According to a "nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public
life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation," the vast majority of "crooked candidates" running
for office in 2010 hail from the GOP.
A press release sent to RAW STORY states, "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) launched an effort
to compile the most corrupt and unethical candidates vying for federal office in 2010. CREW’s Crooked Candidates highlights 11 candidates with scandal-littered pasts and histories of questionable ethics."
The list "focuses on office-seekers who have engaged in unethical and, in one case, even criminal conduct. Their misdeeds
range from quid pro quo schemes to abusing state office for the benefit of friends and donors, to an obscenity charge. A few
candidates even made the list because of their involvement in national political scandals: two were involved in the Abramoff
investigation and one played a role in the Bush administration’s politicization of the U.S. Attorneys’ offices."
"With more than 2,300 people running for office this year, CREW’s list is likely only the tip of the iceberg," the
press release notes.
“From Florida Congressman Kendrick Meek’s shady relationship with a real estate developer to J.D. Hayworth’s
close ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, to Ed Martin destroying state records – these 11 candidates represent
the bottom of the barrel,” said CREW’s Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “America deserves better.”
This year’s election includes the greatest number of candidates in at least 35 years. Mirroring an electoral field
that skews to the right, CREW’s list includes 8 Republicans, 2 Democrats and 1 Independent. Excluding incumbents, CREW’s
research team poured over news articles, blogs and public records to identify the 11 candidates. CREW’s list is unranked
and appears in alphabetical order:
* Roy Blunt (R) U.S. Senate, MO * Charlie Crist (I) U.S. Senate, FL * Jeff Denham (R) U.S. House, CA * Alvin Greene
(D) U.S. Senate, SC * Timothy Griffin (R) U.S. House, AR * J.D. Hayworth (R) U.S. Senate, AZ * Ed Martin (R) U.S.
House, MO * Kendrick Meek (D) U.S. Senate, FL * Dino Rossi (R) U.S. Senate, WA * Marco Rubio (R) U.S. Senate, FL *
Allen West (R) U.S. House, FL
The Independent candidate named by CREW, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, quit the GOP only a few months ago, after being
criticized for pushing for the stimulus package, and being photographed embracing President Barack Obama.
Selections from CREW list:
In 2003, Rep. Blunt divorced his wife of 31 years to marry Philip Morris (now Altria) lobbyist Abigail Perlman. Before
it was known publicly that Rep. Blunt and Ms. Perlman were dating – and only hours after Rep. Blunt assumed the role
of Majority Whip – he tried to secretly insert a provision into Homeland Security legislation that would have benefitted
Philip Morris, at the expense of competitors. Notably, Philip Morris/Altria and its subsidiaries contributed at least $217,000
to campaign committees connected to Rep. Blunt from 1996 to 2006.
....
Gov. Crist handpicked Jim Greer to head the Florida Republican Party. Despite multiple calls for Mr. Greer’s resignation
by fellow Republicans, due to extravagant spending at the party’s expense, Gov. Crist defended Mr. Greer. Mr. Greer
is now facing six counts of grand theft, fraud and money laundering. He is accused of secretly setting up a shell company,
Victory Strategies, and signing a deal that would give Victory Strategies 10% of GOP donations – a deal that Gov. Crist
allegedly approved.
....
While in Congress, Rep. Hayworth accepted donations to his campaign and leadership PAC from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s
clients. Rep. Hayworth also used Mr. Abramoff’s skyboxes five times without reporting the costs in his Federal Election
Commission (FEC) filings. Rep. Hayworth’s failure to report the skyboxes as campaign contributions violated federal
election law, and Rep. Hayworth was later forced to repay the skybox owners. Rep. Hayworth was later cleared of any additional
wrongdoing in the Abramoff scandal.
....
Rep. Meek has been criticized for his relationship with developer Dennis Stackhouse, who is now awaiting trial for grand
theft and organizing a scheme to defraud. Rep. Meek earmarked $1,072,750 million for Mr. Stackhouse’s development project
and requested an additional $4 million in earmarks for Mr. Stackhouse, which were never awarded. In addition, both Rep. Meek
and his chief of staff, Anthony Williams, served on the Miami-Dade Urban Revitalization Task Force, which loaned $2.2 million
to Mr. Stackhouse’s project, but Rep. Meek did not vote on that particular loan.
Some conservative critics complain that CREW is slanted to the left, partly because "CREW serves as successor counsel to Valerie Plame Wilson and Joseph Wilson "in their lawsuit against Vice President Dick
Cheney, his former Chief of Staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, top Presidential advisor Karl Rove, former State Department
Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage and other unnamed government officials" after the outing of former CIA operative Plame.
The Wilsons are registered Democrats who have campaigned on the left since becoming household names during the Bush administration.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, pursuant to my powers under Article II, Section
2, of the Constitution, do hereby commute the prison terms imposed by the sentence upon the said Lewis Libby to expire immediately,
leaving intact and in effect the two-year term of supervised release, with all its conditions, and all other components of
the sentence.
Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing
decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration
of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.
I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive.
Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.
My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained
through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young
children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge
will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private
citizen will be long-lasting.
William Frist -R. Tenn
William has been subpoenaed by the SEC and now faces three counts of criminal indictment for fraud and insider trading.
Hold your breath and get reading to send some soap on a rope real soon
Jack Abramoff-R Lobbyist
Jack has plead guilty to three counts of conspiracy, honest-services mail fraud and tax evasion
Tom Delay -R Texas
Texas‘ highest criminal appeals court has agreed to consider prosecutors‘ appeal to reinstate a dropped conspiracy
charge against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay , further delaying his trial on felony money laundering and conspiracy
counts.
A state district court judge later threw out one of two conspiracy charges and let stand the money laundering charge. Prosecutors
asked the appeals court to reinstate the dropped conspiracy charge, a move that postponed trial proceedings on the remaining
charges
Lewis Libby Jr -R
BUSH LETS LIBBY OUT A JAIL THE REPUBLICANS FLAUNT LAWS
"FUCK
WHAT YOU OR THE COURTS SAY" this is what your president means by cummuting Scooter
CRIMINAL LET GO, HE IS 'FREE'
by the "bushman" and his Neocon-Republican Crime Family
Cunningham
Under the agreement, Cunningham acknowledged a conspiracy to commit bribery, mail and wire fraud and tax evasion. He also
pleaded guilty to a separate tax evasion violation for failing to disclose income in 2004.
Prosecutors said Cunningham had taken bribes from contractors, which enabled him to buy a mansion, a suburban Washington
condominium, a yacht and a Rolls Royce. A government statement said Cunningham received at least $2.4 million in bribes and
will forfeit his $2.5 million mansion and about $1.8 million in cash, antiques, furnishings and other valuables. The charges
carry a potential penalty of 10 years in prison and up to $350,000 in fines. Sentencing is scheduled for February 27.
Bob Ney R-Ohio
Bob will plead guilty to two counts: conspiracy and making false statements. Each charge carries a five-year mandatory
penalty, but if Ney goes along with all requirements of the plea, the government has agreed to recommend to the court a sentence
of 27 months, reports
Update 1-22-07 Former Republican Rep. Bob Ney was sentenced to 2 1/2
years in prison Friday for trading political favors for golf trips, campaign donations and other gifts in the Jack Abramoff
lobbying scandal.
Mark Foley -R. South Florida
Was busted with Internet sex talk with a teenager that was woking a a US Page, the boy was 16 years old. Mark is
not currently in jail but has resigned from office in shame 10/2006
Congressional Republicans, the pundits say, are running against fascism, which,
of course, doesn't exist in today's world. That's OK. The same buffoons are waging a war against terrorism, which they can't
even define.
My fondest hope for this political season is that every Republican senator and
representative up for re-election is defeated. It's not that the Democrats are any great prize, but they are marginally more
intellectually honest than the Republicans.
Most Democrats are leftists and socialists, and most of their rhetoric reflects
that, as do the issues they support. Most Republicans, however, are big fat hypocrites who campaign as conservatives when
in fact, judged by their actions and their votes, they are no more conservative than Pol Pot or Karl Marx.
A true conservative would balance the budget, would vote against all foreign aid
and would practice an isolationist foreign policy. A true conservative would make sure corporations pay their fair share of
taxes, would cut out all subsidies to big business and would take whatever steps were necessary to stop the shipping of manufacturing
jobs overseas and the import of vast numbers of illegal aliens, who are a source of cheap labor.
Most of these windbags in both parties have only two skills: conning voters and
raising money from lobbyists. Most of them couldn't manage a small law firm or even run a successful hot-dog stand. As for
foreign affairs, most of them don't have a clue as to what's going on outside their own country club and favorite fancy restaurants.
They are mental and moral midgets.
Most of them neither speak nor read a foreign language. If they have traveled
overseas it's usually on those paid-for VIP tours arranged by special-interest groups. They don't read, most of them. In fact,
aside from raising their own already bloated pay, they spend the majority of their time raising money for their next campaign.
Very few of them have ever served in the armed forces.
There are a handful of good men and women in both parties, but if in doubt, always
vote against the incumbent. If you judge contemporary politicians by their record, it's abysmal. Congressional hearings have
become largely a farce, where panel members make speeches rather than ask intelligent questions. They usually don't start
work until Tuesday and are out of there by Thursday afternoon or Friday. They have more holidays than Santa Claus. Therefore,
it's no surprise that they never, ever get their work done on time.
We are a nation of 300 million people. It's shameful that these 535 nabobs are
the best we can do to run the government. Actually, they don't run it. Special interests and the corporate elite run it. Congress
has allowed both the judiciary and the executive branch to usurp most of its authority. Can you imagine a member of the executive
branch telling a senator or representative that he or she can't see something because it's classified? Congress and the executive
branch are coequal. Under our Constitution, the president is not a higher office than that of a senator or a representative.
And all of them, Americans must never forget, are just the temporary hired help.
They are not our lords and masters. They are hired help who are supposed to work within the strict limits set by the Constitution.
Under our system, sovereignty rests with the people, not with the government. It's too bad Americans have allowed government
to encroach on their freedoms to the point that, according to some polls, some Americans are actually afraid of their own
government.
Ah, if only the American people would dump 200 or 300 incumbents, which would
send a 50-megaton political shock wave to Washington that would rattle the Washington Monument. You'd see a sudden and big
change in the attitude of the surviving politicians.
These politicians
don't respect you. They think you are dumb (after all, you keep voting for them). Well, if they won't respect you, then the
next best thing is for them to fear you, and the way to do that is to demonstrate their jobs are in perpetual jeopardy. Election
Day can be a revolution if the American people choose to make it one.
September 5, 2006
Charley Reese ~ has been a journalist for
49 years.
