Veterans for Congress!

[TexasTiger 12,876]

Company, Left

There's something different about the latest crop of military veterans running for Congress

by Joshua Green

ommand Sergeant Major Tim Walz is a twenty-four-year veteran of the Army National Guard, now retired but still on active duty when a visit from President George W. Bush shortly before the 2004 election coincided with Walz's homecoming to Mankato, Minnesota. A high school teacher and football coach, he had left to serve overseas in Operation Enduring Freedom. Southern Minnesota is home to a large Guard contingent that includes Walz's unit, the First 125th Field Artillery Battalion, so the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are naturally a pressing local concern—particularly to high school students headed into the armed services.

The president's visit struck Walz as a teachable moment, and he and two students boarded a Bush campaign bus that took them to a quarry where the president was to speak. But after they had passed through a metal detector and their tickets and IDs were checked, they were denied admittance and ordered back onto the bus. One of the boys had a John Kerry sticker on his wallet.

Indignant, Walz refused. "As a soldier, I told them I had a right to see my commander-in-chief," the normally jovial forty-one-year-old recently explained to a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party dinner in the small town of Albert Lea, Minnesota.

His challenge prompted a KGB-style interrogation that was sadly characteristic of Bush campaign events. Do you support the president? Walz refused to answer. Do you oppose the president? Walz replied that it was no one's business but his own. (He later learned that his wife was informed that the Secret Service might arrest him.) Walz thought for a moment and asked the Bush staffers if they really wanted to arrest a command sergeant major who'd just returned from fighting the war on terrorism.

They did not.

Instead Walz was told to behave himself and permitted to attend the speech, albeit under heavy scrutiny. His students were not: they were sent home. Shortly after this Walz retired from the Guard. Then he did something that until recently was highly unusual for a military man. He announced he was running for Congress—as a Democrat.

Walz personifies two of this year's most interesting political trends, both of which appear to emanate from the country's growing dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq and the party most responsible for it. The midterm elections this fall will be the first in which a sizable number of veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq run for Congress. At least fourteen have declared so far. But in an era when military and national-security issues have long been the province of the Republican Party—indeed, are thought to have strengthened the GOP's grip on the White House and Congress in the past two elections—the bigger surprise is under whose banner these veterans are choosing to run. Like Walz, nearly every one of them is a Democrat.

ne reason for the surge of Democratic veterans on the campaign trail is the example of Paul Hackett, a forty-three-year-old major in the Marine Corps who returned from Iraq and became the Democratic candidate in a special election last August for Ohio's second-district congressional seat. In a staunchly conservative district Hackett campaigned as an unabashed critic of the Bush administration and its handling of the Iraq War at a time when few elected Democrats were so bold, and he fell just a few thousand votes short of an upset victory. He became a media star in the process, and is now running to unseat Ohio's embattled senior senator, the Republican Mike DeWine, this fall.

The subsequent group of veterans very much resembles Hackett: they are generally young (most in their thirties and forties), new to electoral politics, and, with varying degrees of intensity, critics of the administration. At a time when the public's opinion of lawmakers in both parties is abysmal, these veterans are running on the attractively civic-minded notion that service in Congress is a patriotic extension of service in the military. They are spread throughout the country but concentrated in military-heavy states like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, and Texas, where the war and its effects are most keenly felt.

This fact was driven home on the day I arrived in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to meet Marine Lieutenant Colonel Tim Dunn, a lawyer and a veteran of the Gulf War and the Kosovo conflict. Dunn recently returned from a tour in Iraq, where he helped the Iraqi Special Tribunal investigate and prosecute former high officials of the regime, including Saddam Hussein himself. He is a Democratic candidate for the state's eighth congressional district, home to the Army's Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. Just before we were to meet, Dunn was called away to attend a tragically familiar ritual around Fayetteville: a memorial service for an Army Special Forces soldier killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

When we did meet, the next day, Dunn described local concerns that echoed what I'd already heard around town and also in Minnesota and Texas districts with high concentrations of military personnel—concerns about families left behind and about health care and economic assistance for returning veterans. Above all there was a diffuse and mounting frustration with Washington, most often summed up in military idiom as a "crisis of leadership."

"I pledge to be someone who will not only vote his convictions but voice his convictions," Dunn said. With his wraparound sunglasses and hair cut high and tight, he looked as if he had just hopped off a tank. "What's needed in Congress today is a dose of honor, courage, and commitment." This same sentiment is voiced, though possibly for different reasons, by the lone Republican veteran seeking a House seat: Van Taylor, a thirty-three-year-old Marine captain who is hoping to oust the incumbent Democrat in Texas's seventeenth district. "People want a congressman who's a proven leader in the war on terror," Taylor says.

That sort of raw authenticity—experience in combat—has declined steadily over the past three decades. According to research conducted by William Bianco, a professor at Penn State University who has studied the civilian-military divide, the number of veterans in the House reached its zenith in 1971, when more than 72 percent of congressmen had served. With the retirement of World War II veterans and the under-representation of veterans of later wars, that number has slipped below 20 percent. Experts attribute this decline to the paucity of large-scale combat operations, the shrinking of the armed services overall, and the change in 1975 to an all-volunteer military, which created a higher percentage of career-minded soldiers, less likely to take an interest in running for office. That could change. "What you're looking at now is fairly unusual," says Richard Kohn, a history professor and the chair of the Curriculum in Peace, War, and Defense at the University of North Carolina. "This is the first time post-1975 that you're seeing a group emerge that specifically wants to get involved in politics."

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200601/mili...LKfoE4ZiSbp0%3D

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Then maybe a "Real" Veteran, instead of a , will make run at the White House and restore honor and integrity thereof. We all know there needs to be a deeeeeeep cleansing of the U.S. Congress. Godspeed to all veterans for a change.

Iraq did not attack us.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul297.html

"The only effective way to address corruption is to change the system itself, by radically downsizing the power of the federal government in the first place. Take away the politicians' power and you take away the very currency of corruption."

http://www.democrats.org/a/2005/10/iraq_ve....php?comments=1

"It's not just veterans, either. Americans from all walks of life -- sheriffs, teachers, public defenders -- are stepping up to the plate to provide the honest, serious leadership that our country deserves."

The world is laughing at us. How much longer will we tolerate this?

[AURaptor 1,125]

Texas, your mock movie poster omits Hillary Clinton and the other Dems who received , and have refused to return any $$ from Abramoff. I wonder why.

[TexasTiger 12,876]

Texas, your mock movie poster omits Hillary Clinton and the other Dems who received , and have refused to return any $$ from Abramoff.  I wonder why.

210428[/snapback]

No Dem received money from Abramoff. You don't know that. I wonder why?

[AURaptor 1,125]

Texas, your mock movie poster omits Hillary Clinton and the other Dems who received , and have refused to return any $$ from Abramoff.  I wonder why.

210428[/snapback]

No Dem received money from Abramoff. You don't know that. I wonder why?

210432[/snapback]

Wrong. No Dem ADMITS to receiving money from Abramoff. You know that, and I am sure you know why, too.

[TexasTiger 12,876]

Texas, your mock movie poster omits Hillary Clinton and the other Dems who received , and have refused to return any $$ from Abramoff.  I wonder why.

210428[/snapback]

No Dem received money from Abramoff. You don't know that. I wonder why?

210432[/snapback]

Wrong. No Dem ADMITS to receiving money from Abramoff. You know that, and I am sure you know why, too.

210434[/snapback]

Check the FEC records. There are various websites that will let you do it.

[AURaptor 1,125]

Check the FEC records. There are various websites that will let you do it.

Well, ok.......

Abramoff Lobbying & Political Contributions to Democrats, per FEC Records

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) Received At Least – $22,500

* Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) Received At Least – $6,500

* Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) Received At Least – $1,250

* Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Received At Least – $20,250

* Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Received At Least – $21,765

* Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Received At Least – $12,950

* Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) Received At Least – $8,000

* Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) Received At Least – $14,792

* Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Received At Least – $79,300

* Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Received At Least – $14,000

* Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) Received At Least – $1,250

* Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) Received At Least – $45,750

* Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Received At Least – $9,000

* Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) Received At Least – $14,250

* Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Received At Least – $3,300

* Senator John Kerry (D-MA) Received At Least – $98,550

* Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Received At Least – $28,000 * Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) Received At Least – $4,000

* Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,000

* Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) Received At Least – $29,830

* Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Received At Least – $14,891

* Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Received At Least – $10,550

* Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Received At Least – $78,991

* Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Received At Least – $20,168

* Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Received At Least – $5,200

* Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) Received At Least – $2,300

* Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) Received At Least – $3,500

* Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) Received At Least – $68,941

* Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) Received At Least – $4,000

* Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) Received At Least – $4,500

* Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) Received At Least – $4,300

* Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Received At Least – $29,550

* Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,250

* Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Received At Least – $6,250 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte $423,480

Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte $354,700

Democratic National Cmte $65,720

Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) $42,500

Patty Murray (D-Wash) $40,980

Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) $36,000

Harry Reid (D-Nev) $30,500

Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) $28,000

Tom Daschle (D-SD) $26,500

Democratic Party of Michigan $23,000

Brad R. Carson (D-Okla) $20,600

Dale E. Kildee (D-Mich) $19,000

Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md) $17,500

Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $15,500

Democratic Party of Oklahoma $15,000

Chris John (D-La) $15,000

John Breaux (D-La) $13,750

Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ) $13,600

Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo) $12,000

Mary L. Landrieu (D-La) $11,500

Barney Frank (D-Mass) $11,100

Max Baucus (D-Mont) $11,000

Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) $10,000

Democratic Party of North Dakota $10,000

Nick Rahall (D-WVa) $10,000

Democratic Party of South Dakota $9,500

Democratic Party of Minnesota $9,000

Ron Kind (D-Wis) $9,000

Peter Deutsch (D-Fla) $8,500

Joe Baca (D-Calif) $8,000

Dick Durbin (D-Ill) $8,000

Xavier Becerra (D-Calif) $7,523

Tim Johnson (D-SD) $7,250

Democratic Party of New Mexico $6,250

Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) $6,000

David E. Bonior (D-Mich) $5,000

Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) $5,000

Democratic Party of Montana $5,000

Fritz Hollings (D-SC) $5,000

Jay Inslee (D-Wash) $5,000

Thomas P. Keefe Jr. (D-Wash) $5,000

Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md) $5,000

Deborah Ann Stabenow (D-Mich) $5,000

Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) $4,500

Tom Carper (D-Del) $4,000

Kent Conrad (D-ND) $4,000

Jerry Kleczka (D-Wis) $4,000

Sander Levin (D-Mich) $4,000

Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif) $4,000

George Miller (D-Calif) $4,000

Kalyn Cherie Free (D-Okla) $3,500

James L. Oberstar (D-Minn) $3,500

Charles J. Melancon (D-La) $3,100

Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $3,000

Cal Dooley (D-Calif) $3,000

John B. Larson (D-Conn) $3,000

David R. Obey (D-Wis) $3,000

Ed Pastor (D-Ariz) $3,000

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) $3,000

Richard M. Romero (D-NM) $3,000

Brad Sherman (D-Calif) $3,000

Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss) $3,000

Max Cleland (D-Ga) $2,500

Grace Napolitano (D-Calif) $2,500

Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif) $2,500

Bill Luther (D-Minn) $2,250

Gene Taylor (D-Miss) $2,250

Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) $2,000

Ken Bentsen (D-Texas) $2,000

Dan Boren (D-Okla) $2,000

Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn) $2,000

John D. Dingell (D-Mich) $2,000

Doug Dodd (D-Okla) $2,000

Ned Doucet (D-La) $2,000

Lane Evans (D-Ill) $2,000

Sam Farr (D-Calif) $2,000

John Neely Kennedy (D-La) $2,000

Carl Levin (D-Mich) $2,000

Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) $2,000

Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) $2,000

Robert Menendez (D-NJ) $2,000

Adam Schiff (D-Calif) $2,000

Ronnie Shows (D-Miss) $2,000

Adam Smith (D-Wash) $2,000

Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif) $2,000

Mike Thompson (D-Calif) $2,000

Maxine Waters (D-Calif) $2,000

Peter DeFazio (D-Ore) $1,500

Norm Dicks (D-Wash) $1,500

John Kerry (D-Mass) $1,400

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) $1,000

Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif) $1,000

Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) $1,000

Jim Costa (D-Calif) $1,000

Susan A. Davis (D-Calif) $1,000

Eliot L. Engel (D-NY) $1,000

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) $1,000

Tim Holden (D-Pa) $1,000

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) $1,000

Joe Lieberman (D-Conn) $1,000

Jim Maloney (D-Conn) $1,000

David Phelps (D-Ill) $1,000

Charles S. Robb (D-Va) $1,000

Brian David Schweitzer (D-Mont) $1,000

Pete Stark (D-Calif) $1,000

Gloria Tristani (D-NM) $1,000

Derrick B. Watchman (D-Ariz) $1,000

Rick Weiland (D-SD) $1,000

Paul Wellstone (D-Minn) $1,000

Ron Wyden (D-Ore) $1,000

Bob Borski (D-Pa) $720

Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) $500

Howard L. Berman (D-Calif) $500

Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) $500

Democratic Party of Washington $500

Barbara Lee (D-Calif) $500

Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif) $500

Grand Total $1,541,673

Of course, this is only what's been REPORTED to the FEC.

[TexasTiger 12,876]

Check the FEC records. There are various websites that will let you do it.

Well, ok.......

Abramoff Lobbying & Political Contributions to Democrats, per FEC Records

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) Received At Least – $22,500

* Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) Received At Least – $6,500

* Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) Received At Least – $1,250

* Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Received At Least – $20,250

* Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Received At Least – $21,765

* Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Received At Least – $12,950

* Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) Received At Least – $8,000

* Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) Received At Least – $14,792

* Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Received At Least – $79,300

* Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Received At Least – $14,000

* Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) Received At Least – $1,250

* Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) Received At Least – $45,750

* Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Received At Least – $9,000

* Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) Received At Least – $14,250

* Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Received At Least – $3,300

* Senator John Kerry (D-MA) Received At Least – $98,550

* Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Received At Least – $28,000 * Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) Received At Least – $4,000

* Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,000

* Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) Received At Least – $29,830

* Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Received At Least – $14,891

* Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Received At Least – $10,550

* Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Received At Least – $78,991

* Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Received At Least – $20,168

* Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Received At Least – $5,200

* Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) Received At Least – $2,300

* Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) Received At Least – $3,500

* Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) Received At Least – $68,941

* Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) Received At Least – $4,000

* Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) Received At Least – $4,500

* Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) Received At Least – $4,300

* Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Received At Least – $29,550

* Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,250

* Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Received At Least – $6,250 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte $423,480

Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte $354,700

Democratic National Cmte $65,720

Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) $42,500

Patty Murray (D-Wash) $40,980

Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) $36,000

Harry Reid (D-Nev) $30,500

Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) $28,000

Tom Daschle (D-SD) $26,500

Democratic Party of Michigan $23,000

Brad R. Carson (D-Okla) $20,600

Dale E. Kildee (D-Mich) $19,000

Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md) $17,500

Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $15,500

Democratic Party of Oklahoma $15,000

Chris John (D-La) $15,000

John Breaux (D-La) $13,750

Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ) $13,600

Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo) $12,000

Mary L. Landrieu (D-La) $11,500

Barney Frank (D-Mass) $11,100

Max Baucus (D-Mont) $11,000

Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) $10,000

Democratic Party of North Dakota $10,000

Nick Rahall (D-WVa) $10,000

Democratic Party of South Dakota $9,500

Democratic Party of Minnesota $9,000

Ron Kind (D-Wis) $9,000

Peter Deutsch (D-Fla) $8,500

Joe Baca (D-Calif) $8,000

Dick Durbin (D-Ill) $8,000

Xavier Becerra (D-Calif) $7,523

Tim Johnson (D-SD) $7,250

Democratic Party of New Mexico $6,250

Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) $6,000

David E. Bonior (D-Mich) $5,000

Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) $5,000

Democratic Party of Montana $5,000

Fritz Hollings (D-SC) $5,000

Jay Inslee (D-Wash) $5,000

Thomas P. Keefe Jr. (D-Wash) $5,000

Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md) $5,000

Deborah Ann Stabenow (D-Mich) $5,000

Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) $4,500

Tom Carper (D-Del) $4,000

Kent Conrad (D-ND) $4,000

Jerry Kleczka (D-Wis) $4,000

Sander Levin (D-Mich) $4,000

Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif) $4,000

George Miller (D-Calif) $4,000

Kalyn Cherie Free (D-Okla) $3,500

James L. Oberstar (D-Minn) $3,500

Charles J. Melancon (D-La) $3,100

Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $3,000

Cal Dooley (D-Calif) $3,000

John B. Larson (D-Conn) $3,000

David R. Obey (D-Wis) $3,000

Ed Pastor (D-Ariz) $3,000

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) $3,000

Richard M. Romero (D-NM) $3,000

Brad Sherman (D-Calif) $3,000

Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss) $3,000

Max Cleland (D-Ga) $2,500

Grace Napolitano (D-Calif) $2,500

Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif) $2,500

Bill Luther (D-Minn) $2,250

Gene Taylor (D-Miss) $2,250

Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) $2,000

Ken Bentsen (D-Texas) $2,000

Dan Boren (D-Okla) $2,000

Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn) $2,000

John D. Dingell (D-Mich) $2,000

Doug Dodd (D-Okla) $2,000

Ned Doucet (D-La) $2,000

Lane Evans (D-Ill) $2,000

Sam Farr (D-Calif) $2,000

John Neely Kennedy (D-La) $2,000

Carl Levin (D-Mich) $2,000

Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) $2,000

Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) $2,000

Robert Menendez (D-NJ) $2,000

Adam Schiff (D-Calif) $2,000

Ronnie Shows (D-Miss) $2,000

Adam Smith (D-Wash) $2,000

Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif) $2,000

Mike Thompson (D-Calif) $2,000

Maxine Waters (D-Calif) $2,000

Peter DeFazio (D-Ore) $1,500

Norm Dicks (D-Wash) $1,500

John Kerry (D-Mass) $1,400

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) $1,000

Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif) $1,000

Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) $1,000

Jim Costa (D-Calif) $1,000

Susan A. Davis (D-Calif) $1,000

Eliot L. Engel (D-NY) $1,000

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) $1,000

Tim Holden (D-Pa) $1,000

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) $1,000

Joe Lieberman (D-Conn) $1,000

Jim Maloney (D-Conn) $1,000

David Phelps (D-Ill) $1,000

Charles S. Robb (D-Va) $1,000

Brian David Schweitzer (D-Mont) $1,000

Pete Stark (D-Calif) $1,000

Gloria Tristani (D-NM) $1,000

Derrick B. Watchman (D-Ariz) $1,000

Rick Weiland (D-SD) $1,000

Paul Wellstone (D-Minn) $1,000

Ron Wyden (D-Ore) $1,000

Bob Borski (D-Pa) $720

Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) $500

Howard L. Berman (D-Calif) $500

Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) $500

Democratic Party of Washington $500

Barbara Lee (D-Calif) $500

Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif) $500

Grand Total $1,541,673

Of course, this is only what's been REPORTED to the FEC.

210468[/snapback]

Who actually gave that money? Got a link?

[TexasTiger 12,876]

January 10, 2006, 8:16 a.m.

The Abramoff Scandal (R., Beltway)

It’s the Republicans, stupid.

Rich Lowry

Republicans are looking for "their" John McCain. The popular Arizona maverick is already a Republican, of course. But the GOP needs a McCain in the "Keating Five" sense. Back in 1990, Senate Democrats roped McCain into the scandal over savings and loan kingpin Charles Keating on tenuous grounds, just so not all the senators involved would be Democrats.

    The GOP now craves such bipartisan cover in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Republicans trumpet every Democratic connection to Abramoff in the hope that something resonates. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), took more than $60,000 from Abramoff clients! North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan used Abramoff's skybox! It is true that any Washington influence peddler is going to spread cash and favors as widely as possible, and 210 members of Congress have received Abramoff-connected dollars. But this is, in its essence, a Republican scandal, and any attempt to portray it otherwise is a misdirection.

Abramoff is a Republican who worked closely with two of the country's most prominent conservative activists, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed. Top aides to the most important Republican in Congress, Tom DeLay (R., Tex.) were party to his sleazy schemes. The only people referred to directly in Abramoff's recent plea agreement are a Republican congressmen and two former Republican congressional aides. The GOP members can make a case that the scandal reflects more the way Washington works than the unique perfidy of their party, but even this is self-defeating, since Republicans run Washington.

Republicans must take the scandal seriously and work to clean up in its wake.

http://www.nationalreview.com/lowry/lowry200601100816.asp

[Tiger in Spain 0]

No Dem received money from Abramoff.  You don't know that.  I wonder why?

210432[/snapback]

Nice robot! Here you go, take another drink...

"There are no Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, not one, not one single Democrat. Every person named in this scandal is a Republican. Every person under investigation is a Republican. Every person indicted is a Republican. This is a Republican finance scandal." — Howard Dean

[TexasTiger 12,876]

No Dem received money from Abramoff.  You don't know that.  I wonder why?

210432[/snapback]

Nice robot! Here you go, take another drink...

"There are no Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, not one, not one single Democrat. Every person named in this scandal is a Republican. Every person under investigation is a Republican. Every person indicted is a Republican. This is a Republican finance scandal." — Howard Dean

210748[/snapback]

Simple statement of fact that you can't disprove. Not surprised your not programmed to deal in facts.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

I see a whole bunch of people with (D)'s after their names being caught with money in their pocket (tip of the hat to Raptor). This isn't a Republican problem, this is a politician problem. You attempting to absolve the democrats from this scandal makes you look like an even bigger wonk than you were referred to earlier (tip of the hat to TigerMike).

[Tigermike 3,029]

Dang Tex, you say:

No Dem received money from Abramoff.  You don't know that.  I wonder why?

210432[/snapback]

To which Raptor said:

Check the FEC records. There are various websites that will let you do it.

Well, ok.......

Abramoff Lobbying & Political Contributions to Democrats, per FEC Records

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) Received At Least – $22,500

* Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) Received At Least – $6,500

* Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) Received At Least – $1,250

* Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Received At Least – $20,250

* Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Received At Least – $21,765

* Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) Received At Least – $12,950

* Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) Received At Least – $8,000

* Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) Received At Least – $14,792

* Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) Received At Least – $79,300

* Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Received At Least – $14,000

* Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) Received At Least – $1,250

* Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) Received At Least – $45,750

* Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Received At Least – $9,000

* Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT) Received At Least – $2,000

* Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) Received At Least – $14,250

* Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) Received At Least – $3,300

* Senator John Kerry (D-MA) Received At Least – $98,550

* Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Received At Least – $28,000 * Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) Received At Least – $4,000

* Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,000

* Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) Received At Least – $29,830

* Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) Received At Least – $14,891

* Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Received At Least – $10,550

* Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Received At Least – $78,991

* Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) Received At Least – $20,168

* Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) Received At Least – $5,200

* Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Received At Least – $7,500

* Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) Received At Least – $2,300

* Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) Received At Least – $3,500

* Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) Received At Least – $68,941

* Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) Received At Least – $4,000

* Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) Received At Least – $4,500

* Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) Received At Least – $4,300

* Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Received At Least – $29,550

* Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Received At Least – $6,250

* Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) Received At Least – $6,250 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cmte $423,480

Democratic Congressional Campaign Cmte $354,700

Democratic National Cmte $65,720

Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) $42,500

Patty Murray (D-Wash) $40,980

Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) $36,000

Harry Reid (D-Nev) $30,500

Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) $28,000

Tom Daschle (D-SD) $26,500

Democratic Party of Michigan $23,000

Brad R. Carson (D-Okla) $20,600

Dale E. Kildee (D-Mich) $19,000

Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md) $17,500

Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $15,500

Democratic Party of Oklahoma $15,000

Chris John (D-La) $15,000

John Breaux (D-La) $13,750

Frank Pallone, Jr (D-NJ) $13,600

Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo) $12,000

Mary L. Landrieu (D-La) $11,500

Barney Frank (D-Mass) $11,100

Max Baucus (D-Mont) $11,000

Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) $10,000

Democratic Party of North Dakota $10,000

Nick Rahall (D-WVa) $10,000

Democratic Party of South Dakota $9,500

Democratic Party of Minnesota $9,000

Ron Kind (D-Wis) $9,000

Peter Deutsch (D-Fla) $8,500

Joe Baca (D-Calif) $8,000

Dick Durbin (D-Ill) $8,000

Xavier Becerra (D-Calif) $7,523

Tim Johnson (D-SD) $7,250

Democratic Party of New Mexico $6,250

Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) $6,000

David E. Bonior (D-Mich) $5,000

Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) $5,000

Democratic Party of Montana $5,000

Fritz Hollings (D-SC) $5,000

Jay Inslee (D-Wash) $5,000

Thomas P. Keefe Jr. (D-Wash) $5,000

Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md) $5,000

Deborah Ann Stabenow (D-Mich) $5,000

Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) $4,500

Tom Carper (D-Del) $4,000

Kent Conrad (D-ND) $4,000

Jerry Kleczka (D-Wis) $4,000

Sander Levin (D-Mich) $4,000

Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif) $4,000

George Miller (D-Calif) $4,000

Kalyn Cherie Free (D-Okla) $3,500

James L. Oberstar (D-Minn) $3,500

Charles J. Melancon (D-La) $3,100

Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) $3,000

Cal Dooley (D-Calif) $3,000

John B. Larson (D-Conn) $3,000

David R. Obey (D-Wis) $3,000

Ed Pastor (D-Ariz) $3,000

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) $3,000

Richard M. Romero (D-NM) $3,000

Brad Sherman (D-Calif) $3,000

Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss) $3,000

Max Cleland (D-Ga) $2,500

Grace Napolitano (D-Calif) $2,500

Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif) $2,500

Bill Luther (D-Minn) $2,250

Gene Taylor (D-Miss) $2,250

Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) $2,000

Ken Bentsen (D-Texas) $2,000

Dan Boren (D-Okla) $2,000

Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn) $2,000

John D. Dingell (D-Mich) $2,000

Doug Dodd (D-Okla) $2,000

Ned Doucet (D-La) $2,000

Lane Evans (D-Ill) $2,000

Sam Farr (D-Calif) $2,000

John Neely Kennedy (D-La) $2,000

Carl Levin (D-Mich) $2,000

Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) $2,000

Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) $2,000

Robert Menendez (D-NJ) $2,000

Adam Schiff (D-Calif) $2,000

Ronnie Shows (D-Miss) $2,000

Adam Smith (D-Wash) $2,000

Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif) $2,000

Mike Thompson (D-Calif) $2,000

Maxine Waters (D-Calif) $2,000

Peter DeFazio (D-Ore) $1,500

Norm Dicks (D-Wash) $1,500

John Kerry (D-Mass) $1,400

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) $1,000

Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif) $1,000

Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) $1,000

Jim Costa (D-Calif) $1,000

Susan A. Davis (D-Calif) $1,000

Eliot L. Engel (D-NY) $1,000

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) $1,000

Tim Holden (D-Pa) $1,000

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) $1,000

Joe Lieberman (D-Conn) $1,000

Jim Maloney (D-Conn) $1,000

David Phelps (D-Ill) $1,000

Charles S. Robb (D-Va) $1,000

Brian David Schweitzer (D-Mont) $1,000

Pete Stark (D-Calif) $1,000

Gloria Tristani (D-NM) $1,000

Derrick B. Watchman (D-Ariz) $1,000

Rick Weiland (D-SD) $1,000

Paul Wellstone (D-Minn) $1,000

Ron Wyden (D-Ore) $1,000

Bob Borski (D-Pa) $720

Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) $500

Howard L. Berman (D-Calif) $500

Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) $500

Democratic Party of Washington $500

Barbara Lee (D-Calif) $500

Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif) $500

Grand Total $1,541,673

Of course, this is only what's been REPORTED to the FEC.

210468[/snapback]

And your only defense is "Who actually gave that money? Got a link?"

Dude, that is lame.

[quietfan 233]

Well, I must say, this whole Abramoff debate is one of the most successful red herrings I've seen in a long time. It is certainly a scandal that goes deep enough and is controversial enough to deserve its own thread, but what has it do with the original topic of this thread: Veterans running as Democrats?

[...Other than perhaps as a generic example of the current Congressional ethics that perhaps those vets can correct.]

[Tiger in Spain 0]

Well, I must say, this whole Abramoff debate is one of the most successful red herrings I've seen in a long time.  It is certainly a scandal that goes deep enough and is controversial enough to deserve its own thread, but what has it do with the original topic of this thread: Veterans running as Democrats? 

[...Other than perhaps as a generic example of the current Congressional ethics that perhaps those vets can correct.]

210832[/snapback]

Absolutely nothing. The sidetrack came along as a result of someones misleading movie poster.

[TexasTiger 12,876]

Well, I must say, this whole Abramoff debate is one of the most successful red herrings I've seen in a long time.  It is certainly a scandal that goes deep enough and is controversial enough to deserve its own thread, but what has it do with the original topic of this thread: Veterans running as Democrats? 

[...Other than perhaps as a generic example of the current Congressional ethics that perhaps those vets can correct.]

210832[/snapback]

Absolutely nothing. The sidetrack came along as a result of someones misleading movie poster.

210836[/snapback]

No, Mr. doesn't believe in personal responsibility, it started with someone commenting about what was in my signature.

[TexasTiger 12,876]

I see a whole bunch of people with (D)'s after their names being caught with money in their pocket (tip of the hat to Raptor). This isn't a Republican problem, this is a politician problem. You attempting to absolve the democrats from this scandal makes you look like an even bigger wonk than you were referred to earlier (tip of the hat to TigerMike).

210799[/snapback]

Good Lord, you are so easily duped into believing what you are programmed to believe. Raptor lists some names with some D's by them and that's all your little mind needs-- no source, nothing. Just some propaganda that suits your purpose.

Okay, you're lazy. I get it. I'll make it easy for you. Here is a link to Abramoff's donations over the last three election cycles. If you're curious, you can look up other cycles, too:

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.a...t2002=Y&Order=N

[Tiger in Spain 0]

We'll see. Don't crow too loudly, you may very well wind up eating your words soon.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

"I pledge to be someone who will not only vote his convictions but voice his convictions," Dunn said. With his wraparound sunglasses and hair cut high and tight, he looked as if he had just hopped off a tank. "What's needed in Congress today is a dose of honor, courage, and commitment."

Back on track...

I agree completely with his last statement. There are too many in Congress today that lack these qualities, on both sides of the aisle.

However, let's look back on the first statement. The bolded words in that statement disturb me. Why is he voting and voicing his convictions? Shouldn't the convictions be those of that elected him to that office? Should he only allow his opinions to matter or should he vote in the way that the majority of his constituents would if they were in Congress?

American politics has lost its way. We are not a democracy and we never have been. But the political process has become a situation in which people should be elected to represent the people in their districts or states, but instead feel that if they are elected that their opinion is the only one that matters.

Example: A Reprensentative is elected from a district in which most people are for universal health care, revamping the Social Security System and more money for social programs and against reduced spending for defense and abortion rights. The pol supports all the programs that his constituents support, but because of party lines, votes for reduced spending for national defense and in support of bills on partial birth abortions.

Has he served his people or his party?

It happens on both sides of the aisle.

I read over here a lot and I post little. I thank all of you for your view points. It has made me more of a critical thinker.

[Ranger12 46]

"I pledge to be someone who will not only vote his convictions but voice his convictions," Dunn said. With his wraparound sunglasses and hair cut high and tight, he looked as if he had just hopped off a tank. "What's needed in Congress today is a dose of honor, courage, and commitment."

Back on track...

I agree completely with his last statement. There are too many in Congress today that lack these qualities, on both sides of the aisle.

However, let's look back on the first statement. The bolded words in that statement disturb me. Why is he voting and voicing his convictions? Shouldn't the convictions be those of that elected him to that office? Should he only allow his opinions to matter or should he vote in the way that the majority of his constituents would if they were in Congress?

American politics has lost its way. We are not a democracy and we never have been. But the political process has become a situation in which people should be elected to represent the people in their districts or states, but instead feel that if they are elected that their opinion is the only one that matters.

Example: A Reprensentative is elected from a district in which most people are for universal health care, revamping the Social Security System and more money for social programs and against reduced spending for defense and abortion rights. The pol supports all the programs that his constituents support, but because of party lines, votes for reduced spending for national defense and in support of bills on partial birth abortions.

Has he served his people or his party?

It happens on both sides of the aisle.

I read over here a lot and I post little. I thank all of you for your view points. It has made me more of a critical thinker.

211174[/snapback]

AMEN!!! I get sick and tired of hearing legislators saying they are going vote their convictions or conscience. That is not what they are there for!!!! They are elected to vote the way the majority of their people want them to vote, not vote their personal beliefs!!! They represent the people, not themselves!!! What good does it do me to contact my senator and representatives about an issue if they are going to vote what they believe? Unfortunately, that is too much the way that legislators from both parties conduct their business. We need laws limiting terms of legislators!!! No more career politicians!!!!!

[quietfan 233]

"I pledge to be someone who will not only vote his convictions but voice his convictions," Dunn said. With his wraparound sunglasses and hair cut high and tight, he looked as if he had just hopped off a tank. "What's needed in Congress today is a dose of honor, courage, and commitment."

Back on track...

I agree completely with his last statement. There are too many in Congress today that lack these qualities, on both sides of the aisle.

However, let's look back on the first statement. The bolded words in that statement disturb me. Why is he voting and voicing his convictions? Shouldn't the convictions be those of that elected him to that office? Should he only allow his opinions to matter or should he vote in the way that the majority of his constituents would if they were in Congress?

American politics has lost its way. We are not a democracy and we never have been. But the political process has become a situation in which people should be elected to represent the people in their districts or states, but instead feel that if they are elected that their opinion is the only one that matters.

Example: A Reprensentative is elected from a district in which most people are for universal health care, revamping the Social Security System and more money for social programs and against reduced spending for defense and abortion rights. The pol supports all the programs that his constituents support, but because of party lines, votes for reduced spending for national defense and in support of bills on partial birth abortions.

Has he served his people or his party?

It happens on both sides of the aisle.

I read over here a lot and I post little. I thank all of you for your view points. It has made me more of a critical thinker.

211174[/snapback]

AMEN!!! I get sick and tired of hearing legislators saying they are going vote their convictions or conscience. That is not what they are there for!!!! They are elected to vote the way the majority of their people want them to vote, not vote their personal beliefs!!! They represent the people, not themselves!!! What good does it do me to contact my senator and representatives about an issue if they are going to vote what they believe? Unfortunately, that is too much the way that legislators from both parties conduct their business. We need laws limiting terms of legislators!!! No more career politicians!!!!!

211230[/snapback]

I think I share a lot of your frustration with career politicians who become so entrenched in the system that they look out more for themselves, their favorite lobbyist, or their cronies than taking care of those who elected them.

But the fact is, we have term limits--they're called elections! Members of the House are elected to a 2-year term, Presidents have a 4-year term, and Senators get 6 years when elected. Now if the electorate is stupid enough to re-elect a crook or incompetent, then aren't they pretty much getting what they asked for and deserve?

I wish the voters of this country would wake up, seriously study the candidates, investigating both their platforms and their record, then vote intelligently. But it's too easy for incumbents to get re-elected because of the visibility of their office and the failure of the voters to take an equally objective look at them and their opponents. I'm not a big fan of amending the constitution just because the electorate is too lazy or too stupid to vote out persons who aren't doing the job. Under those circumstances, the voter isn't doing his/her job either.

Of course, the reality is that the American electorate will probably never take their job that seriously, so perhaps term limits are the only way to protect them. The idea of limiting how often someone can run still bothers me philosophically, though.