Less than a week after Democrats captured the House on promises to reverse the Republican "culture of corruption," who did Pelosi back to become the No. 2 House leader? Rep. John Murtha D-Pa., who was implicated (though not charged) in one of Washington's most sordid scandals
And who has she refused to rule out as the next chairman of the ultra-sensitive House Intelligence Committee?
None other than Rep. Alcee Hastings ,D-Fla., a former federal judge who was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate for conspiring to extort a $150,000 bribe in a case before him.Not exactly a flying start for setting a new ethical tone on Capitol Hill Long before Murtha became his party's leading critic of the iraq war, he was caught on a grainy fbi tape in the 1980 Abscam probe, in which undercover agents posed as errand boys for an Arab sheik looking to bribe congressmen for favors. On Thursday, they picked Rep. Steny Hoyer D-Md., over Murtha as majority leader. Since 1999, he has raked in campaign contributions of more than $600,000 from lobbyists.
Pelosi vowed to change Congress' culture. First, she'll have to show that she recognizes corrupt behavior when she sees it.
not a question and i know ill be reported.. but hey.. just wanted to put it out there...
2006-11-17 13:48:21 · 12 answers · asked by pain_made_me_beautiful 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Elections
Is there ANYBODY in the house free of some sort of corruption? I guess Nancy has to pick people who she thinks can do the job, but now she's realizing that corruption is not limited to Republicans. Another campaign promise failed.
I'm willing to forgive if this bunch can find a better way to deal with terrorism. I'm not going to criticize, I put up with criticism for years as a Republican - the ball is in your court Dems!
2006-11-17 14:10:55 · answer #1 · answered by Action 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
So where is the surprise to this? In my 60 some odd years of living I have yet to see too many of them that are not corrupt. What anyone of us hope for is that they (the politicians) stay away from local politics so things close to home don't get screwed up.
Things run in cycles It goes back and forth between liberals and conservatives since forever. It means that no sense in getting too caught up in it, that when you do things will change again. Whatever they do in Washington has very little effect on the average person.
As long as they stay out of my yard, I don't care what they do to each other I am and Independent.
2006-11-17 14:10:41 · answer #2 · answered by John E 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did you happen to notice Murtha wasn't charged because he didn't take the bribe? Murtha's military background should be respected-remember that "love our soldiers" stuff?
Hastings was impeached by a Democratically controlled House. Hastings filed suit in federal court claiming that his impeachment trial was invalid because he was tried by a Senate committee, not in front of the full Senate, and that he had been acquitted in a criminal trial. Yes, aquiited in a criminal trial. I'm not going to defend him but we could start with the whole truth, couldn't we?
Lobbying is not yet illegal, although I would be in favor of that! I don't see that it does anything but promote corruption. The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal is a scandal relating to the work performed by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed, Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on behalf of Indian casino gambling interests for an estimated $85 million in fees. Abramoff and Scanlon grossly overbilled their clients, secretly splitting the multimillion-dollar profits. In one case, they secretly orchestrated lobbying against their own clients in order to force them to pay for lobbying services.
In the course of the scheme, the lobbyists are accused of illegally giving gifts and making campaign donations to legislators in return for votes or support of legislation. Representative Bob Ney (R-OH) and two aides to Tom DeLay (R-TX) have been directly implicated; other politicians, mostly Republican lawmakers, with connections to Indian affairs have various ties
2006-11-19 08:01:55 · answer #3 · answered by Middleclassandnotquiet 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its neat to see you guys cut and paste the same old news about the incoming Democratic majority. Just in case you forgot, Abramoff went to prison two days ago, and lets not get started with the careers he helped end just last week.
There's a level of corruption in both parties for years--but lets not call one party out while the other one is still making TODAYS headlines.
2006-11-18 01:58:27 · answer #4 · answered by rrticulate1 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Wow I see the tone the NEOCONS are going to take for the next 2 years. Some folks don't know how to lose gracefully. When are they going to realize that they are out of step with the other 69% of Americans, including Republicans?
Let the name calling begin. How about that Trent Lott? Think he has added any more ethnic jokes to his collection?
2006-11-18 00:25:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Corruption is not a bipartisan issue.
Until you personally take a stand againt the issue of K Street, you have no argumentative basis simply to make corruption a partisan issue.
2006-11-17 14:04:03 · answer #6 · answered by Pitchow! 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I wasn't surprised. The dems aren't pure. Who was Pelosi trying to kid?
It's politics as usual.
2006-11-18 00:14:06 · answer #7 · answered by sister_godzilla 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
BTW, you forgot about Rep. William Jefferson D-Louisiana and his $90,000.00 freezer bundle. ABSCAM was a wonderful thing. As we all know, history repeats itself over and over again.
2006-11-18 01:21:21 · answer #8 · answered by mayham1983 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
My question is why were these people still voted back into office if they were so corrupt? Why are they still holding powerful positions?
2006-11-17 17:11:55 · answer #9 · answered by Gettin_by 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I agree with you 100%!
2006-11-17 13:55:33 · answer #10 · answered by dakota29575 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋