Corruption? In my Congress? It's more likely than you think.

/In before "B-b-but <partisanship>!"

B-b-but RON PAUL!

I don't think he's doing anything that every other member of congress is doing. Of course, that should probably be enough to put him away for 3-5 years.

And tellingly, he was mentioned as a possible (though longshot) successor to Hillary Clinton.

In the past two years, Meeks has been criticized for leasing a $998-a-month Lexus with taxpayer dollars and globetrotting on trips paid for by groups often funded by corporations and their lobbyists. He still drives the taxpayer-funded Lexus.

How the f*ck does a politician get away with using taxpayer money to lease a car? Not even raised campaign funds but taxpayer money? WTF?

Nancy Pelosi's culture of corruption strikes again.

Vote Tammany!

Hang him!

Oh, wait... Black? A Democrat?

Nevermind.

soy_bomb: Nancy Pelosi's culture of corruption strikes again.

Hells yeah! I preferred Newt's culture of corruption much more!

As far as I can tell, the article didn't describe anything illegal or unethical. Maybe someone can explain the crime or ethics violation he's purported to have committed. In this article, I see a lot of innuendo, but no clear allegation of wrongdoing.

Contrast:
Rod Blagojevich, who is charged with attempting to sell a Senate seat.
Larry Craig, who was convicted of soliciting sex from an undercover cop in a public restroom.
Duke Cunningham, who was convicted of bribery.
George W. Bush, who is accused of starting a war on false pretenses, illegally wiretapping millions of innocent Americans, and crimes against humanity, including torture, and rendering people up for torture.
Eliot Spitzer, engaged the services of a prostitute.
Mark Vitter, convicted of engaging the services of multiple prostitutes, while running as a "pro-family" politician.
Mark Foley, accused of soliciting sex from multiple 16 year old Congressional pages.
Scooter Libby, convicted of outing a CIA agent in retaliation for her husband's criticism of the Bush administration.
Tim Mahoney, had an affair.
Ted Stevens, convicted of failing to report services rendered as gifts, as required for United States Senators.
Monica Goodling, resigned from the United States Department of Justice after illegally using partisan Republican political tests as pre-requisites for hiring.
Alberto Gonzales, resigned as US Attorney General after making false statements to Congress about his involvement in the firing of 8 US Attorneys in retaliation for their refusal to use the Justice Department to engage in politically motivated, groundless prosecutions.

Steed Lankershim: In the past two years, Meeks has been criticized for leasing a $998-a-month Lexus with taxpayer dollars and globetrotting on trips paid for by groups often funded by corporations and their lobbyists. He still drives the taxpayer-funded Lexus.

How the f*ck does a politician get away with using taxpayer money to lease a car? Not even raised campaign funds but taxpayer money? WTF?

That's a good question. Is there any way, in this era in which information is so well hidden from the average American, that the ordinary American can hope to find out?

I googled "Congressional car leases." You could tell nearly every page on the subject had been censored by our black liberal Congressional overlords. Fortunately, there were about 250,000 pages that they overlooked. It turns out, the program is perfectly legal, and available to members of the House of Representatives!

Charles Rangel dosen't pay his taxes and still has his committee chairmanship.

Another crook.

BlorfMaster: Hang him!

Oh, wait... Black? A Democrat?

Nevermind.

I'll go with the first choice Bob. F*ck'em. Just better to get rid of the loser.

more

CHANGE you can believe in

from the Chairman Obama camp

leasing a $998-a-month Lexus with taxpayer dollars

At least lease a US car, it might be cheaper. Oh, and what an inspiring speech about how he cares about the US auto industry.

"With the continuing loss of American jobs due to the severe economic crisis it is imperative that Congress do everything in their power to ensure more Americans can keep providing for their families. The U.S. auto industry is a major component of not just our domestic income, but our international income as well. The proposed outcomes of this bill will strengthen both the U.S. auto industry and our entire economy during a very severe financial crisis. I believe that money does need to be allotted to the U.S. auto industry, but not without stringent conditions. It is critical that there needs to be oversight and high competitive fuel standards. The auto industry in Detroit needs to ensure that we have the quality of cars to compete in a rising international auto market. I am confident that this bill will help prevent millions more Americans from becoming unemployed and be a needed boost to our economy," said Congressman Meeks.

The evil Bush made him do it, it's all Bush's fault.

Democrat: It's un-ethical but it's not technically illegal.
Republican: It's un-ethical so hang 'em.

He should have stayed at New York, New York. Granted the casino isn't as posh as Bellagio, but at least it would have been less of a lie about his business.

I wonder if his district contains the penny slots over by the poker bar?

Tr0mBoNe: Democrat: It's un-ethical but it's not technically illegal.
Republican: It's un-ethical so hang 'em.

Unless it's a Republican. Then the Republican says "ZOMG!!111 WE'RE BEING PERSECUTED BY TEH LIBS!!111 WHO KNEW TORTURE WAS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY??? LIBS ARE JUST OBSESSED WITH TECHNICAL VIOLATIONS OF LAWS THAT DON'T EVEN EXIST!!! TORTURE ISN'T EVEN IMMORAL!!!!

More to the point, I'm still not convinced anything either illegal or unethical has taken place here. Let me know if you can find either.

We need term limits on ALL political positions.
That would stop a lot of this unethical if not illegal practice.

Bring-out-your-dead: We need term limits on ALL political positions.
That would stop a lot of this unethical if not illegal practice.

You can term-limit anyone you want. Just make them lose.

I can't find this independently confirmed anywhere else yet. You'd think everyone would have hurriedly fired something off for this.

Gosling: Bring-out-your-dead: We need term limits on ALL political positions.
That would stop a lot of this unethical if not illegal practice.

You can term-limit anyone you want. Just make them lose.

Know what you are saying.
But too many politicians go in with good intentions then get taken in by all the money, travel, favors etc that they start getting. They are content and so many stop doing the job they were elected to do.
Hell, they straight out buy votes to stay in office. We all know that.
Why shouldn't we set term limits on at least members of the House and Senate? I don't know maybe 8-12 years. They don't have to all come and go at the same time of course. That would be disastrous.

captain_heroic44: More to the point, I'm still not convinced anything either illegal or unethical has taken place here. Let me know if you can find either.

WHAA?? FTA:

"In February, the Meeks campaign paid a $63,000 fine for violating campaign finance laws in the 2004 election - including using campaign cash to hire a personal trainer, who has since joined his staff."

Life imitating art.

/Senator Nathan Petrelli

Bring-out-your-dead: Gosling: Bring-out-your-dead: We need term limits on ALL political positions.
That would stop a lot of this unethical if not illegal practice.

You can term-limit anyone you want. Just make them lose.

Know what you are saying.
But too many politicians go in with good intentions then get taken in by all the money, travel, favors etc that they start getting. They are content and so many stop doing the job they were elected to do.
Hell, they straight out buy votes to stay in office. We all know that.
Why shouldn't we set term limits on at least members of the House and Senate? I don't know maybe 8-12 years. They don't have to all come and go at the same time of course. That would be disastrous.

Because it takes time to know what you're doing. The younger members need the older members to help them learn the ropes. If all those older members are term-limited out, those new guys are going to learn less from colleagues... and more from special interests that love to prey on freshmen.

Cataholic: captain_heroic44: More to the point, I'm still not convinced anything either illegal or unethical has taken place here. Let me know if you can find either.

WHAA?? FTA:

"In February, the Meeks campaign paid a $63,000 fine for violating campaign finance laws in the 2004 election - including using campaign cash to hire a personal trainer, who has since joined his staff."

Good ole captain also apparently doesn't understand ethics.

captain_heroic44: As far as I can tell, the article didn't describe anything illegal or unethical. Maybe someone can explain the crime or ethics violation he's purported to have committed. In this article, I see a lot of innuendo, but no clear allegation of wrongdoing.

Contrast:
Rod Blagojevich, who is charged with attempting to sell a Senate seat.
Larry Craig, who was convicted of soliciting sex from an undercover cop in a public restroom.
Duke Cunningham, who was convicted of bribery.
George W. Bush, who is accused of starting a war on false pretenses, illegally wiretapping millions of innocent Americans, and crimes against humanity, including torture, and rendering people up for torture.
Eliot Spitzer, engaged the services of a prostitute.
Mark Vitter, convicted of engaging the services of multiple prostitutes, while running as a "pro-family" politician.
Mark Foley, accused of soliciting sex from multiple 16 year old Congressional pages.
Scooter Libby, convicted of outing a CIA agent in retaliation for her husband's criticism of the Bush administration.
Tim Mahoney, had an affair.
Ted Stevens, convicted of failing to report services rendered as gifts, as required for United States Senators.
Monica Goodling, resigned from the United States Department of Justice after illegally using partisan Republican political tests as pre-requisites for hiring.
Alberto Gonzales, resigned as US Attorney General after making false statements to Congress about his involvement in the firing of 8 US Attorneys in retaliation for their refusal to use the Justice Department to engage in politically motivated, groundless prosecutions.

I am so using that list on in my political emails to Dad. He wonders why I dont like most politicians, including the justice dept. It provides evidence, not innuendo. You got a newsletter or a list I can keep up with? You seem to have a good ear to the ground about politics.

Cataholic: captain_heroic44: More to the point, I'm still not convinced anything either illegal or unethical has taken place here. Let me know if you can find either.

WHAA?? FTA:

"In February, the Meeks campaign paid a $63,000 fine for violating campaign finance laws in the 2004 election - including using campaign cash to hire a personal trainer, who has since joined his staff."

Fair enough. Looks like a civil violation for which his campaign has paid its debt though. On the scandal meter, that one ranks pretty low.

Gosling: Bring-out-your-dead: Gosling: Bring-out-your-dead: We need term limits on ALL political positions.
That would stop a lot of this unethical if not illegal practice.

You can term-limit anyone you want. Just make them lose.

Know what you are saying.
But too many politicians go in with good intentions then get taken in by all the money, travel, favors etc that they start getting. They are content and so many stop doing the job they were elected to do.
Hell, they straight out buy votes to stay in office. We all know that.
Why shouldn't we set term limits on at least members of the House and Senate? I don't know maybe 8-12 years. They don't have to all come and go at the same time of course. That would be disastrous.

Because it takes time to know what you're doing. The younger members need the older members to help them learn the ropes. If all those older members are term-limited out, those new guys are going to learn less from colleagues... and more from special interests that love to prey on freshmen.


exactly why I posted that they would go in and out at different times. There has to be a way of doing this fairly so that everything isn't screwed. Who knows? maybe by region, state. Just have to get some of these "lifers" out.
Why term limits on the presidency then?

/ not being argumentitive. just tired of lifers on the take.

soy_bomb: Nancy Pelosi's culture of corruption strikes again.

Well, what else did you expect from the likes of the Democrat Party? The same one that was home to the Clintons, Jim Wright, Tom Foley, Gerry Studds, Barney Frank, and FOUR out of FIVE of the Keating Five senators (yes libs, not only was John McCain the only Republican tied to that scandal but he also had the least involvement in it).

Not to say that the GOP hasn't been a corrupt cesspool in the last few years but did anyone REALLY expect the Dems to be any better?

/Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

MyRandomName: Good ole captain also apparently doesn't understand ethics.

He does...just from the Corrupt Entrenched Machine Democrat point of view. The goal isn't to decry or demand the elimination of graft, just to control its egregiousness (at least enough that the machine controlled media can keep it under wraps).