Democrats – abandon their short-lived challenge to the “Culture of Corruption” in Congress, as Nancy Pelosi pushed for pork-hound and Abscam-tainted Murtha for Majority Leader.
GOP – bring back Trent Lott to the leadership, proving that there are no positions so reprehensible that they disqualify an insider from a position of power.
And I loved seeing John Moran (D-MBNA) stand tall in support of his man Murtha. Yup, we’ll wipe out that ‘Culture of Corruption’, indeed.
It’s going to take a firehose to clean that place up…
Or a fire. Just call us Canadians if you need us. Worked last time….
Good news is that the “right-wing blogosphere is really pissed about Lott.”:http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2006/11/15/trent-lott-wins-back-leadership-slot-2/ They should be.
Bad news is that you missed the bit about the “Abramoff investigation heading Harry Reid’s way,”:http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2006/11/15/as-abromoff-heads-to-prison-officials-focus-on-reid-others/ while a Clinton-era judge tries to “cut short Abramoff’s co-operation with prosecutors just as he’s about to drop a dime on a number of prominent Democrats.”:http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2006/11/14/abramoff-ordered-to-prison-clinton-appointee-effectively-ends-further-investigation/
These stories are about to become a lot bigger in the right-wing blogosphere – all 3.
It is still the best legislature money can buy.
Joe, the problem is that you have to keep at it. It has been almost 200 years now.
They had to call that off after they shot out all the mirrors in their office buildings.
I don’t think a fire hose would cut it. Maybe if you diverted both the Anacostia and the Potomac through it. But that’s probably why they put it on a hill…
Hmm, just goes to show we have lost our way by abandoning the basis for our culture. Anything goes now. You know, if it feels good, do it is the creed of the day.
I personally think it may take a bit of fire to clean out the corruption. It may be accompanied by brimstone or maybe isotopes. Who knows. Personally, I think the testaments of John the Revelator may be allegorically refering to nuclear fire as fire and brimstone.
That our society has lost it’s way is now not a question. Those that believe in everything believe in nothing. To awake us from our delusion/sleep may take a nuke or nukes in American cities. The jihadis have said they wish to kill numbers of us that can only be accomplished on the scale of nuclear fire. Why should we doubt them? They have carried out their plans as they have promised so far.
We are ready to run from conflict with them as OBL predicted. He said we have no stomach for it and he appears to be correct.
G-d help us.
The Hobo
Iraq is a diversion. As the army attacks Iraq, the US gov’t erodes rights at home by suspending habeas corpus, stealing private lands, banning books like “America Deceived” from Amazon, rigging elections, conducting warrantless wiretaps and starting 2 illegal wars based on lies. Soon, another US false-flag operation will occur (sinking of an Aircraft Carrier) and the US will invade Iran, (on behalf of Israel).
Final link (before Google Books bends to gov’t demands and censors the title):
America Deceived (book)
I think that it’s fair to say that we need to clear the government of all of the current incumbents, and start with a fresh slate. But even that will not help for long, because the politicians get the way they are because of the incentives built into the system. Until we are prepared to return to a strictly limited Federal government, so that the offices carry significantly less power and are thus significantly less useful if corrupted, we will return to this situation even if we get ourselves temporarily out of this.
I see no appetite in the country for that alternative, nor much understanding that it is the only way to permanently fix the problem of corruption. (And before you shout “term limits”, consider what power that would hand to the lobbyists and bureaucrats in the absence of legislators with experience.)
> I think that it’s fair to say that we need to clear the government of all of the current incumbents
If we just elevate the folks currently at the state and local levels, this won’t change things.
Pelosi came from a machine. It’s got more of the same.
#7: please take your meds.
When was the challenge to the “culture of corruption” anything but an empty slogan?
Abramoff fingering 6-8 massivly corrupt Dems and an equal number of Republicans should suprise no one.
The two party system and the unwillingness of either party to perform any legitimate cleanup of the massivly corrupt system is the real problem.
I think we could all agree that if a fiscaly/social moderate third party was to come online that people would flock to it, and I dont mean the Ross Perot style or even the libertarians.
Lets throw in term limits while we are at it. 6 years is plenty of time to serve as a Senator or House member. And lets amend the Constitution to a single Presidential term of 6 years. When you remove the impitus to be re-elected from politics, you just might remove some of the corruption. When you know you only have one shot at it, and you don’t have to worry about the upcoming election, then you can focus on your job.
#10: No, unfortunately single-term term limits will just have the corrupt focusing on how quickly they can grease their pockets and who can hook ’em up after their term ends. A corrupt individual is a corrupt individual and no law will change that.
Let’s face it guys, we live in a fallen world. Power will _always_ corrupt. And the longer one group holds power the more corrupt it will become if from nothing else than sheer opportunity for corruption. We just have to be damned careful in our reaction to corruption not to limit power so much that it’s ineffective. It’s been said that conservatives prefer injustice to disorder. There’s a lot to be said for that position, since disorder is the ultimate injustice. It negatively affects everyone. I’m not advocating corruption, but we have to realize that a) it’s an ineradicable part of human nature and b) attempts to eradicate it will often end in a situation worse than the original corruption. By the way, we already have term limits: they’re called elections.
[padding inserted to drive the long url off the home page] Good news #2: “Democrats pick Hoyers over Murtha,”:http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2006/11/16/dems-pick-hoyers-for-majority-leader-first-setback-for-pelosi/ show basic sense of their own self-preservation.
The self-preservation of the rest of America… well, they’ll get back to us on that one. Reid et. al. still developing.
Phoo! I think your link cascaded the style sheets wrong, Mr. Katzman.
Actually the idea that Abramoff could finger 6-8 Dems came as a huge suprise to the partners of his lobbying firm.
Via Marshall
Ron Platt, a Democratic lobbyist who worked for a time with Abramoff on behalf of several clients and managed relations (such as they were) with Reid and other Democrats, said, “It’s beyond my belief that he would have trusted a Democratic senator or house member.”
“Jack Abramoff would never let any Democratic lobbyist, even on his team, manage one of his client matters,” said Platt.
Several expressed disbelief that Abramoff had the goods on Reid, as the ABC post suggested. “As far as I know, I can say that there is not a shred of truth to any allegation that anything Reid did that may have benefited a Greenberg client was done for anything of value given to Sen. Reid by Jack Abramoff or anyone else at Greenberg,” one former associate said, noting that the few actions Reid took which benefited Abramoff’s clients were consistent with positions the Nevada senator had long espoused.
And he also points out that in the past, ABC has been unbelievably deceitful in claims of Abramoff and Dems, especially Reid.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007660.php
If you can’t trust a Democratic lobyist, who can you trust?
(I’m agnostic on the issue, but that has nil to do with Platt)
Robohobo; you’re right. Sooner or later, a Western city, probably American, is going to go up in smoke.
Let’s hope the enemy is stupid enough to do the rest of the West a favour by making the target Washington DC, and compound it by attacking while Congress is in session.
Where’s President Ryan when you need him?
#7 5th of November (bet you can’t wait for the V for Vendetta playstation game, can you?)
Please to remember the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason, and plot.
Guy Fawkes is dead, Blayre is a clown,
And you’re dumber than a boxful of rocks.
“Soon, another US false-flag operation will occur (sinking of an Aircraft Carrier) and the US will invade Iran”
I always hate it when people give away the end of the movie while you’re still watching it.
Some politicians are crooks, and some aren’t. The least we deserve is to see new crooks every so often before the old crooks get too smart. Term limits, if good enough for the president, are good enough for the legislature.
There is beautiful irony in conservatives being hoisted with their own petard.
Without the conservative-implemented term limits, it is very unlikely that the conservatives would have lost the House and Senate. So every time I see conservatives arguing for term limits I smile, thinking of the untouchable Republican incumbents that will be converted to open seats due to those same term limits.
Pretending that corruption among current Dems is anywhere near the cesspool that current Reps have going is simply willful denial of reality. Maybe after a decade of domination the Dems could get there but they have not had anything like the opportunities and failure of checks and balances that the Reps have enjoyed and profited from for the last decade.
Any true conservative should be outraged by $8.8 Billion in missing funds, but somehow an botched joke by John Kerry is much more interesting to the true believers. This is how corruption grows, because of willful ignorance among the public.
Even to mention that Halliburton was involved in the missing 8.8 Billion gets one accused of BDS, because personal attacks are much more satisfying than confronting the moral rot at the heart of the administration that the true believers have been defending.
“8.8 Billion Missing”:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5763483/
HALLIBURTON BAD *smash* *smash* *smash*
Sorry, just paraphrasing.
LOL, brief OT. Has anyone seen the Incredible Hulk movie that came out about a year or so ago? It’s on sale for $3.99 and I was wondering if it was worth buying to watch.
I think maybe there is a hole in my education.
Mr. Volkhausen… when did the conservatives – or anybody – pass term limits in Congress? That’s an honest question, and I’m sorry if it’s an ignorant one. I know many of us support them, but I wasn’t aware that we had had any success.
Fred… I’ve seen your argument echoed – mostly by encumbents and their owners – quite often: “By the way, we already have term limits: they’re called elections.” It strikes me as simplistic. Do you think it should apply to executive offices, such as the office of President or Governor? If not, why one and not the other?
No question Murtha in a leadership position was horrendous. It does nothing to stop the racist double standard either: let’s kick out a guy w/ $90,000 in the freezer but bring back a guy whom said talk to me later.
Must be freinds of Katzman
This has to be the worst thread of comments I’ve ever read on a WoC post. Where’s anonymous when you need him?
Mike
He’s… everywhere.
Unfortunately, still mostly writing pr0n.