“‘We always knew Tom DeLay was involved…but we never realized the extent to which he was involved in fund-raising directly with corporations.'” There doesn’t seem to be a smoking gun just yet — still, documents unearthed in the Ceverha trial in Texas suggest Boss DeLay was more involved than his cronies suggest in the daily procuring of corporate contributions for TRMPAC. Who would’ve thunk it? Update: The Ceverha trial aside, DeLay now also seems to be in a spot of trouble regarding an all-expenses-paid boondoggle to South Korea in 2001.
Tag: Congress
Bait and Switch?
“We’ve now got this huge fight over a sideshow,” Graham said during a meeting with Washington Post reporters and editors. “It’s always been a sideshow, but we sold it as the main event.” To the White House’s consternation, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) argues for sidelining Dubya’s private accounts in favor of a Social Security compromise. Well, let’s make sure they’re well off the table before we talk.
Say it ain’t so, Joe.
“Some lawmakers and senior party aides say that Mr. Lieberman remains in good standing. But they say that could change if he broke ranks and gave Mr. Bush a prominent Democratic ally on Social Security.” As feared and as usual, Senator Joe Lieberman seems to be the weak link in Democratic unity against the Dubya Social Security plan (although, to his credit, he has at least renounced private savings accounts.) Remember, Joe, once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Just look what happened to the Zell-out.
Take your flunky and dangle.
After undoubtedly being read the Rove riot act for his earlier apostasy, a chastened Catkiller Frist changes his tune on Social Security reform and now says it has to happen this year. But, even with Dubya spinning otherwise, it’s starting to look ever clearer that the GOP privatization plan is going down.
Ceverha of DeLay Hall.
It may not get the press of the Michael Jackson case; nevertheless, the trial of Bill Ceverha, treasurer of Boss DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), began yesterday. So far, like a good little Pentangeli, Ceverha and his attorneys are distancing themselves from the Hammer…but we’ll see what shakes out.
Ashcroft with a Smile.
Second verse, same as the first…New Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez outlined Justice Department priorities in his first policy speech yesterday, and it looks to be more of the same: extending the Patriot Act, strengthening anti-obscenity laws, deporting immigrants, and fixing the “broken system” whereby Senate Dems fulfill their constitutional obligations and vote up or down on Dubya’s freak-show judicial nominees. So, as we all feared, it’s Ashcroft all over again. But will Gonzalez at least undrape the Justice Department statuary?
Third Rail Anxiety.
Stand clear of the closing doors, please…Facing an uphill battle in their bid to privatize Social Security, congressional Republicans start contemplating a legislative exit strategy, which would probably include some concessions to a bipartisan plan. But the Dems, sensing the Clinton health care fiasco redux, may not play ball at all, with the exception of the usual “moderate” suspects. For the love of Pete, Senator Lieberman, please don’t give the Bush bill any of your patented Joementum.
Class Dismissed.
“‘It’s a bill that’s going to significantly harm small consumers who want to hold large companies accountable for defrauding them,’ said Frank Clemente, director of the Congress Watch division of the consumer group Public Citizen.” So guess which side Dubya and the GOP were on? In the name of “tort reform” (and at the behest of their corporate overlords), the Senate GOP pass the Class Action Fairness Act, which moves state class action suits into the (less favorably disposed) federal court system. They did so after gunning down a series of Democratic amendments that tried to strike a more stable balance between private power and public accountability. Or would it have been too litigious to exempt cases brought by state attorneys general? We wouldn’t want some aspiring Mr. Smith cutting in to Old Man Potter’s profit margin, now, would we?
Out with the old, in with the…old.
“To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve.” After outgoing Attorney General John Ashcroft showed his true colors one last time, incoming Homeland Security head (and former admin torture guru) Michael Chertoff promises to keep an eye to civil liberties at his confirmation hearings. Hmm…I’d have more faith in his espoused concern if he hadn’t already ignored the in-house Justice Dept. ethics office (and lied about it) in the past.
20-20 Hindsight.
Along with Mary Landrieu (D-LA), George Allen (R-VA) introduces a Senate apology for holding up anti-lynching legislation for decades. On hand, given Senator Allen’s role in this and his dodgy taste in “memorabilia”, I can’t help thinking that there’s a whiff of opportunism in the air. But, for the most part, I’d say it seems a valuable exercise for the Senate to acknowledge its prior complicity in racial injustice, as with the move to pardon Jack Johnson and the J.P. Morgan apology noted two days ago.