"Political bribery" case ends with no prosecution
"Political bribery" case ends with no prosecution
I'm talking about the case of former Rep. Nick Smith...who did you think I was talking about?
The rebuke, issued Thursday night, stems from last year's vote on the Medicare prescription drug bill. The committee found that as the bill appeared headed to defeat, Mr. DeLay offered to endorse the son of a Michigan congressman, Representative Nick Smith, in a Congressional primary in return for Mr. Smith's vote in favor of the measure. Mr. Smith, a Republican who considered the bill too expensive, refused; he was admonished for what the panel said was exaggerating the pressure and inducements made to him.
The bill passed; Mr. Smith's son lost the primary.
The thing is, the Nick Smith case was much, much worse than whatever transpired between the Obama administration and Rep. Joe Sestak. He was told by the House leadership that if he didn't vote for a major bill that he wasn't inclined to vote for, there would be explicit financial consequences -- i.e., the termination of Republican campaign dollars for his son. No one was charged, no one went to jail, no one lost their job. People were surprised, actually, that then=House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was "rebuked."
That how these type of scandals go down -- there are political consequences, but prosecuting them criminally is not feasible or arguably a good idea. In the Nick Smith case, this is one of the many, many reasons that DeLay is no longer in office, in the Sestak-Obama matter, the guy that Obama was pushing, Sen. Arlen Specter, lost an election. And I actually agree that Sestak and the Obama White House should come clean on everything that happened or didn't happen. Just don't expect criminal charges or -- for God sakes, Dick Morris & Co. -- "the impeachment of Barack Obama."
It is troubling, however, and I completely agree with this article as to why:
And yet, even the president's defenders are making a compelling case that more transparency is needed. For starters, as one top strategist notes, the storyline is "suffocating" the Sestak campaign at a time when it should be reaping the benefits of its primary victory and talking (exclusively) about jobs. Mainly, however, the problem is one of perception. A back-room job offer may be, in the end, business as usual. But that doesn't provide solace or defense for a president who promised to change the way that Washington works.
"Tell me a White House that didn't do this, back to George Washington," longtime GOP strategist Ron Kaufman told the New York Times. "But here's the difference -- the times have changed and the ethics have changed and the scrutiny has changed. This is the kind of thing people across America are mad about."
I was just about to hit the "send" button when Obama was asked about this at his rare news conference. He says an "official" response is coming, whatever that means.
......... "the case of former Rep. Nick Smith...who did you think I was talking about?".............Is he a democrat or republican?— Manny Trillo
Comment removed.
Watching the presser now. Thank God we have a President that speaks coherently and thoughtfully.— Les Ismore- Comment removed.
Long live the Army Corpse of Engineers!- "Watching the presser now. Thank God we have a President that speaks coherently and thoughtfully." First "presser" in what,335 days ? The open,transparent administration,too funny.— Yankee Air Pirate 12
- "Thank God we have a President that speaks coherently and thoughtfully." Nothign more coherent or thoughful then trying to piggyback off of BPs latest efforts to stop it. For 36 days of failure, he and his admin tried to distance themselves from the efforts. Now that it looks like they may have finally stopped it, this grandstanding a-- takes credit.— RG
- RG - What would they have done in Japan?— Les Ismore
Oh, I forgot. A republican did something similiar in the past so it makes it OK for Obama to do it now. TPS where are you???? Someone is using the "MOMMY, MOMMY THEY DID IT FIRST" defense.— bird11- Comment removed.
- I dunno Les, but statist worshippers like yourself woulda claimed they did it wrong/not enough/etc and tried it again anyway.— RG
- Comment removed.
- @Les Ismore - thinking of your nephew with Memorial Day upcoming. I'd like to honor him this weekend. My church has a special service for service men and women this weekend and they invite parish members to submit names of service men and women to be remembered. I was wondering if you felt comfortable posting your nephews name and service branch so I could include him by name. If you are uncomfortable posting the info I will give you my email address to send it to. God Bless.— bird11
- RG - I am hoping you have a better day today than yesterday. Whats it like to see every major talking point of yours destroyed in one day. Heartbreaking I guess, but I wouldnt really know. We are happy you came back for more though. But seriously, I am still dying to hear your analysis of Rand Paul and the childish libertarian philosophies that are finally being exposed to critical discussion. Do you think he will even make it to the election? His shadow opthamology board has been outed...never know what skeletons are in his whacky closet.— Les Ismore
- "Whats it like to see every major talking point of yours destroyed in one day." Sure Les, just let me know when Obama stops the wars, ends TARP that he voted for, or ends the tax cuts. all were on your super duper chart yesterday, and Obama's policies have not varied one iota from Bush in regards to them. 3x the deficts of Bush, that according to your brilliant mind caused the recession. As for Japan, I guess Koo missed that they passed ten separate stimulus plans over a decade. They hardly retrenched gov spending, as evidenced by their debt to GDP ratios. When your simple mind can comprehend these facts, let us know.— RG
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