Pay No Attention To The Pettifogger Behind The Curtain
Suck it up, conservatives. If some pettifogging Democratic party machine whore is filing bogus indictments against you (purely to exploit your own party's ethics rules!), if a major network passes forged papers to smear you, if the media spends years and millions trying to make a scandal out of...nothing, it matters not. As long as we, the media, can gin up some appearance of impropriety against you, you just gotta grin and bear it.
That's what the Strib says to conservatives in today's editorial.
Writing in the Weekly Standard, William Kristol and Jeffrey Bell sound out the newest meme those on the right are using to explain the legal troubles of Rep. Tom DeLay, Sen. Bill Frist, presidential adviser Karl Rove, vice presidential adviser Lewis Libby and assorted others: It "is a reasonable bet," Kristol and Bell write, "that the fall of 2005 will be remembered as a time when it became clear that a comprehensive strategy of criminalization had been implemented to inflict defeat on conservatives who seek to govern as conservatives." The short form of this meme was tried out on the Sunday talk shows: We are witnessing the "criminalization of politics."
It didn't start Sunday.
Joe Farah at WorldNetDaily makes a credible case that the IRS specifically targeted conservative organizations during the '90s. Campaign Finance Reform laws essentially try to make a bureaucratic crime out of grass-roots political advertisements - and since two of the biggest contributors to the left's efforts, unions and the media, are granted broad loopholes to the laws, it's impossible to rationally argue that the laws aren't aimed at quashing conservative opinion. Of course, the chorus is growing on the left to re-instate the "Fairness Doctrine", which would gut conservative talk radio.
But other than that? No, no criminalization at all.
The message seems to be that all those who now find themselves in hot water really didn't do anything wrong, other than engage in rough-and-ready, and successful, conservative politics. The spin suggests what's really wrong is that Austin, Texas, prosecutor Ronnie Earle, Washington special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service and half a dozen other agencies investigating various activities are part of a "comprehensive strategy" to bring down these icons of the right.
Well, leave aside the Ronnie Earle's prosecution will be shown to be
groundless before long, and were brought purely so that lefty talking heads could titter "indictment!" on the Sunday Methanefests and the nightly news, one might wonder.This new "criminalization" concept suggests the problems that brought this cast of conservative characters to the attention of investigators are really no big deal: revealing the name of an undercover CIA agent as part of a larger effort to sell a phony case for war in Iraq,
She wasn't undercover, and the case wasn't phony. But what's a couple of 180 degree deviations from reality among friends? violating Texas' campaign finance laws;
Oddly, the indictments exhibit a bit of a paucity of actual mentions of alleged wrongdoing by DeLay... trading in securities in such a way that suggests use of insider information.
Let's make an appointment, shall we, to revisit the Frist "scandal" this time next year?
Like all the alleged Bush administration scandals that have come and (pretty invariably) gone over the past five years, nobody will remember it. Count on it.
The accusations, however, are indeed serious and need full investigations; no one gets a pass from the law. No one also should be judged guilty before the legal process runs its course.
Of Course!
Because it's not the actual finding of guilt that is the goal of these indictments (and yes, this view will be completely borne out in the next year); it's to allow Paul Begala to yap "TOM DELAY HAS BEEN INDICTED" and to let Bob Schieffer intone "...the Senate Majority Leader is under investigation, in a constant drumbeat of negativity, throwing millions of tiny lumps of dung against the wall in the hope that enough lumps stick to enough voters to sway a seat or two in the '06 campaign.
And to allow the unpaid PR arm of the Democrat party, the media, to write gas like this:
But surveying the passel of legal troubles that now afflict those in power in Washington, it's not the criminalization of politics that should concern Americans, but the politicization of crime.
I'm putting it in my calendar. We're going to revisit this editorial next year.
Because it's not Democrat bias in the media that should concern Americans. It's that the media and the Democrats have become indistinguishable
Posted by Mitch at
October 18, 2005 12:03 PM
| TrackBack
Conspiracy theories?
Name calling? ("You're a chickenHAWK! Well, well you're a COWARD! Hey, you Doo-doo Head!")
Titalation? ("Vikings, Oh tee hee hee OH MY!")
Mitch, what the h--- happened to content & analysis here? Yeah, the red meat and attitude is fun for a while, I guess, but I can get that anywhere. I need my fix of conservative ideology (even if I don't agree with it) and you're one of the few sources I can trust not to shape it to current political or market pressures. It seems, sometimes, like everyone else (national at least) is aiming for that cushy job with the think tank of their choice.
Posted by: Bill Haverberg at October 18, 2005 04:04 PMWhat do you want me to say, Bill? Ronnie Earle's indictments of Tom Delay are a sham. A travesty. An abuse of office.
I am angry. The Democrats are trying to do via "the law" what they can't do at the polls or in the market. I'm sick to death of it.
Posted by: mitch at October 18, 2005 04:17 PMOhhh... as opposed to a 7 year campaign based upon a false assertion (namely a pattern of cover-up) by Kenneth Starr to finally indict Clinton for having lied about an affair.. yep.. no hypocrisy there. They couldn't beat him at the polls so they decided to strip him of his moral authority through a 7 year witch-hunt that resulted in what, 3 indictments, mostly for obstruction.
Sure Mitch.. keep smoking that pipe.
As for Earle, you wanna believe what you wanna believe, it's that simple. First, Earle has indicted 12 Dems to 3 Reps in his term in office. Sure, he re-applied for a different indictment when it was discovered the law would have been an ex post facto application, because he felt DeLay (as corrupt a politician as you've ever seen) had violated the spirit of the law.
And frankly Mitch, were he so ALL FIRED OUT to get DeLay, why would he have offered a plea agreement which would have amounted to a slap on the wrist, and not cost DeLay his seat? The reason is pretty simple, Earle probably didn't feel he had sufficient evidence for a slam dunk, and wanted to not waste his own time and money. It's pretty normal conduct. Were Earle simply out to smear DeLay, he'd not have offered anything. Now DeLay, if he feels he's truly innocent (and there is sufficient review to suggest he's anything but), surely he should not agree to a plea, and so I don't blame him if he feels it. I think it's more likely though that he knows he'll be done politically, even with a misdemeanor conviction, because his house of holier than though Bullcrap will come tumbling down.
The indictment forthcoming against Lewis Libby, and possibly Ari Fliescher and Karl Rove, are well founded in the theory that if you do something shady and then lie about it, especially if you conspire to lie about it, you've broken the law. McDougal went to jail for it, you all wanted Clinton ousted from office for less.
Soooo sure Mitch, you piss and moan about justifiable indictments all you want, but just remember, your litmus test, your bar, was MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH lower.
It all sounds like political Bull to me. Clinton should have resigned, I've said that 50 times if I've said it once, what the hell is wrong with you conservatives that you can't admit some of those in your own leadership really are just shills for Big Business and corrupt, slimey little snakes?
Once again, it's the extremism of not being able to see your own warts.
Nice party.. have fun explaining to the American People why you shouldn't have your folks indicted for pergury (sic?).
Oh, on the millions and millions thing, Ken Starr spent something like 200 Million, so cry me a river.
PB
Posted by: pb at October 18, 2005 05:51 PMMitch said,
"The Democrats are trying to do via "the law" what they can't do at the polls or in the market. I'm sick to death of it."
That's the most pathetic line of crap I have ever heard.
How many years of Republican sponsored investigations into Clintons administration did we have to tollerate Mitch?
And you're upset that the Democrats are resorting to the legal and judicial system to deal with a creep like Delay? Give me a freaking break.
You're sick of it? Get used to it Mitch. This is only the beginning.
Posted by: Doug at October 18, 2005 06:12 PM"Earle has indicted 12 Dems to 3 Reps in his term in office."
This is Texas: That's 12 conservative Dems and 3 Republicans. Earle is just running down an enemies list. He is the enforcer for the lefty side of the Texas Dems.
The rest of your post is comparable garbage.
Posted by: Lee at October 18, 2005 06:13 PMCome on guys... Spew the talking points some more...
It's the "criminalization of politics”
http://streaming.americanprogress.org/ThinkProgress/2005/Criminalization-Politics.320.240.mov.html
Posted by: Doug at October 18, 2005 07:16 PMLee,
Your post was pathetic, and sorry, I try to be civil. First, Earle is from Texas, so I guess he's just a conservative too? Second, Earle attempted to hand Delay an out, Delay ducked it because he's so freakin arrogant, even though he's corrupt as hell, he wouldn't take it.
But THAT'S NOT THE POINT, the point is that this crap about doing through the court what they can't at the polls crap, OMFreakinG.. and then the.. spend millions.. again OMG.. You all had a BS standard for IMPEACHMENT of the President, and attempt to undermine his ability to govern, over Oral Sex, on a pattern of deception that Kenneth Starr later admitted didn't prove to have a shred of evidence behind it.. consequently if it HAD gone to a REAL court as opposed to the Repugnicant dominated US House, it would have been thrown out because the prosecutor admitted his causal basis was invalid, therefore the whole case cannot proceed. In this case, a REAL court, not a bunch of politcal pieces of crap, using real ordinary TEXANS indicted the man, not once, but twice. Using your own standard DeLay should be gone, we should use a court of Democrat political appointees, and then affix sentence in another arena of political appointees.
In this case, DeLay (not even to mention what Rove/Libby did), attempted to funnel corporate dollars to political bidding, and what's sooo ironic is it is YOU NEO-NONS who piss and moan soooo loud about special interest, and the "elite" man keeping you down, as if you have some claim to Populism, and opposing the government. What a freakin lark, you ARE THE MAN, not because you know it, but because you don't.
PB
Posted by: pb at October 18, 2005 09:29 PM"Ohhh... as opposed to a 7 year campaign based upon a false assertion (namely a pattern of cover-up) by Kenneth Starr to finally indict Clinton for having lied about an affair.. yep.. no hypocrisy there."
No, PB, that wasn't Starr's doing. They kept handing him more and more things since he was already doing the investigations. You can blame the Clinton administration for throwing everything at him (which was actually a good PR ploy, by the way, and you fell for it).
As to "having lied about an affair," you totally miss the point. Clinton was an Officer of the Court, sworn to uphold the rules of the court and its integrity, and yet he swore before his God that he was telling the truth when he was lying. He can lie to his heart's content about his sexual escapades to his family and to the public, but when he's put under oath in the core function for which he has trained and made his profession and still can't tell the truth, well, he's untrustworthy and pondscum. (And to think a few days ago I was defending Clinton to Teena!)
"...on a pattern of deception that Kenneth Starr later admitted didn't prove to have a shred of evidence behind it.. consequently if it HAD gone to a REAL court..."
Which explains why Clinton was found guilty of obstruction of justice in a court of law by Judge Wright, why he surrendered his legal license and paid a reasonably hefty fine, as well as paid an undisclosed amount to settle with Ms. Jones? It seems to me there was just a little bit of evidence behind the charges of perjury and deception. Careful with those facts, PB, they're sharper than you'd like.
As to TRMPAC, be careful, and if you really believe what you say you should take Mitch's challenge and revist this in a year. Earle doesn't have "the list" that forms the core of his indictment; rather he has one that he claims is "similar," though it is undated and contains no authors names and even that list has different names and money amounts. He apparently has no documentation that links DeLay to the operation of TRMPAC other than founding it, and he still has to prove that the particular actions of TRMPAC violated the law, which even one of the grand juries didn't believe. Overall, I'd give Earle a not-so-good chance of getting a conviction at this stage.
Posted by: nerdbert at October 18, 2005 10:33 PM"...well founded in the theory that if you do something shady and then lie about it, especially if you conspire to lie about it, you've broken the law. McDougal went to jail for it, you all wanted Clinton ousted from office for less."
Posted by: Terry at October 18, 2005 11:16 PMActually that is what "we all" wanted Clinton ousted from office for. This is what Clinton WAS impeached for. His crimes are probably the reason we don't have a President Gore right now.
Believe it or not, the reason the dems lose elections is not because of republican corruption, but because the majority of the people do not accept your message that the collective can care for them better than they can care for themselves.
"This is what Clinton WAS impeached for. His crimes are probably the reason we don't have a President Gore right now."
Posted by: chriss at October 18, 2005 11:46 PMWhatever the reason for not having a President Gore right now, I think I speak for everyone when I say (while wiping my forehead with relief): Phew!
I renew my challenge to all of you Earle apologists; let us revisit this in a year.
Predictions:
1. I'll be right.
2. The Democrats will have changed the subject.
Posted by: mitch at October 19, 2005 04:34 AMPredictions:
1. We will find out a whole lot more about Delay's activities and his connections.
2. The Republicans will distance themselves from Delay and in order to preserve the Republican majority in the House, there will be a mini Republican effort to "rid" the beltway of influence peddaling and cronyism. American voters will see through it and the Democrats will take back the House.
Posted by: Doug at October 19, 2005 05:16 AMDoug,
That'd be the major media's playbook.
We WILL find out more about Delay; namely, that he broke no laws.
Democrats will do well to hold steady in the house in '06.
Posted by: mitch at October 19, 2005 05:57 AMPredictions:
1.) In the proud tradition of Texas Republicans Delay's life will involve copious amounts of booze, whores and regret. The first two aren't so bad but Texas voters don't care much for regret.
2.)GOP legal entanglements, a vastly unpopular war and chronic incompetence in the White House PR department leads to a "Goreificaton" of national GOP candidates (scrambling for distance from GOP leadership/Bush administration). Add to this wide, infuriated discontent among the GOP base and you have a better-than-not chance of major gains from the Democrats.
Posted by: Tim at October 19, 2005 06:13 PMPredictions #2
1. Delay will stand trial for conspiracy and obstruction charges, he will be found guilty and sentenced to 6 years prison. He'll serve 18 months at a country club facility and the rest of his sentence will be stayed.
2. Mitch will carry on for the full 6 years crying about how poor Tom Delay was railroaded by the big "ole mean Democrats.
Posted by: Doug at October 19, 2005 07:02 PMDoug,
Earle will have to file some real charges first.
And Mitch never cries. Merely observes.
Posted by: mitch at October 20, 2005 05:42 AMMy prediction:
PB will never learn the phrase "word economy"... if you know what I mean.
Posted by: badda-blogger at October 20, 2005 10:39 AMbrow shill arthritis,prisoner,bone:furnaces Kirkland reflexive?
Posted by: at June 26, 2006 06:44 PMhoary?predefinitions probabilistically!canvas grimace pithed?compiler grosses flashing
Posted by: at June 26, 2006 11:18 PMimposes illuminations:Luke Algiers batted blatant:bloomers?industrially?Faraday
Posted by: at June 27, 2006 11:00 AMastatine phraseology provers fag succeeded fortitude compares
Posted by: at June 30, 2006 11:16 PMcsHi. May be this is BAD, but is something different: hirsute cunt
Posted by: petra at July 1, 2006 01:45 PMhttp://shavedteen.honeywhores.com/
old black hairy pussy
http://shavedteen.honeywhores.com/old-black-hairy-pussy.html
dick in hairy pussy
http://shavedteen.honeywhores.com/dick-in-hairy-pussy.html
muscular hairy chest
http://shavedteen.honeywhores.com/muscular-hairy-chest.html
hairy pussy free movies
http://shavedteen.honeywhores.com/hairy-pussy-free-movies.html
comrades casings device crush Arabianizes minister - Tons of interesdting stuff!!!
Posted by: at July 1, 2006 06:19 PMhttp://weddings.eerq32t1i.com weddings [url=http://weddings.eerq32t1i.com]weddings[/url] http://craft.eerq32t1i.com craft [url=http://craft.eerq32t1i.com]craft[/url] http://arts.7u1g56.com arts [url=http://arts.7u1g56.com]arts[/url] http://collectables.eerq32t1i.com collectables [url=http://collectables.eerq32t1i.com]collectables[/url] http://shopping.fx94t4.com shopping [url=http://shopping.fx94t4.com]shopping[http://fashion.fx94t4.com fashion [url=http://fashion.fx94t4.com]fashion[/url] http://christmas.fx94t4.com christmas [url=http://christmas.fx94t4.com]christmas[/url] http://easter.7u1g56.com easter [url=http://easter.7u1g56.com]easter[/url] http://home.eerq32t1i.com home [url=http://home.eerq32t1i.com]home[/url] http://retail.k00xuc2.com retail [url=http://retail.k00xuc2.com]retail[/url] http://outlet.jtixd.com outlet [url=http://outlet.jtixd.com]outlet[/url] http://electronics.k00xuc2.com electronics [url=http://electronics.k00xuc2.com]electronics[/url] http://consumer.jtixd.com consumer [url=http://consumer.jtixd.com]consumer[/url] http://florist.khgiso.com florist [url=http://florist.khgiso.com]florist[/url] http://clothing.khgiso.com clothing [url=http://clothing.khgiso.com]clothing[/url]http://book.jtixd.com book [url=http://book.jtixd.com]book[/url] http://factory.khgiso.com factory [url=http://factory.khgiso.com]factory[/url] http://store.jtixd.com store [url=http://store.jtixd.com]store[/url] http://garden.khgiso.com garden [url=http://garden.khgiso.com]garden[/url]
Posted by: Spike at October 8, 2006 05:31 AMhttp://weddings.eerq32t1i.com/map.html weddings [url=http://weddings.eerq32t1i.com/map.html]weddings[/url] http://craft.eerq32t1i.com/map.html craft [url=http://craft.eerq32t1i.com/map.html]craft[/url] http://arts.7u1g56.com/map.html arts [url=http://arts.7u1g56.com/map.html]arts[/url] http://collectables.eerq32t1i.com/map.html collectables [url=http://collectables.eerq32t1i.com/map.html]collectables[/url] http://shopping.fx94t4.com/map.html shopping [url=http://shopping.fx94t4.com/map.html]shopping[/url] http://fashion.fx94t4.com/map.html fashion [url=http://fashion.fx94t4.com/map.html]fashion[/url] http://christmas.fx94t4.com/map.html christmas [url=http://christmas.fx94t4.com/map.html]christmas[/url] http://easter.7u1g56.com/map.html easter [url=http://easter.7u1g56.com/map.html]easter[/url] http://home.eerq32t1i.com/map.html home [url=http://home.eerq32t1i.com/map.html]home[/url] http://retail.k00xuc2.com/map.html retail [url=http://retail.k00xuc2.com/map.html]retail[/url] http://outlet.jtixd.com/map.html outlet [url=http://outlet.jtixd.com/map.html]outlet[/url] http://electronics.k00xuc2.com/map.html electronics [url=http://electronics.k00xuc2.com/map.html]electronics[/url] http://consumer.jtixd.com/map.html consumer [url=http://consumer.jtixd.com/map.html]consumer[/url] http://florist.khgiso.com/map.html florist [url=http://florist.khgiso.com/map.html]florist[/url] http://clothing.khgiso.com/map.html clothing [url=http://clothing.khgiso.com/map.html]clothing[/url] http://book.jtixd.com/map.html book [url=http://book.jtixd.com/map.html]book[/url] http://factory.khgiso.com/map.html factory [url=http://factory.khgiso.com/map.html]factory[/url] http://store.jtixd.com/map.html store [url=http://store.jtixd.com/map.html]store[/url] http://garden.khgiso.com/map.html garden [url=http://garden.khgiso.com/map.html]garden[/url]
Posted by: Fred at October 9, 2006 05:29 PMhttp://weddings.eerq32t1i.com/map.html weddings [url=http://weddings.eerq32t1i.com/map.html]weddings[/url] http://craft.eerq32t1i.com/map.html craft [url=http://craft.eerq32t1i.com/map.html]craft[/url] http://arts.7u1g56.com/map.html arts [url=http://arts.7u1g56.com/map.html]arts[/url] http://collectables.eerq32t1i.com/map.html collectables [url=http://collectables.eerq32t1i.com/map.html]collectables[/url] http://shopping.fx94t4.com/map.html shopping [url=http://shopping.fx94t4.com/map.html]shopping[/url] http://fashion.fx94t4.com/map.html fashion [url=http://fashion.fx94t4.com/map.html]fashion[/url] http://christmas.fx94t4.com/map.html christmas [url=http://christmas.fx94t4.com/map.html]christmas[/url] http://easter.7u1g56.com/map.html easter [url=http://easter.7u1g56.com/map.html]easter[/url] http://home.eerq32t1i.com/map.html home [url=http://home.eerq32t1i.com/map.html]home[/url] http://retail.k00xuc2.com/map.html retail [url=http://retail.k00xuc2.com/map.html]retail[/url] http://outlet.jtixd.com/map.html outlet [url=http://outlet.jtixd.com/map.html]outlet[/url] http://electronics.k00xuc2.com/map.html electronics [url=http://electronics.k00xuc2.com/map.html]electronics[/url] http://consumer.jtixd.com/map.html consumer [url=http://consumer.jtixd.com/map.html]consumer[/url] http://florist.khgiso.com/map.html florist [url=http://florist.khgiso.com/map.html]florist[/url] http://clothing.khgiso.com/map.html clothing [url=http://clothing.khgiso.com/map.html]clothing[/url] http://book.jtixd.com/map.html book [url=http://book.jtixd.com/map.html]book[/url] http://factory.khgiso.com/map.html factory [url=http://factory.khgiso.com/map.html]factory[/url] http://store.jtixd.com/map.html store [url=http://store.jtixd.com/map.html]store[/url] http://garden.khgiso.com/map.html garden [url=http://garden.khgiso.com/map.html]garden[/url]
Posted by: Fred at October 9, 2006 05:40 PM