With the rise of the Democrats in Congress (and, oddly enough, in the comments section here), I find my opinions are in the minority. With that in mind, I am going to humbly defer my own opinions on a matter and simply ask the new majority how they feel on an issue.
Can someone — anyone — explain the planned rise of impeached former federal judge Alcee Hastings to head up the House Intelligence Committee over more-senior member Jane Harman in a way that does not sound like the crassest form of race-pandering?
The impression that I’m getting — that in the Democrats’ move towards “cleaning up the culture of corruption,” race trumps integrity — is obviously incorrect and the most vile form of race-baiting, much like apparently heralded so much of the last election. So I’m setting aside that theory until I hear some alternate rationale that makes more sense.
Yet again I missed a blockquote on the third paragraph of my last post. That’s Megan’s statement, the last paragraph is mine.
If the Democrats want to clean up the “culture of corruption” then why is Nancy Pelosi even being talked about for a leadership position? Or is breaking federal election laws only a bad thing when Tom DeLay does it?
why soldiers heads are being blown off to protect a country of Iraqis I have never met, and aren’t here fighting crime
Megan,
Here are three words you need to learn:
Posse
Comitatus
Act
esmense,
You only got it half right. While a District Court judge did rule that the Senate could not impeach him for a crime for which he had been acquitted, the Supreme Court had ruled in a previous case that the courts had no jurisdiction over Senate impeachment hearings, so the inpeachment stood.
Nice try, though.
esmense (re: Impeached or not)
From Wikipedia – for what it’s worth. This was my source in stating that he appealed and the inmpeachment was upheld.
What makes y’all think that Nancy Pelosi will be Speaker of the House? From what I hear she has Steny Hoyer and Jack Murtha, among others, breathing down her neck.
Also, those old guys on the Dem side of the House have been waiting to get their chairmanships back for a while now. I can’t imagine that they are going to let that little lady from San Fran tell them what to do if she is elected as their leader.
Perhaps I see you confusion. First off, its Wiki. Learn to use a reliable source. Their wording is awkward and more than a little confusing. What they meant was the District Judge had no jurisdiction as the Constitution does not provide any appeal process. That is what the appellate court instructed. Thus it is as if the judge never ruled on anything to do with it. The impeachment conviction stands. He was removed from the Federal bench. I am going off memory but that has happened to 5 Judges ever. 225 years and 5 Judges. Did I mention that Democrats were the strong majority in both House and Senate? Yeah its that bad.
Check what the Congress is planning to slip through in its remaining days.
http://www.deccan.com/home/homedetails.asp#Nuke%20bill%20still%20on%20track
Help India with it’s nuke program? With so many Muslims living there? Why does this make me nervous.
Are we outsourcing our nuclear technology now? Computer companies have outsourced their help desk for years and that’s a mess. Can you imagine what outsourcing nuclear technology will do?
By the way, China had a record US$23.8 billion trade surplus in October.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/HK10Cb05.html
I have never bought into that ‘culture of corruption’ tag the Dims labeled the GOP . After all they still have among their ranks T Kennedy, KK Byrd, Barney Frank, Wm Jefferson, H Reid etc. I know the Dims do not like to acknowledge facts, but there were 42 Klinton cronies convicted during his reign plus 28 people/organizations audited by the IRS. Klinton himself was disbarred from the courts. It’s really works out well when you can turn a blind eye to your sins by pointing at others.
Did I mention that Democrats were the strong majority in both House and Senate?
Not only that, but the impeachment was led by none other than Rep. John Conyers.
Help India with it’s nuke program? With so many Muslims living there? Why does this make me nervous.
Because you’re a jackass, maybe?
Are we outsourcing our nuclear technology now? Computer companies have outsourced their help desk for years and that’s a mess. Can you imagine what outsourcing nuclear technology will do?
We’re keeping our nuclear plants here, not “outsourcing” them. However the deal allows US companies to build nuclear facilities in India for Indian use, and will allow sales of technology and fuel sources, in exchange for a bunch of things we want from India regarding its nuclear program, like letting IAEA inspectors into its civilian facilities, strengthening security, continuing its moratorium on nuclear testing, etc. There are valid objections that this will allow India to make more bombs than they could otherwise, but your stupid notions about outsourcing are, well, stupid.
And very off topic.
Mantis, Sean,
And to agree/reinforce Mantis, these plants will be safer and unable to lead to a weapons grade materials (not that India can’t make them now), a huge improvement over India’s current local capacity.
Plus, it will allow US companies to stay current for when the US eventually gets over it’s nuclear phobia.
“When someone gives me a good reason of why soldiers heads are being blown off to protect a country of Iraqis I have never met,”
I wonder how many Americans met any of the English, or French, or Jews, or Chinese in WWII, or WWI, or Korea, et al.
Everything after that, I just stopped reading.
And, yeah .. it is amazing how the left comes out of the shadows, now.
“So please demonstrate how superior your party is to the Dems when it comes to race..”
I think the issue, at hand, is not that the Reps are better than Dems as far as race is concerned. I think the Dems have historically been better at race-baiting, as a matter of fact.
And, why is it that when an african-american goes republican the Dems trot out the “Uncle Tom” BS.
Why is it that when a Dem gets upset, some political figure ends up in black-face?
The Dems ARE better with regards to race as long as that particular race votes for them.
It’s called pandering. Whereas the Reps are guilty of pandering, they simply do not have it down to the exacting science that the Dems do.
Whatever. When Lee is the one making the most sense, that is a frightening thing (no offense, Lee).
The Dems won Congress. Fine. Time to put your money where your mouths are. But, I think the more calmed discussions which have been seen the last couple of days are akin to the behavior you’ll get from any 5 year old when you finally give up that cookie they’ve been crying for. Temporary relief, but it ain’t no cure.
I have to agree with mantis also. The India deal is fine.
Apparently the BDS cloud has lifted from some. 😉
Megan isn’t one of them, btw.
Mantis may be to the left, but I don’t ever suffered from full fledged BDS.
Disliked? Check
Disagreed with? Check
Opposed at the polls? Check (I think)
Attributed magical power and/or satanic origin? No
Did I mention that Democrats were the strong majority in both House and Senate?
Not only that, but the impeachment was led by none other than Rep. John Conyers.
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THis shows how bad the dem’s rule in the house is going to be. This guy Hasting must have been really bad that Conyers and the dems had to impeach him. Now Pelosi wanted to make him chairman of the intelligence committee. Not a good sign at all.
No one has EVER CLAIMED that Pelosi has EVER HAD any intelligence. That is why she leads the Dimocrats.
I agree with Ozzie, if peloshi is going to clean up the corruption in congress she has to go after T Kennedy, KK Byrd, Barney Frank, Wm Jefferson, H Reid, and the latest fair haired boy Obama + many more dim’s first to have any credibility. Obama has Already been identified in crooked real estate deals. She also needs to root out all of the traitors that have endangered the lives of every American by providing National Security Secrets to the terroists. Get on with the cleanup and use Clorox to do it to avoid further contamination and leave no smell. Otherwise she’s simply another lying democrat.
Still smiling and laughing about the election. Now the dim’s have to put up, or shut up, or they bury the party forever.
Now if Chaney will resign and the president put Steele in as VP the 08 election will be even more fun.
I won’t be holding my breath for any of the contract items to be stated much less completed, other than ‘we’re going to take from you for the common good’ canceling the tax cuts which involves her getting her hands on more of my money. I guess I can afford the extra dollars per year again since I was paying it before the tax cuts. I don’t know about the additional 20-25% they’re going to add on after eleminating the tax cuts. Everyone with money in the stock market is nervious. They’re scared of another phony stock market boom like the 90’s where the only ones that ended up with any money were the big company players with two sets of books. A lot of them are now guest at the hotel of many bars. Can the families of 4 making $40,000 per year afford the additional $4,000 they’ll have to shell out every year?
As for the congrssional black caucus. Why is that not a racist organization? Bet you can’t organize a white caucus. If not the KKK isn’t racist. Is Byrd still a Grand Kleagle? Like the Hells Angel or Marines, once a Grand Kleagle always a member of the KKK.
Speaking of not cleaning house, Byrd’s slated for Appropriations.
Actually, that’s good. The Reps were spending WAY too much on crosses to burn.
Jay Tea:
I think his new name is Al “CIA” Hastings.
Not a good pick, Nanc. Nancy doesn’t yet realize that it was a big, quick shift from the center that’s paying for her new decor. And that if she continues to go too left, the drapes will become our tablecloth and we’ll eat her up just as we did the right last Tuesday.
This has all the makings for a third party. Call it the Center Party. Or, call it the Republican Party with center Dems joining in and the Born-Again Party splintering off.
I still haven’t heard any good reasons why Hastings should become chairman.
“an someone — anyone — explain the planned rise of impeached former federal judge Alcee Hastings to head up the House Intelligence Committee over more-senior member Jane Harman in a way that does not sound like the crassest form of race-pandering?”
Glad to Jay, although it saddens me that it has come to this on this site. But I am going to try and be civil and explain this for my republican friends and some libs on Wizbang.
First and foremost; -as a previous poster tried to explain- Hastings, a life tenured Federal Judge, was prviously acquitted of conspiracy and perjury charges by a jury. For him to have been impreached-I don’t care if it was repub or democrat-was a travesty. There was not even the required two thirds majority coming out of the impeachment trial committee, and a man who I think has more legal knowledge than you Jay-Arlen Specter-voted for acquitting Hastings before the matter even came out of committee.
So now that we have those little facts out of the way, let me say this: I think it’s rather amusing that the bigoted partisans on this site, fail to see that their own President was charged with driving under the influence-a crime that could have killed someone-yet find it necessary to attack Hastings. Your guy became President for crying out loud! And yet, you would deny Hastings a House Committee because of something that happened almost twenty years ago. Forgetting of course, that he was elected to congress by your fellow citizens. Oh, that’s right, they are mostly black, so I guess that doesn’t count.
I am glad to see Lee et. al. being gracious and actually agreeing with repubs you on this issue of Hastings. Good for them, I guess this is a part of the new spirit in Washington; or, maybe race really does trump ideology. Personally, I think you are all a bunch of hypocrites, and the wine from your grapes aren’t fit for the wino on the street cause they are so sour.
So you can b*&%h and moan all day long about the dems pandering to race, blah blah blah.-As if the bad perm lady isn’t the personification of affirmative action – Bottom line,we hold both houses and you don’t.-Finally some checks on the frat boy- And I will be dancing on your graves until my feet get tired.
BTW, since this might be my last post on Wizbang-I knnow the hosts have been itching to ban me-I just want to say from the bottom of my heart: Reading your posts have been a real education in what can happen to a country when it’s citizens are blinded by ideology, and ignorance. My only wish is that none of you are teachers or have any influence over young impressionable minds. Because honestly, I don’t think we can take another generation quite like you.
Enjoy the pastures for the next two years.
There are certain caveats in Hastings’ case, the most significant being that he was acquitted in court. No, this doesn’t prove his innocence, but it is at least as noteworthy as being convicted in the Senate, which is not generally in the business of holding trials. One could also consider that Hastings has paid his debt by being removed from office, and that the Senate had the right to forbid him from ever holding elective office, but declined. As far as his ability to get a security clearance, I think you’re all forgetting that he’s been on the Intelligence Committee for some time, so I’m assuming he’s already got clearance.
That all being said, there’s no question that he’s an unattractive choice to head the committee. But I think the people who have supported Tom DeLay for so long are in no position to criticize a leader for playing politics. And politics is what this is, not corruption. Hastings is under no investigation, there are no corruption allegations against him, and he’s been duly elected by his constituents. No one ever said the Democrats would totally transform Washington., and no decision would ever be made for political reasons. I’d like to see it kept to a minumim, but it’s just a reality that a congressional leader keeps the caucus together by appeasing various factions. The culture of corruption had to do with congressmen actually taking bribes, which is a whole different kettle of fish.
As for Jefferson, there’s nothing the Dems can do about him right now. I’m sure they’d like him to go away, but they can’t just kick him out. They’d have to vote to expel him, and that’s hard to do when he hasn’t even been tried yet. You may have noticed that Bob Ney didn’t leave until he was good and ready, depited the fact that the Republican leadership wanted him gone. And Pelosi removed Jefferson from Ways and Means while he was under investigation, before he was even charged, which I believe is unprecedented in the House. It’s a little inconsistent to criticize her for caving in to the Black Caucus on Hastings without even acknowledging that she went against the Black Caucus on Jefferson.
And Ozzie, that “42 Klinton kronies” thing is absolutely not true. How do I know? Because I researched it, rather than just repeating the lies I read on blogs.
Susan, Murtha and Hoyer are lining up to oppose each other for the majority leader job, not the speakership. They are not opposing Pelosi.
And finally, bobdog, I apologize that you had to be exposed to ideas that don’t support your own beliefs. Perhaps if you stuff cotton in your ears and put on blinders, you’ll be safe from the others. You may have noticed that this thread has been relatively civil in tone.
Wow FN, the truth comes out. Such vilious bile. I won’t miss your sanctimonious, race-baiting crap.
So Pelosi and Harman are in a cat fight, and that trumps national security, I suppose.
Good, at first I thought the Dems. might be serious about national security!
As a physcal conservative but by no means a republican all I can say is let her appoint this crimminal. As for the reason from what I understand it is not race pandering. It is payback because Harman did not tow the libtardian line as much as the queen of botox would have liked.
Hastings appointment only helps get rid of the libtardians in two years.
Now it will realy be the CONgress
This was the source that I saw. I don’t have access to the archives but was able to find the quote elsewhere.
Also, Hastings’ was conviction was overturned on a technicality.
From the Wikipedia issue…
The jurisdictional issue prevailed on appeal
Is there anything funnier than someone like field negro accusing people of race based politics?
The entire existance of the black caucus is the furtherment of blacks regardless of qualifications and past history. Christ, they’d nominate Jengis Kahn for a committee assignment if he was black.
So long knucklehead and don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way to dancing on our graves.
An impeached judge should not head an Intelligence committee. He has proven he can be bribed. Just imagine the media’s indignation if this guy was a Republican.
And as someone who works in the intelligence/security field, it is truly frightening. The Democrats should think about the message it sends.
Field negro, don’t let the door bump you on your sanctimonious ass on the way out.