw no stones is becoming more apt. Today, when news stories circle the globe with increasing speed, the total effect is to confirm what so many seem to believe: "These guys will do anything to get elected."
And so, we ought to applaud instances of moral backbone. Not only do they seem increasingly rare, but they're precisely the antidote we need if public life is going to plug its leaky holes.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s02-coop.html
He was right about firing the guy. The using 9/11 bs has got to stop. Has common sense and decency, like Elvis, left the building?
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 22 2005, 12:38 PM)
You shouldn't use 9/11. You sure don't compare the hit made by a bugetary shortfall to 9/11. Here is a Democrat apparently trying to use it. I know, I know, Republicans use 9/11 almost every day, but that doesn't make it right. I noticed he came out with a retraction pretty fast.
<snip>
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s02-coop.html
He was right about firing the guy. The using 9/11 bs has got to stop. Has common sense and decency, like Elvis, left the building?
[right][snapback]55807[/snapback][/right]
<snip>
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s02-coop.html
He was right about firing the guy. The using 9/11 bs has got to stop. Has common sense and decency, like Elvis, left the building?
[right][snapback]55807[/snapback][/right]
Yep, and without even so much as a, "Thank'ya verrry much."
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 22 2005, 10:38 AM)
You shouldn't use 9/11. You sure don't compare the hit made by a bugetary shortfall to 9/11. Here is a Democrat apparently trying to use it. I know, I know, Republicans use 9/11 almost every day, but that doesn't make it right. I noticed he came out with a retraction pretty fast.
<snip>
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s02-coop.html
He was right about firing the guy. The using 9/11 bs has got to stop. Has common sense and decency, like Elvis, left the building?
[right][snapback]55807[/snapback][/right]
<snip>
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p11s02-coop.html
He was right about firing the guy. The using 9/11 bs has got to stop. Has common sense and decency, like Elvis, left the building?
[right][snapback]55807[/snapback][/right]
QUOTE(Grigorii @ Feb 23 2005, 02:44 AM)
Yep, and without even so much as a, "Thank'ya verrry much."
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[right][snapback]56407[/snapback][/right]
Ohmygawd. You guys are saying Elvis is dead.
QUOTE(lil bart @ Feb 24 2005, 05:01 PM)
Ohmygawd. You guys are saying Elvis is dead.
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[right][snapback]57169[/snapback][/right]
Actually, I think I saw Elvis posting on this board just the other day.
QUOTE(Bee @ Feb 24 2005, 04:04 PM)
Actually, I think I saw Elvis posting on this board just the other day.
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[right][snapback]57171[/snapback][/right]
freaks. May the ghost of Ellllllvis haunt you.
QUOTE(lil bart @ Feb 24 2005, 04:01 PM)
Ohmygawd. You guys are saying Elvis is dead.
[right][snapback]57169[/snapback][/right]
[right][snapback]57169[/snapback][/right]
If he ain't they sure wasted a nice grave site for him and his pappy.
QUOTE(Bee @ Feb 24 2005, 02:04 PM)
Actually, I think I saw Elvis posting on this board just the other day.
[right][snapback]57171[/snapback][/right]
[right][snapback]57171[/snapback][/right]
That was the Elvisbot.
[center]
[/center]
[/center]
Civil Trial Nears for GOP Activist
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — A Republican Party activist is scheduled to go on trial Monday to face civil charges that he was part of an illegal scheme to finance the GOP's rise to power here.
The trial is the result of a lawsuit brought by five Democratic state House candidates who lost their races to Republicans in 2002. The election that year was a historic one in Texas, as the GOP — long the minority party here — seized a majority of state House seats, giving it control of both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion.
Democrats and independent campaign finance watchdogs have alleged ever since that a network of Republican activists illegally used corporate money to help pay for 22 House campaigns. Much of the money was routed through organizations with ties to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texan whose prodigious fundraising operation is considered innovative yet controversial.
"This is the first chance for all of this to be debated in a courtroom — what they did, whether it was illegal, who was responsible," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a group that tracks the influence of money in politics. "I don't know if we'll find out all of the answers. But it's going to be very interesting."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — A Republican Party activist is scheduled to go on trial Monday to face civil charges that he was part of an illegal scheme to finance the GOP's rise to power here.
The trial is the result of a lawsuit brought by five Democratic state House candidates who lost their races to Republicans in 2002. The election that year was a historic one in Texas, as the GOP — long the minority party here — seized a majority of state House seats, giving it control of both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion.
Democrats and independent campaign finance watchdogs have alleged ever since that a network of Republican activists illegally used corporate money to help pay for 22 House campaigns. Much of the money was routed through organizations with ties to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texan whose prodigious fundraising operation is considered innovative yet controversial.
"This is the first chance for all of this to be debated in a courtroom — what they did, whether it was illegal, who was responsible," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a group that tracks the influence of money in politics. "I don't know if we'll find out all of the answers. But it's going to be very interesting."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation
QUOTE(davisął @ Feb 27 2005, 05:30 PM)
Civil Trial Nears for GOP Activist
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — A Republican Party activist is scheduled to go on trial Monday to face civil charges that he was part of an illegal scheme to finance the GOP's rise to power here.
The trial is the result of a lawsuit brought by five Democratic state House candidates who lost their races to Republicans in 2002. The election that year was a historic one in Texas, as the GOP — long the minority party here — seized a majority of state House seats, giving it control of both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion.
Democrats and independent campaign finance watchdogs have alleged ever since that a network of Republican activists illegally used corporate money to help pay for 22 House campaigns. Much of the money was routed through organizations with ties to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texan whose prodigious fundraising operation is considered innovative yet controversial.
"This is the first chance for all of this to be debated in a courtroom — what they did, whether it was illegal, who was responsible," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a group that tracks the influence of money in politics. "I don't know if we'll find out all of the answers. But it's going to be very interesting."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation
[right][snapback]58455[/snapback][/right]
By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — A Republican Party activist is scheduled to go on trial Monday to face civil charges that he was part of an illegal scheme to finance the GOP's rise to power here.
The trial is the result of a lawsuit brought by five Democratic state House candidates who lost their races to Republicans in 2002. The election that year was a historic one in Texas, as the GOP — long the minority party here — seized a majority of state House seats, giving it control of both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion.
Democrats and independent campaign finance watchdogs have alleged ever since that a network of Republican activists illegally used corporate money to help pay for 22 House campaigns. Much of the money was routed through organizations with ties to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texan whose prodigious fundraising operation is considered innovative yet controversial.
"This is the first chance for all of this to be debated in a courtroom — what they did, whether it was illegal, who was responsible," said Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, a group that tracks the influence of money in politics. "I don't know if we'll find out all of the answers. But it's going to be very interesting."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...eadlines-nation
[right][snapback]58455[/snapback][/right]
If Republicans do it in Texas, it's legal.
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