Democrat Guilty of Ethics Violations

[Shady]

Pelosi Says She’s Running ‘Most Ethical’ Congress Ever, But Won’t Ask Rangel to Resign Chairmanship

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) insisted on Friday that she is running the most ethical and honest Congress in history. At the same time, however, she indicated she will not ask House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D.-N.Y.) to resign his chairmanship—at least for now.

Rangel was admonished this week by the ethics committee for taking corporate-funded trips to the Caribbean.

And...

According to the Associated Press, “Rangel is also being separately investigated for an alleged failure to pay federal taxes on rental income from a Dominican villa and on his use in New York of apartments provided by a Manhattan developer.”

When a reporter prefaced a question about Rangel by noting that Pelosi had promised to run the “most ethical and honest Congress in history” she interrupted him to say: “And we are.”

Link

I have to give Pelosi credit, when she insisted that she is in fact running the most ethical and honest Congress in history, she said it with a straight face. Although, that might be because of all the face lifts and botox, so it's hard to determine how much credit she deserves.

She is definitely the dumbest politician I have ever had the displeasure of trying to listen to give a press conference, in an attempt to answer questions.

[Guest American Woman]

I have to give Pelosi credit, when she insisted that she is in fact running the most ethical and honest Congress in history, she said it with a straight face.

She may be, even if she won't ask Rangel to resign his chairmanship. What's gone on in past Congresses? What have other Congressmen gotten away with? One would have to know that in order to know if hers is, or isn't, the most ethical and honest Congress in history. Her not asking Rangel to resign doesn't prove otherwise in and of itself.

[Oleg Bach]

Palosi only imagines she has ethics..if she was a sincere person she would not dye her hair and go for that bad nose job to make herself look less threatening.

[jbg]

She may be, even if she won't ask Rangel to resign his chairmanship. What's gone on in past Congresses? What have other Congressmen gotten away with? One would have to know that in order to know if hers is, or isn't, the most ethical and honest Congress in history. Her not asking Rangel to resign doesn't prove otherwise in and of itself.

Wilbur Mills stepped down under pressure as Chairperson of House Ways and Means after he took a personal dump (link).

For a time in the early 1970's, Mr. Mills's name was being mentioned as a possible nominee for the Supreme Court or the Presidency. But on Oct. 7, 1974, that speculation was dashed.

Early that morning, after police stopped Mr. Mills' weaving car, Annabel Battistella, the stripper who performed as Fanne Foxe, ran from the car and leaped into the Tidal Basin. Mr. Mills stepped from the car, intoxicated, his face bleeding.

Mr. Mills was elected to his 19th and final House term a month after the incident. He was forced to relinquish his chairmanship. "I drank booze, and I mixed the drinks with some highly addictive drugs," he later said.

[Pliny]

She may be, even if she won't ask Rangel to resign his chairmanship. What's gone on in past Congresses? What have other Congressmen gotten away with? One would have to know that in order to know if hers is, or isn't, the most ethical and honest Congress in history. Her not asking Rangel to resign doesn't prove otherwise in and of itself.

It is tragic indeed if it is the "most" honest and ethical congress in history. I don't think she has a grasp of reality but then again she never defined what she meant by honest and ethical. It obviously differs from most people's understanding. I have rarely seen such contortions and contrivances to create her apparency.

[Shady]

Speaking of ethics violations, how about that Gov. Paterson? Yikes!

Gov. David A. Paterson personally directed two state employees to contact the woman who had accused his close aide of assaulting her, according to two people with direct knowledge of the governor’s actions.

Mr. Paterson instructed his press secretary, Marissa Shorenstein, to ask the woman to publicly describe the episode as nonviolent, according to a third person, who was briefed on the matter. That description would contradict the woman’s accounts to the police and in court.

Link

The Dems have had some pretty tough stories come out the last week or so.

[Bugs]

She may be, even if she won't ask Rangel to resign his chairmanship. What's gone on in past Congresses? What have other Congressmen gotten away with? One would have to know that in order to know if hers is, or isn't, the most ethical and honest Congress in history. Her not asking Rangel to resign doesn't prove otherwise in and of itself.

We know that Tom Delay, with whom this is compared, was a lightweight compared to Rangel, and he was forced to resign his chairmanship. There were others. Rangel is a running sore of corruption, and he uses a very powerful position -- Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee -- which he uses for his own advantage. (If you're a Democrat, you don't have to worry about an audit.)

There's no way this Congress can claim any special ethics purity, except that the concept of ethics seems to have disappeared.

[Shady]

Looks like the Dems have another problem was well...

Eric Massa to retire amid allegations he sexually harassed a male staffer

According to several House aides on both sides of the aisle, the House ethics committee has been informed of allegations that Massa, who is married with two children, sexually harassed a male staffer.

Link

[punked]

Looks like the Dems have another problem was well...

Orrrrrr it could be because he has Cancer.

http://www.rollcall.com/news/43777-1.html

Don't worry though Shady rumors of people resigning because of bad behavior is bi-partisan.

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA), who is under investigation by the ethics committee for reportedly intervening with Georgia officials to preserve a lucrative business agreement with the state, announced today he is leaving Congress, effective next Monday.

But resigning from Congress also means the end of the investigations into Deal by the House ethics panel, and the Office of Congressional Ethics, Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, tells TPMmuckraker. That's because once Deal steps down, he is no longer in the jurisdiction of the ethics committee.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/did_gop_rep_nathan_deal_resign_because_of_ethics_p.php

Ohhhhh No Shady you don't get to act morally superior when your guys are doing the same crap. Washington is broken and the money and influence is what broke it.

[bush_cheney2004]

....Ohhhhh No Shady you don't get to act morally superior when your guys are doing the same crap. Washington is broken and the money and influence is what broke it.

Wrong.....money and influence built Washington from the very start.

Edited March 3, 2010 by bush_cheney2004

[jbg]

Don't worry though Shady rumors of people resigning because of bad behavior is bi-partisan.

I tend to agree. The party in power always seems to suffer more from that syndrome.

[Shady]

Don't worry though Shady rumors of people resigning because of bad behavior is bi-partisan.

Hmmm. The New York Times disagrees with you.

Rash of Scandals Tests Democrats at Sensitive Time

WASHINGTON — The ethical woes facing Democrats are piling up, with barely a day passing in recent weeks without headlines from Washington to New York and beyond filled with word of scandal or allegations of wrongdoing.

Link

Hear that punked? The ethical woes facing Democrats are piling up.

[punked]

Hmmm. The New York Times disagrees with you.

Hear that punked? The ethical woes facing Democrats are piling up.

Yep I agree there are some ethical violations by Democrats Shady. Paterson is doing a disservice to his office in New York hopefully Como pins him too the wall. You will notice however the very article you cite goes on too talk about all the republican misbehaviors in the past years. Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff and so on. I do not suffer the same delusion as you, I don't think the instant someone becomes a Democrat or Republican they are all of a sudden a good person. I however know also that once those people are kicked out the party can stand on its own under fighting for the people. I am not ready to burn down the house to kill the rats, however unlike you I think we should deal with the rats in the party. YOUR PARTY HAS THEM TOO, STOP LYING.

[Shady]

Orrrrrr it could be because he has Cancer.

Nice try.

Rep. Massa describes a confrontation with Emanuel in a shower: "I am showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me

RCP

Word is that the Dems outed him because he wasn't going to vote yes on Obamacare. He's actually thinking of rescinding his resignation. Hope n change!

[Mr.Canada]

To question the Obama, his regime, the congress or the Senate is racist. The Obama cannot be criticized, to do so is to be a racist. Smarten up.

[BubberMiley]

Word is that the Dems outed him because he wasn't going to vote yes on Obamacare.

They outed him? I don't think he's gay. Though the shower scene with Emanuel does sound rather homoerotic.

[jbg]

Yep I agree there are some ethical violations by Democrats Shady. Paterson is doing a disservice to his office in New York hopefully Como pins him too the wall.

My view as a New Yorker is a bit different. I think he and Spitzer both wanted to challenge Albany's corrupt culture. The corruptionists got their revenge in each case by finding and pressing penny-ante charges.

The corrupt system remains and Spitzer and Cuomo suffer its revenge.

[Bugs]

My view as a New Yorker is a bit different. I think he and Spitzer both wanted to challenge Albany's corrupt culture. The corruptionists got their revenge in each case by finding and pressing penny-ante charges.

The corrupt system remains and Spitzer and Cuomo suffer its revenge.

Personally, I find it hard to get upset because the rich and powerful have a little action on the side ... My respect for Tiger has only grown, after a close examination if the women he victimized so wantonly ... had I known that being able to drive a ball 300 yards could do for a guy ...

But Spitzer is disgusting. What kind of schlubb keeps his socks on?

[Shady]

The ethics violations related to Charlie Rangel and David Paterson have nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with corruption. Failing to report income for tax purposes, taking paid trips from lobbyists, using state troopers to pressure a woman into dropping domestic violence charges are far more serious than any sexual encounter.

[punked]

"Are you kidding me"

"House Democrats have instituted strong new ethics, earmark and lobbying reforms to hold members of Congress accountable," says Doug Thornell, spokesman for Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the sixth-ranking Democrat in the House.

We have also reprimanded members who have been found to have broken the public's trust. I guess the GOP is hoping voters have short-term memory loss. When they were in the majority, a few years ago, they ran a 'pay to play' system with K Street based out of their leadership offices, changed the rules to protect Tom Delay, and tried to cover-up the Foley scandal, among other things. They supported no meaningful reforms and in fact voted against many of the measures we passed last Congress.

Democrats point not only to the recent past, when Jack Abramoff and Mark Foley both helped topple the Republican majority, but also to nearly two dozen Republican lawmakers who continue to serve under an ethical cloud, or who face investigations of their own--many of which extend back to the heydays of GOP corruption.

In other words, Democrats have a long way to go before they enter GOP ethics territory.

"Toyota has more credibility on car safety than these guys have on ethics," says Thornell.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/dems-on-gop-ethics-charges-you-have-got-to-be-joking.php?ref=fpblg

[jbg]

The ethics violations related to Charlie Rangel and David Paterson have nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with corruption. Failing to report income for tax purposes, taking paid trips from lobbyists, using state troopers to pressure a woman into dropping domestic violence charges are far more serious than any sexual encounter.

To me, Rangel's violations seem to be rather grievous. In Paterson's case. I have expressed my view that this is the revenge of the nerds Albany political culture.

[Shady]

To me, Rangel's violations seem to be rather grievous. In Paterson's case. I have expressed my view that this is the revenge of the nerds Albany political culture.

How is it revenge? Paterson pressures a woman to drop her charges against his pal for assult and domestic abuse, and that's somehow brushed aside by you as Albany's political culture? That's pretty ridiculous.

[jbg]

How is it revenge? Paterson pressures a woman to drop her charges against his pal for assult and domestic abuse, and that's somehow brushed aside by you as Albany's political culture? That's pretty ridiculous.

Trust me.

Many of these abuse charges are spurious and the complainants don't want to testify under oath.

Unfortunately, it is common for high officialdom to intercede in these matters. Remember a burglary in Washington DC at the Watergate Hotel on June 24, 1972?

[Shady]

Trust me.

Why?

Many of these abuse charges are spurious and the complainants don't want to testify under oath.

I'm not talking about many of these charges. I'm talking about just this one. However, if you have new and undiscovered information, please share.

Gov. David A. Paterson personally directed two state employees to contact the woman who had accused his close aide of assaulting her

Link

[Shady]

Looks like he'll be facing an upcoming trial. Right in the middle of campaign season! Thank you Mr. Rangel.

Rep. Charles Rangel broke ethics rules, House panel finds

A House ethics subcommittee announced Thursday that it found that Rep. Charles B. Rangel violated congressional ethics rules and that it will prepare for a trial, probably beginning in September. The panel is expected to make the details of his alleged violations public next Thursday.

Rangel (D-N.Y.) has been under the House ethics committee's microscope since early 2008 after it was reported that he may have used his House position to benefit his financial interests. Two of the most serious inquiries have focused on Rangel's failure to declare $239,000 to $831,000 in assets on his disclosure forms, and on his effort to raise money for a private center named after him at City College of New York using his congressional letterhead.

Washington Post

And then there's John Kerry. Like all Democrats, he also wants you to pay more taxes, but for him, not so much.

Sen. John Kerry skips town on sails tax

Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I.

Isabel - Kerry’s luxe, 76-foot New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage - was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine.

But instead of berthing the vessel in Nantucket, where the senator summers with the missus, Teresa Heinz, Isabel’s hailing port is listed as “Newport” on her stern.

Boston Herald

They love voting for tax increases. And they love insisting that people need to pay their "fair share." But they'd have a little more credibility if their actions followed their words. Pathetic.