The corruption of the current White House is fucking amazing, especially considering George told us he was going to bring honor and respectability back to the presidency. The guy is the ultimate example of everything that the Founding Fathers feared. Using tax dollars to aid Republican candidates in elections is just one more example.
Top Commerce and Treasury Departments officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy.
What a bunch of cunts. Plain and simple. Between 2001 and 2006, the Treasury Department received White House political briefings on how they could aid Republican candidates. The Commerce Department received four briefings. These actions are quite simply not allowed, as defined by the Hatch Act, which bans the use of government resources for campaign activities.
Under the Hatch Act, Cabinet members are permitted to attend political briefings and appear with members of Congress. But Cabinet members and other political appointees aren't permitted to spend taxpayer money with the aim of benefiting candidates.
The White House is already being investigated by the House Oversight Committee to determine whether the administration violated the Hatch Act by briefing at least 15 federal agencies.
During the briefings at Treasury and Commerce, then-Bush administration political director Ken Mehlman and other White House aides detailed competitive congressional districts, battleground election states and key media markets and outlined GOP strategy for getting out the vote.
After the briefings, Commerce and Treasury political appointees made public appearances and grant announcements that just happened to benefit GOP interests. That sounds like it completely violates the Hatch Act. I wonder how the Democratic Congress will fail to do anything about it? Unfortunately, violations are not illegal. They are treated as administrative matters and usually lead to suspension or termination of those who violate the ban.
The law needs to be changed so that these type of actions are illegal. Why would a loyal follower care about violating the act? They would lose their job, but probably end up with a cushier position somewhere else due to their partisan actions.
Take Commerce Secretary Don Evans, who just happened to be Bush's former campaign finance chairman. He made eight appearances with Republican incumbents during competitive races. While there he handed out millions of dollars in grants and made public announcements. He has already left the Commerce Department, so he will not be punished. I would like to at the very least, hold his head in a toilet and flush it.
The guy who took over for Evans, picked up right where the big E left off.
In 2006, Evans' successor, Carlos Gutierrez, and his aides also made public announcements with several Republican congressional incumbents, including in the battleground states of Missouri, Pennsylvania and New Mexico. Weeks before the 2006 election, Gutierrez and Congresswoman Wilson announced $3.45 million in grants for Albuquerque organizations. Also in the weeks before the election, a deputy secretary and Republican Sen. Rick Santorum announced that the department would be investing $2.25 million in Philadelphia.
You tax dollars at work, helping those poor, poor Republicans. Don't get mad Democrats, just sit back and take it.
Hatch Act? Puh-lease! I think Bush's current agenda at this point is to break as many laws as he can, just so he can say "the laws is not applying to me because I is the president." I hope this causes secret service to show up at my door, but the guy shoulda been snipered long ago... along with the rest of chain of command.
Not to mention the fact that he's hanging onto Alberto Gonzalez for dear life because he knows the Senate won't confirm a new Attorney General, unless that person promises to appoint a special prosecutor to go after the Executive Branch.
Amazingly, no.
James Buchanan (1857-61) and Warren G. Harding (1921-23) were probably the worst. Harding's administration was probably the most corrupt in American history, yes, even worse than the recent examples.
honestly, how many investigations can one administration be subject to at one time...it's like he is just itching for the chance to call Guinness and reserve his spot in the record book.
The law needs to be changed so that these type of actions are illegal. Why would a loyal follower care about violating the act? They would lose their job, but probably end up with a cushier position somewhere else due to their partisan actions.
Your are exactly right on this point. Whether it is a question of legality or simple ethics, the same argument applies. It is the reason government elected officeholders have nothing to lose or fear by abandoning and betraying the will of the people who elected them as representatives. Even if they fail to get re-elected, they will be well taken care of by the corporate institutions whose interests they served while in office.
Effectively speaking, we are no longer living in a representative democracy. The question is, now: What are we going to do about it? [insert revolutionary rhetoric here]
VampOzman said:
Hatch Act? Puh-lease! I think Bush's current agenda at this point is to break as many laws as he can, just so he can say "the laws is not applying to me because I is the president." I hope this causes secret service to show up at my door, but the guy shoulda been snipered long ago... along with the rest of chain of command.
The law needs to be changed so that these type of actions are illegal. Why would a loyal follower care about violating the act? They would lose their job, but probably end up with a cushier position somewhere else due to their partisan actions.
Your are exactly right on this point. Whether it is a question of legality or simple ethics, the same argument applies. It is the reason government elected officeholders have nothing to lose or fear by abandoning and betraying the will of the people who elected them as representatives. Even if they fail to get re-elected, they will be well taken care of by the corporate institutions whose interests they served while in office.
Effectively speaking, we are no longer living in a representative democracy. The question is, now: What are we going to do about it? [insert revolutionary rhetoric here]
Too bad conservatives tend to be gun-nuts and not the other way around.
if American Voters weren't so fucking stupid Bush would never have been elected Govenor of Texas let alone been able to steal the Presidential election not just once but twice. We have no one to blame but OUR fellow citizens who voted for Bush or worse didn't bother to vote or voted for Nader
$1 million dollars paid by the Pentagon to ship two 19 cent washers. Abu-Gharaib. No WMD's in Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld. Dick Cheney. Halliburton. New Orleans. 9/11. Bin-Laden. Enron. Alberto Gonzalez. The list is endless
Kind of imbalances the whole "he lied about sex with the White House intern" morality equation that was used to throw the 2000 election.
You must be kidding, The whole system is corrupt and has been for a long time.Clinton just put more sugar coating on the turd and people ate it up.Bush just doesn't know how to do that.And don't get me started on congress they're the most corrupt of all. The government investigating the government mmmmmmm..............what's wrong with that picture.The corrupt investigating the corrupt.It's all about MONEY,your money(taxes) apparently they think we're too stupid to have it so they tax the crap out it.Everything Our ForeFathers fought for and been flushed down the crapper. Oh,and the people who throw around the word democracy. Read the constitution, We are a REPUBLIC.
scorp17yh said:
if American Voters weren't so fucking stupid Bush would never have been elected Govenor of Texas let alone been able to steal the Presidential election not just once but twice. We have no one to blame but OUR fellow citizens who voted for Bush or worse didn't bother to vote or voted for Nader
scorp17yh said:
if American Voters weren't so fucking stupid Bush would never have been elected Govenor of Texas let alone been able to steal the Presidential election not just once but twice. We have no one to blame but OUR fellow citizens who voted for Bush or worse didn't bother to vote or voted for Nader
Oh totally man, this is definitely Nader's fault. That fucker! He was running on some actual principles! bastard! *Course, that was before the money he accepted...*
And hey, let's just forget about the highly corrupt schemes to get Bush into office. Florida ring any bells for you?
oyaji said:
At least we had something to crumble other than a second rate country peopled by the miserable descendants of people too fucked up to be allowed to stay in the U.K.
VampOzman said:
Hatch Act? Puh-lease! I think Bush's current agenda at this point is to break as many laws as he can, just so he can say "the laws is not applying to me because I is the president." I hope this causes secret service to show up at my door, but the guy shoulda been snipered long ago... along with the rest of chain of command.
Was anyone else disappointed when the assassinaton attempt on Cheney failed? Maybe that was just me.
FearTheReaper
NEWSWIRE
I'm lost
AUG 18, 2007 07:14 PM