Blumenauer Blogs the DeLay Disgrace
Over at mega-blog MyDD, our very own Congressman Earl Blumenauer reports his views on the disgraceful exit of GOP leader Tom DeLay.
In listening to Tom DeLay's farewell address to the House, I was struck to hear him list three ways to leave Congress: defeat, death, and retirement. He neglected to mention the fourth avenue, which applied to him: disgrace. ... It was telling that, at a time when his closest associates and friends are pleading guilty to corruption charges, Tom DeLay can't think of anything he would have done differently except to have fought harder.
But wait, most Democrats left the floor in the midst of DeLay's blistering attack on liberalism. Why did Blumenauer stick it out?
By the time DeLay left the House floor, virtually everyone on the Democratic side of the aisle had already left. Trapped with my broken foot, I stayed until the end to watch this train wreck unfold, convinced that his final words would have at least a bit of regret or contrition. But none was evident as he plunged into a crowd of Republican well-wishers, all sporting little hammer pins on their lapels.
Head over to MyDD to read the rest of Blumenauer's first foray into the blogosphere. Discuss.
(And while you're at it, visit his new website and check in on his ideas for Oregon.)
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Jun 9, '06
No tears in my eye for DeLay's departure. Can't wait to see him behind bars....
Good for Earl for joining the blogesphere!
Jun 9, '06
Nice blog Earl! It'd be great to hear more of your witt on the goings-on of the Hill.
For those who didn't see the last words of the ex-exterminator click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j0Kh3IHrzc
Jun 9, '06
GOOD BYE DeLay!!!!!!!!!
A great day for america.
Jun 9, '06
Two words to those already convicting Delay: 'due process'
DeLay -may- be guilty and -may- come off slimy, but I'll bet he's no slimier than most congreescritters on both sides of the isle.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153AP_Congress_Ethics.html
3:42 p.m.
Jun 9, '06
No Chris, Delay may be no slimier than William Jefforson, but the vast majority of Democrats are far more ethical than average Republicans. As an example, Mr. Jefforson is being asked to step down by Nancy Pelosi, the House Minoty Leader. Democrats, aside from the absurdly out of touch Congressional Black Caucus, are not rallying to his defense - like Republicans did for Delay.
Go read the archives in Talking Points Memo and TPM Muckraker before making any more "I'll bet that..." statements that really aren't true.
Jun 9, '06
So long Tom,
Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you!
Jun 9, '06
Steven, I expected a partisan reaction such as yours. However, there are plenty of unethical and corrupt Democrats out there:
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&issue=20060522
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/04/democrat-mollohan-sees-assets-increase.html
http://www.noagenda.org/2006/02/harry_and_the_hypocrites.php
Unfortunately, you'll still buy the DNC "culture of corruption'" lie perpetuated by the likes of Howard Dean
P.S. DeLay didn't have $90,000 in bribes stuffed in his freezer
Jun 9, '06
If Tom Delay deserves due process, doesn't everyone else, including Democrats?
Jun 9, '06
Earl would get a little more respect if he remembered the old Paul Simon adage: "Never wear shades with a bow-tie."
Jun 9, '06
Chris - I think it could be quite interesting if you would discuss why you have an seemingly irresistable compulsion to react to folks wishing a well-justified "good riddance" to someone with as depraved character as Delay? Do share, please.
Jun 9, '06
"why you have an seemingly irresistable compulsion to react to folks wishing a well-justified "good riddance" to someone with as depraved character as Delay?"
Because the left is the first to shout "due process" whenever someone is accused of anything -- not to mention "tolerance" and "understanding." I find it hypocritical that posters on a left-wing blog are willing to judge someone before they're tried.
This Republican "culture of corruption" baloney is just that, baloney. Democrats should take a good look in the mirror before they point fingers at anyone.
If Dems were truly squeaky clean, I'd rejoice in DeLay's departure as well. Unfortunately, there's plenty on the left that have the stink of corruption and impropriety.
Jun 10, '06
Chris -
Tom Delay has a right to due process and is receiving due process, with very highly paid lawyers assisting him along the way and a well-established legal defense fund. He'll be getting far more due process than the average accused individual normally receives.
Delay has suffered no consequences thus far except for a loss of reputation, and it is reputation in the court of public opinion that is the issue discussed here in this thread. Higher standards apply, rightly so, in a court of law. This is a blog, a partisan blog at that, and reveling in the downfall of a smarmy political hack, guilty or not (but very probably guilty), is entirely appropriate for this forum.
Jun 10, '06
I was standing outside the Federal Courthouse the day they found Rostenkowski guilty, and we listened to him give a contrite speech on the courthouse steps.
Torricelli, Traficant, Wright. Culture of corruption, indeed.
Jun 10, '06
Come on Chris - You know you're just mindlessly chanting a sweeping generalization ("whenever"....) that is just false on the face of it.
"why you have an seemingly irresistable compulsion to react to folks wishing a well-justified "good riddance" to someone with as depraved character as Delay?"
Because the left is the first to shout "due process" whenever someone is accused of anything -- not to mention "tolerance" and "understanding." I find it hypocritical that posters on a left-wing blog are willing to judge someone before they're tried.
So what is it that gets you so riled up, since it isn't clearly isn't the truth? Can't you defend your beliefs any better than this pathetic little propagandistic rant?
10:32 a.m.
Jun 10, '06
Bob T - funny how you have to reach back over a decade to find as many troublesome Democrats as there troublesome Republicans just this one year.
Don't forget the DOJ is run by Republicans these days. If they're finding corruption among Republican congressmen, it's gotta be real bad.
Jun 10, '06
C'mon, Kari: you're much smarter than that.
The majority party is always going to have more crooks: simply because they control the purse strings.
That why Louisiana's Jefferson had to go all the way to Nigeria to find somebody to bribe him: he didn't have enough clout to get bribed in his own country!
11:56 a.m.
Jun 10, '06
Bob T - funny how you have to reach back over a decade to find as many troublesome Democrats as there troublesome Republicans just this one year.
Also notably missing from the Right is any sense of perspective.
Clinton throws a few bones to his cronies like the White House Travel office, and some positions at Commerce, which warrants eight years and tens of millions of dollars to investigate.
Witnesses are paid to tell specific stories, Right wing rags make stuff up out of whole cloth and a blowjob of one adult by another becomes the standard for Dem malfeance.
<hr/>Republicans, under DeLay, develop a concerted campaign of intimidation of lobbyists, Capitol Hill staffers are flown to Florida at taxpayer expense to throw the 2000 presidential election, the number of K street lobbyists increases 1000% and virtually every executive department is stuffed with snot nosed partisans with zero experience.
The vice president and his merry neo-con henchmen dismantle the entire clandestine intelligence apparatus to get the desired "intelligence" results to take us into an elective war.
But since somewhere in America there is a corrupt liberal, the apologists for the Right can gleefully refuse to look around at the sesspool that they inhabit.
12:59 p.m.
Jun 10, '06
Bob T - funny how you have to reach back over a decade
Also, Trafficant -- who voted against Clinton's economic plan but supported impeachment -- may have had a D by his name, but his voting record would make Joe Lieberman look down right progressive. Truly a Dem in name only.
Jun 10, '06
From the Torricelli, Rostenkowski, Traficant, Wright line-up I am perplexed why you chose to defend Traficant? Wright was arguably the "least" corrupt of the four of them (at least in terms of what they were caught doing).
But you would defend the WORST hairpiece ever worn in the U.S. Congress with a "DINO" defense? Not to mention the guilty verdict sweep on all ten counts. That's funny. He's a corrupt Democrat, but he votes like a Republican. Hardly should be counted against the D's. Very funny.
Did any of the Republicans you accuse of corruption try and BRIBE THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY? Sheesh! Rep. Jefferson had degrees from Harvard and Georgetown, and he was a senior member of Louisiana's Congressional delegation: if that didn't provide him with sufficent training in situational ethics, I don't know what would.
But go ahead and defend him: I'm sure that Delay's redistricting efforts were at least as bad as bribing foreign heads of state. Y'all are incapable of deductive reasoning. I quit.
2:28 p.m.
Jun 10, '06
Uh, show me again how I was defending Trafficant??
Jun 10, '06
Bob the Torch and Blowstart -
I direct the same comment to you as to Chris: Please do explain why you have such an obviously uncontrollable compulsion to defend Delay? And Blowstart, I hope you will also specifically defend his dealings concerning the Marianas Islands http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/05/09/real.delay/ with equal vigor.
So come on, please give us some insight into the kind of thinking and world view that motivates you.
Jun 10, '06
Republican Trolls: Please remind me again...
Why did Tom Delay resign first from his House Republican Leadership position (which he vowed to return to) and now from the House of representatives mid term after winning his primary race?
Does it have anything to do with the guilty pleas of his two top aides?
Your thoughtful reply(s) are most appreciated.
Pedro
5:24 p.m.
Jun 10, '06
And please don't forget, that this isn't just about his legal problems. We're also happy to see him go because of all the awful things he's done in office and his lack of representation for a huge chunk of his "district" (the one he drew himself).
My home town is in DeLay's current district (used to be represeted by Nick Lampson). My family still lives there and I keep in touch with what's going on there. The people in the eastern half of his district can't wait to see him gone and replaced by someone like Lampson. DeLay was nowhere to be found as the area was in the path of Hurricane Rita-- and a million plus people were forced to evacuate. He wasn't there to fight for the people in his district to be able to get tax deductions for the cost of the mandatory evacuation, as others got. While they may not have ended up being directly hit, they did take on damage and thousands in the cost of evacuating to other areas of the state.
Where was DeLay when other members of Congress were fighting for gas and water to be brought to stranded motorists on the freeways and highways surrounding Houston? It was his own constituents and he didn't give a damn. But Democratic members of Congress whose districts were not in the mandatory evacuation zones sure were fighting.
DeLay has been a disgrace in more ways than just the legal sense, and we're happy to see him go.
Jun 10, '06
Democrats returning $5,000 in Milberg gifts
Party says contributions came from two partners of class-action specialty firm indicted last month.
Democrats: that's Croatian for "clean as the wind driven snow"...
Jun 10, '06
Charlie:
I stand corrected: "defended" was too strong a word.
Rather than defending the indefensible, you merely "diminished" the stain that Congressman Traficant left on the Democratic Party by calling him a DINO ("Truly a Dem in name only").
The Democrats are no less corrupt, they just don't have the keys to kingdom as they once did. Most of us have seen elected officials enriching themselves or their friends, and it isn't necessarily a crime. That said, if we improved our enforcement of existing laws, future law-breaking lawmakers would be deterred.
Perhaps we can agree that all elected officals (of all stripes) should be held to a higher standard, irrespective of their last nameor party affiliation.
It's also worth nothing that many progressives claimed the Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling would never go to jail. I believe they will be sentenced in the next few months, and no "Frank Rich" pardons will be issued.
Jun 10, '06
Be Happy -
Just to be clear: Are you one of those Delay/Republican supporters who are arguing "Democrats are just as bad as Republicans" deflectors? Or are you one of those "all politicians are bad" cynics?
Jun 10, '06
Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely
An observation that a person’s sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Notice that it doesn't say anything about politicians or party affiliation. I think all people are capable of taking advantage of others. Politicians have more opportunity to take advantage of others, which is why they should be subject to greater scrutiny.
Jun 11, '06
This is funny reading. Both sides are arguing that their party is less corrupt than the other guy's!!!
"Closet" has it right when he says "The majority party is always going to have more crooks: simply because they control the purse strings."
Jun 11, '06
Pat Ryan:
That's cesspool, not sesspool.