The Right State

Are there double standards when it comes to corruption?  When a Republican is charged with any kind of corruption scandal, heads roll.  When Trent Lott made what some would perceive as inappropriate comments at Strom Thurman’s birthday party, the Republicans, not the Democrats, called for his head.  Mark Foley resigned rather than face humiliation in the race for his seat in the House of Representatives when his IMs with a Congressional page came to light.

Democrats on the other hand elect and promote their criminals.  Let’s look at some of these monuments to ethical behavior.  Harry Reid has had many ethical problems including boxing.  Now word that he was actually tied to the Abramoff scandal in spite of his claims to the contrary.  Recently, Reid was rewarded with the coveted position of Majority Leader of the Senate.  John Murtha was tied to the Abscam scandal, but he was tapped by future Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to become the Majority Leader in the House.  Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings name has been floated out for the chair of the House Intelligence Committee.  This is a guy who was accused of accepting a bribe and was then impeached by the House and convicted in the Senate for accepting a $150,000 bribe.  Hillary Clinton is as sneaky as they come.  She and Bill stole thousands of dollars of furniture and other artifacts from the White House, sold pardons, and was involved in a large number of ‘Clinton-gates.’  Instead of being pilloried as she should have been, Hillary was rewarded with the Senate seat of New York and has presidential aspirations.  Patrick Kennedy is stopped while drunk at two o’clock in the morning and gets off the charge.  Cynthia McKinney hits a capitol hill Police officer and gets by with it suffering defeat only when Republicans voted for her opponent in the Democratic primary.  Ted Kennedy kills a woman in a driving accident and reports it several hours later and is rewarded with reelection time after time.  Gerry Studs does not engage in inappropriate instant messages with a minor, but actually has sex with a minor and is rewarded by Congress and his constituents time after time.

And now just because Nancy Pelosi says she and her fellow Democrats are going to run the most ethical Congress ever, I am supposed to be impressed?  One of the Democrats’ vague ‘platforms’ for this last election was ethical behavior.  It reminds me of a President who stated they were going to have one of the most ethical administrations in history, Bill Clinton, and we all know how that turned out.  So pardon me if I do not believe the Democrats.  Their own history proves they do not understand or condone ethical behavior.

And this brings me back to my original point: why are there double standards when it comes to corruption?  Perhaps the answer lies in the perspective.  Republicans expect their politicians to be principled, to meet certain standards of ethical conduct.  When the politicians do not meet these expectations, they are expected to resign.  Republicans expect moral behavior.

Many Democrats I know do not expect ethical behavior from their politicians.  They expect their representatives to lie, cheat, steal, or takes bribes while in office under the guise of ‘everyone does it.’  The Democratic Party gave Bill Clinton a knowing wink when he admitted having sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky.  ‘It was a private matter between two consenting adults.’  Now, where have I heard that comment before?  Oh, yeah, Gerry Studs.  Republicans and Democrats do not expect the same things from their politicians.

George C. Landrith writing for OpinionEditorials.com suggests we can expect more of the same from the Democrats.

Since winning slim majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have promised bipartisanship, cooperation, and a new level of honesty and integrity in Washington. Nancy Pelosi said, “Democrats pledge to make this the most honest, ethical, and open Congress in history.”

This is not the first time Americans have heard such promises. Immediately after his inauguration on Jan. 20, 1993, Bill Clinton promised that his presidency would be “the most ethical administration in American history.” With the benefit of hindsight and having witnessed scores of indictments, convictions and plea deals, that proclamation of new high ethical standards now seems laughable. So the question is – will current Democrats be able to deliver on their promises of honesty, integrity and bipartisanship any better than past Democrats?

If past performance is any indicator, and it usually is, the answer is unfortunately no. Immediately following the election – when the Democratic leaders were promising ethics, cooperation and bipartisanship – their actual behavior gives little evidence that they meant anything that they said.

So if the Democrats are not believable and we do not expect them to run an ethically minded Congress, then what can we expect—more of the same.

There actually is double standards when it comes to the ethical conduct of the two political parties.  It is not right, but the fact remains that Democrats do not hold their representatives to the same standard as Republicans.  I forgive them for their failures.  Democrats are just more ethically challenged than Republicans.

Tags: Corruption, Democrats, Politics by Chuck
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Susan Estrich has really lost it.  Either that or she is really believes the American people are stupid.  Like we will not see the difference between telling the press a lie and telling a grand jury a lie.  Look how she tries to equate the two.  Compare the first part in which the President Bush said about Donald Rumsfeld:

Since when is it OK for a president to lie to reporters?

Wasn’t it just last week that the president told reporters that both Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney were staying on their jobs for the next two years?

To what President Clinton said about Monica Lewinsky:

I recall another president who mislead people about his sex life, and my conservative friends went ballistic.

Is it somehow worse to lie about your sex life than about who is going to be defense secretary? Or are we all just so used to presidents lying to us that we accept it without blinking?

Huh?  Somehow and for some reason, lying to a federal grand jury is against the law Mrs. Estrich.  Imagine that.  And I thought you had a law degree?

But that is not what takes the cake in her article on FoxNews.com.

Corruption was the second reason, after the Iraq war, for the Republicans’ loss. But corruption doesn’t just mean taking money or coming on to young boys. It means not having any credibility because you don’t tell the truth. About things that matter. It means losing the confidence of the people who elected you. Which the Republicans have done.

Corruption?  Do the names Democratic Congressman William ‘Cold Cash’ Jefferson, Senate Minority Leader Harry ‘Free Boxing’ Reid, Ted (one for the road) Kennedy, Maxine ‘family saving plan’ Waters, Patrick (another one for the road) Kennedy, and Cynthia (radical racist) McKinney come to mind.  These are corrupt politicians who have gotten away with so much because they were Democrats.  The Republican Party does not have a lock on corruption, there is plenty in the Democratic Party as well.

Equating what George Bush said about Rumsfeld to reporters and what Bill Clinton said to a grand jury is extremely misleading.  Telling a misleading fact is the same as lying.  Such a comment should hurt Mrs. Estrich’s credibility (if she had any).

If the president couldn’t get his agenda through when his own party controlled the House and the Senate, does anyone honestly expect that he will accomplish more with both houses narrowly in the control of the other party, while the president is the lamest of ducks, his popularity in the toilet, not to mention the fact that every other senator (and even the occasional House member) is now running for president?

Another extremely misleading fact.  The President could not pass any meaningful legislation because of Democratic filibusters.  The Democrats have been obstructionists ever since the President won in 2000.  And now Mrs. Estrich will try to pin the lack of action on the President.  Open your eyes, Susan.

Remember ANWR, Susan?   Your total lack of objectivity and reason has made your credibility very suspect.  In fact, I would even go as far as to say you lied.  Credibility is one thing the Democrats do NOT have.

Tags: Corruption, President Bush by Chuck
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I am really beginning to think Chet Edwards will lie about anything.  In one of his latest commercials he states that the NRA has rated him 100%.  The problem is that the NRA does not give number ratings to politicians, they give a letter rating of A-F.  In the latest voting brochure from the NRA, they give Chet Edwards a rating of B.

District 17

(R) VAN TAYLOR                 A

(D) *CHET EDWARDS          B

The NRA also lists what the A and the B means:

A+   An incumbent with not only an excellent voting record on critical NRA issues, but who has also made a vigorous effort to promote the Second Amendment.

A   Solidly pro-gun candidate. An “A” incumbent who has supported NRA positions on key votes. May also describe a non-incumbent “A” candidate (one not represented with an *) who has previously held other office and cast consistent pro-gun votes, or an “A” candidate who hasn’t held office but has expressed strong support for NRA positions on Second Amendment issues. It should be noted that a “non-incumbent” candidate may have been awarded the “A” rating due solely to their responses on the NRA-PVF candidate survey.

B   A generally pro-gun candidate, but a “B” incumbent may have voted for some restrictive legislation in the past. A “B” candidate who hasn’t held office may have made some statements or taken positions against the NRA on some issues.  (emphasis added by TRS)

Turns out that the NRA may not like Chet Edwards as much as he would like us to believe.  The only reason Van Taylor did not receive an ‘A+’ is because he is not an incumbent.  Chet received a ‘B’ because of the way he has voted on gun rights.  He obviously does not stand solidly behind the NRA and the Second Amendment right for citizens to own guns.  And the NRA does not stand beside Edwards.

Once again Chet Edwards is wrong for Texas and wrong for TX-17.

Tags: Corruption, Democrats by Chuck
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The New York Post has a great editorial in which the leaked NIE is elaborated on.  While I would like to just link to it, there is too much that is just too good to leave alone.

How far will Democrats go for partisan gain?

Far enough to compromise national security?

Looks that way.

Late last week, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) suspended a Democratic staff member on suspicion of leaking a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) to The New York Times. The staffer’s security clearance was also blocked.

Initial reports on the NIE cited it as saying principally that the Iraq war had energized Islamist radicals and, in the process, increased the danger to America from jihadist terrorism. In fact, taken in its entirety, the document concluded just the opposite: that the military defeat of jihadists in Iraq would mean “fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the [war].”

That’s a big difference.

And the selective leaking of the NIE - and the spin put on it by the Times and The Washington Post, among others - put the White House on the defensive and contributed to lagging poll numbers for both the president and the Republican Congress.

Which is likely just what the leaker intended.

This leak was never about protecting the country, it was about weakening a President in a time of war.  How far will the Dems go far partisan gain?  As far as they can get by with. The Democrats will do anything to win the Presidency and Congress, and I mean anything—lie, cheat, or steal.

And who should come riding to the rescue of the leaking staff member but Jane Harman, Democrat from California.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the committee, said she was outraged that the staffer was suspended and insisted that his access to classified material be reinstated.

This staffer leaked highly classified material to the press and Mrs. Harman wants everything to be forgiven as if nothing of consequence had happened.  Note to Congresswoman Harman—this leak harmed the United States of America.  It has possibly emboldened terrorists to kill more US troops.  It has damaged the credibility of a President in a time of war and has harmed the credibility of the United States.

What am I doing?  The Congresswoman obviously cares nothing about our troops, the credibility of this country or the President, otherwise she would not have shrugged off such a crime.  She cares more for the hopes and dreams of the Democratic Party than she does this nation.  She deserves the boot rather than re-election.

If Jane Harman is the best the Democratic Party has, then this nation may be in big trouble if the Democrats win the majority of the House.  To me, she represents the epitome of the ineptitude in the Democratic Party in their ability to protect the United States from terrorist attacks.

Tags: Terrorism, Corruption, Democrats by Chuck
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I knew I had reasons not to like that lying SOB from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy, but now I have plenty more reasons including treason.  Let there be no doubt in anybody’s mind that Ted Kennedy is in politics for one reason, to help Ted Kennedy.  If this newly unearthed memo from the old Soviet archives is sound, it means that Mr. Kennedy had been working with the enemies of the United States to take down a sitting President.  As much as I do not like the man, I really hope its not true.  Otherwise, Kennedy should be taken out and shot (after a fair trial) as a traitor.

Michelle Malkin has more at Hot Air

Tags: Corruption, Democrats by Chuck
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Much has been made of the letter  Tan Nguyen’s campaign sent to Spanish speaking homes in southern California.  Nguyen is a Republican candidate running for the House seat currently occupied by Democrat Loretta Sanchez.  The letter notes in part:

Written in Spanish, the letter threatens: “You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time.”

Loretta Sanchez has been crying foul ever since the letter became public.  The Orange County Republican Party Chairman called the letter ‘grotesque and obnoxious.’  Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for Nguyen to step down, calling the letter a ‘hate crime.’  Republicans and Democrats on both sides are calling for the embattled candidate to step down.  The problem is that the letter was right.  By law illegal immigrants can not vote and to cast an illegal vote is a felony.

In my home state of Texas, anyone who can pass a drivers test can also obtain a voter registration at the same time.  People working in the Department of Public Safety (DPS) are not allowed to ask if the applicant is an illegal immigrant.  In this regard Texas is not alone.  While trying to be racially sensitive, this country is allowing illegal immigrants by the hundreds of thousands if not millions to have a voter registration card.  A majority of states do not even require voters to show any kind of identification when voting.  This is a flaw that is just begging for abuse.  Without any kind of ID, there is no way to tell if someone has voted only once or multiple times or if the voter is legal.  When a state tries to require a voter ID, liberal courts strike it down saying the law creates a undo hardship on the voter.

What the liberals want is for everyone living in this country to vote, whether legal or illegal.    They know most Hispanics will vote for the Democratic candidate.  A few illegal votes here or there would not be that bad would it?

Al Barger posting on Blogcritics correctly points out the problem and the hypocracy behind the Democratic blustering.

But Nguyen is seriously being treated as a pariah and under criminal investigation primarily because he (or his office staff on his behalf) sent out a letter that said in Spanish that “if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time.”

But what he said there is absolutely legally correct and proper. There have been numerous likely sounding stories of Democrat operatives actively recruiting illegal Mexican immigrants to vote. There’s been big opposition by Democrats in other places besides California to any idea of simply requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls, exactly because it would discourage their minions from hussling non-eligible people into voting booths.

Further, it is suspected that exactly such voting was how Ms Sanchez skinned ol’ B1 Bob Dornan out of this seat in the first place, back in 1996. Considering that this has been a tacit Democrat tactic, it’s only reasonable that the Republican candidate give people a general notice that such things are illegal - because they are.

Tan Nguyen is not on the hot seat because of Republicans, not Democrats.  The Dems are going to cry foul no matter what, but the Republican Party needs to grow a set of ba**s and stand firm on this issue.  Illegal immigrants should not be voting in this country, period!  To state that fact is not racist.  Nguyen is an immigrant from Vietnam and a naturalized citizen.  What is wrong with stating the obvious and demanding only people who can legally vote to vote in the upcoming election?

And now his campaign is under criminal investigation just two weeks from the election for something that was not a crime.  Not surprisingly the investigation was opened by the office of the Attorney General of California, a Democrat.  I only wish the Republican Party could show the backbone needed to stand up to their critics, especially when the critics are wrong as they are in this case.

Tags: Corruption, Democrats, Politics by Chuck
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Sixty Minutes had an expose’ which lambasted District Attorney Mike Nifong’s conduct during the Duke rape investigation. According to an internal Duke investigation, the DA “…pandered to the [black] community in an election season.”  In spite of DNA evidence which cleared the players the DA’s investigation continued.  In spite of contradictory testimony from eye witnesses, the investigation continued.  For those of us who have been following the investigation from the very beginning, this is not new.  What Nifong has been doing borders on criminal.  He has used this investigation to mobilize the black community in order to win their vote.  Never mind that the entire charge was bogus from the start.

Evidence collected by 60 Minutes during the last six months shows that it was impossible for two of the Lacrosse players to have even been in the house when the alleged rape took place.  The testimony of the ‘rape victim’s’ co-dancer during the party was particularly damning.  She directly contradicted much of the ‘victim’s’ statement given to police.

The 60 Minutes investigation also faulted police conduct.  And they faulted the DA for his conduct in the investigation.  Also noteworthy was that the internal University investigation also placed some of the blame on the faculty and community of Durham, North Carolina.  They by-passed the presumption of innocence stage and handed down a verdict of guilty!

There is one thing that stood out in the 60 Minutes story, three young men have had their lives ruined, forty Lacrosse players have had their championship season cancelled, and Duke University has had their reputation tarnished because of false charge.

Justin Henderson at The Tibbetts Report says: The team certainly doesn’t come off saintly, but it would be tough for a prosecutor to move forward in good faith on this charge, without extremely compelling physical evidence.

Which Nifong does not seem to have, I might add.  No one comes off as saintly in this investigation: not the dancers, not the players, not the police, and certainly not the DA.  The players were acting like a bunch of drunk morons to be sure.  The ‘raped’ dancer was drunk or on drugs at the Lacrosse house, but she is most certainly lying about the rape.  The police were conducting an investigation with only one thing in mind–I know a rape took place at this house and they disregarded a lot of evidence which showed a rape did not take place.  The DA is the one who comes off looking like a villain.  This rogue DA ruined the lives of a lot of people just so he could win an election.  What a waste of human flesh!

Tags: Corruption, Culture by Chuck
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For months the Democrats have been using the phrase ‘politics of corruption’ to describe the Republican Party.  The Democrats may have been a little too quick on the trigger since their leader in the Senate has an ethics issue of his own to deal with.

The Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said his office contacted the Senate ethics committee on Wednesday and offered to correct his financial disclosure statements if they misrepresented his ties to a land deal in his home state in which his family made a profit of about $700,000.

In a statement, Mr. Reid did not acknowledge errors in the disclosure forms but said he was ready to make a “technical correction” if the ethics committee determined that adjustments were needed.

The contact with the committee was prompted by an article released Wednesday by The Associated Press that suggested Mr. Reid might have violated Congressional ethics rules by failing to disclose financial transactions involving two adjoining land parcels on the outskirts of Las Vegas that he and his family bought in 1998 for about $400,000.  (emphasis added by TRS)

If?  If?  He had ties to a land deal in which he made three-quarters of a million dollars and did not disclose it on his financial statements and wants to correct them ‘if’ he misrepresented himself.  Then he calls it a ‘technical correction.’  This is a way of saying I lied without saying ‘I lied.’

I noted Reid’s culture of corruption problems back in May of this year when he and Senator John McCain accepted high priced boxing tickets from the Nevada Boxing Commission for free.  After the ensuing firestorm McCain paid for his tickets while Reid only promised not to accept any more free tickets.

It is a good thing I do not judge the Democratic Party by the actions of Harry Reid, otherwise I would consider the entire party corrupt.  But wait… isn’t that what the Democrats are doing to Republicans.  Okay, I guess I could say that the Democratic Party is corrupt because Harry Reid seems to be corrupt, but I won’t.

And once again, the Democrats seem incapable of facing their problems.  Reid’s spokesman is blaming the Republican Party for their problems.  Typical!

Hat tip: Captain’s Quarters.  Captain Ed has much more on Democratic Senator Harry Reid’s corruption probems and calls for a full Ethics Panel investigation.

Tags: Corruption, Democrats by Chuck
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Every so often Hollywood produces a really good historical movie on World War II. The last one I saw was The Great Raid in which America POWs are rescued from their Japanese captors. It was a really good movie and well worth watching.

Now comes another great movie with Clint Eastwood as the director called “Flags of our Fathers.” It concerns the battle of Iwo Jima (Sulfur Island) and the subsequent flag raising that took place. If the movie is as good as the book, it should be great–a must see!

Yahoo Movies has this to say:

February 1945. Even as victory in Europe was finally within reach, the war in the Pacific raged on. One of the most crucial and bloodiest battles of the war was the struggle for the island of Iwo Jima, which culminated with what would become one of the most iconic images in history: five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi. The inspiring photo capturing that moment became a symbol of victory to a nation that had grown weary of war and made instant heroes of the six American soldiers at the base of the flag, some of whom would die soon after, never knowing that they had been immortalized. But the surviving flag raisers had no interest in being held up as symbols and did not consider themselves heroes; they wanted only to stay on the front with their brothers in arms who were fighting and dying without fanfare or glory. ‘Flags of Our Fathers’ is based on the bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers, which chronicled the battle of Iwo Jima and the fates of the flag raisers and some of their brothers in Easy Company.

The Radio Patriots has much more.

Tags: Heroes, Corruption, History by Chuck
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I expected the Democratic sharks to be circling after the Mark Foley Instant Messages came to light, but I did not expect the kind of feeding frenzy I see now.  Democrats from Nancy Pelosi on down are saying how this incident is indicative of the Republican Party as a whole.  The left, in attacking all Republicans, is engaging in a bit of double standards.  When Democrat Gerry Studs of Massachusetts had sex with a page, the liberals laughed it up.  When a Democrat President has sex with an intern, the liberals said it was ‘much ado about nothing.’  But when a Republican Representative has suggestive IMs with a page, the liberals want to throw out the whole Republican Party.  This is not to justify the actions of Mark Foley.  At least he had the temerity to resign when the IMs were revealed.  Gerry Studs did not resign.  Neither did Bill Clinton.  Today, both are heroes of the Democratic Party.

So what makes the Republican Party such a target of the left when just one man broke ranks and engaged in inappropriate behavior?  Maybe its because the right has principles founded on the bible and on the Constitution.  When a conservative abandons his principles, it is news.  I am sure the left has principles,  other than, “If it feels good, do it!”  And that could be the problem, the man who abandoned his principles was a Republican.  Otherwise, how else could the Kos crowd with a post supporting one of their own for having sex with a 17 year old page.  (Hat tip: Right Wing News)

“On July 20, 1983, Gerry was censured for having an affair 10 years earlier with a male page. He…turned his back] as the charges against him were read. The anti-gay crew had worked hard to demonize him (as they would [[Barney Frank]] several years later over allegations of a male prostitute having clients in Frank’s apartment). Gerry held a press conference with the page and admitted to a relationship. They each firmly stated that what had gone on in their bedroom was their business, and absolutely no one else’s.”

The left was actually defending the actions of a Democrat having sex with a 17 year old, because it was ‘their business, and absolutely no one else’s.”  What hypocrites!!!

With all of their history of supporting left wing causes, how can they lecture Republicans with their fake moral outrage?  According to one unnamed Democratic Strategist, the Dems plan on using this pseudo moral indignation to win back Congress.

GOP leaders, added the strategist, “acted like hacks when they should have been acting like parents.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is expected to play a front-and-center role but to address the issue more from a parental perspective. An aide said that she “comes at this as a mom and grandmother and is furious these kids weren’t protected.”

As she traveled over the weekend and talked to parents, Pelosi’s view strengthened. “Most parents we talked to over the weekend feel the issue is that the Republicans were given–and ignored–a huge warning with the first set of E-mails,” said the strategist. “Had there been an investigation at that time, the sexually explicit E-mails may have been uncovered. But we lost that opportunity when the Republicans chose to protect Foley instead of those kids.”

At the time no one knew the extent of Mark Foley’s peccadilloes.  Newspapers knew about the initial IMs but wrote nothing because there was nothing to write about.  There was nothing in those first IMs which would suggest anything was going on.  Now many are asking for Dennis Hastert to resign his position as Majority Leader of the House due to some whimsical cover-up which does not exist.

I really think this is going to come back to haunt the Democratic Party.  They are overplaying their hand on this one.  The American people will eventually see many in the Democratic Party for what they are, a bunch of hypocrites.

Tags: Corruption, Democrats, Politics by Chuck
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