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Business As Usual For Washington...
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Snipped from a commie pinko left wing media outlet headline

House Republicans Vote to Hobble Independent Ethics Office

I have a personality disorder, I don't drink coffee...
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [wasusnowme] [ In reply to ]
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LOL! So, in other words, the GOP was able to achieve what Team Donkey failed to do in 2011!

In 2011, Rep. Mel Watt (D-N.C.) — who had been subject to an OCE investigation — drafted an amendment to slash funding from the OCE by 40 percent, calling the office “redundant and duplicative” of the House Ethics Committee. That amendment was rejected.

Do you even know what the OCE is??? I don't agree with the way this was done, but the OCE was a joke. The fact that there is no counter-part in the Senate should raise eyebrows and make one question why Team Donkey created the OCE in 2008.

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [wasusnowme] [ In reply to ]
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next they will hire the law firm Duey, Cheatem and Howe to advise them on the Art of the Deal
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [tyrod1] [ In reply to ]
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tyrod1 wrote:
next they will hire the law firm Duey, Cheatem and Howe to advise them on the Art of the Deal

I thought they were acquired by Dilly, Dally, Dolittle and Stahl?

************************
#WeAreTheForge #BlackGunsMatter

"Look, will you guys at leats accept that you are a bunch of dumb asses and just trust me on this one? Please?" BarryP 7/30/2012
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [CruseVegas] [ In reply to ]
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No D,D,D & S being replaced by the D, C & H a subsidiary of Putin, inc.
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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     What I've picked up so far, t suggests the weakness in the bipartisan committee was a reticence for either side to be very aggressive in their function, fearing retaliation. The outside group could look into something and then recommend to the committee. The rub was that anyone could accuse a congress critter of anything, anonymously, and suddenly they were under investigation with no idea form whence the charges came. I can certainly see where politicians would play dirty and have a third party initiate that kind of action against foes or even enemies in the same party. You have to read past the headline to get to the info, and does anything other then the headline(s) matter these days?
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [wasusnowme] [ In reply to ]
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I'm tickled to see you lefties are now paying attention to Congress as a valid body of our government.
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [Old Hickory] [ In reply to ]
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Don't know what perfect solution is....but less ethics oversight is not answer. Don't like anonymous but given the power and vindictiveness we see in some pols, whistleblowers will be more scarce i'm guessing. I Suspect some congressman are corrupt. Add that to many of cabinet picks and the entangled trump situation.....yea what we need is less ethics which is my perception based upon cursory review.
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [tyrod1] [ In reply to ]
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tyrod1 wrote:
Don't know what perfect solution is....but less ethics oversight is not answer. Don't like anonymous but given the power and vindictiveness we see in some pols, whistleblowers will be more scarce i'm guessing. I Suspect some congressman are corrupt. Add that to many of cabinet picks and the entangled trump situation.....yea what we need is less ethics which is my perception based upon cursory review.

So, for you, ethics is once again important?
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [Old Hickory] [ In reply to ]
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And likely for you never?
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [tyrod1] [ In reply to ]
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tyrod1 wrote:
And likely for you never?

Go to post #2 for my answer.
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [tyrod1] [ In reply to ]
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tyrod1 wrote:
Don't know what perfect solution is....but less ethics oversight is not answer. Don't like anonymous but given the power and vindictiveness we see in some pols, whistleblowers will be more scarce i'm guessing. I Suspect some congressman are corrupt. Add that to many of cabinet picks and the entangled trump situation.....yea what we need is less ethics which is my perception based upon cursory review.

Trump agrees with you, and so do I. I think more scrutiny, however redundant, is a good thing. I do want our politicians scared to act on their own interest, even if it means they sometimes fear doing what they feel is right.


"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [dave_w] [ In reply to ]
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dave_w wrote:
What I've picked up so far, t suggests the weakness in the bipartisan committee was a reticence for either side to be very aggressive in their function, fearing retaliation. The outside group could look into something and then recommend to the committee. The rub was that anyone could accuse a congress critter of anything, anonymously, and suddenly they were under investigation with no idea form whence the charges came. I can certainly see where politicians would play dirty and have a third party initiate that kind of action against foes or even enemies in the same party. You have to read past the headline to get to the info, and does anything other then the headline(s) matter these days?

It's a little bit more than that. The OCE would launch an investigation regardless of the source and make the investigation public. Thus, a patently false anonymous tip could, and did, result in an investigation and a very public announcement that Congressman X was "under investigation." While the fact that an investigation was launched was made public, it was never made public when the allegation was summarily dismissed for lack of evidence. So, the person was condemned regardless of the merits of the complaint and there never was a public vindication. In addition, while the person certainly had the right to retain counsel, there was no "right" to counsel and counsel could not "obstruct" the process, which included speaking in the place of the Congressman. It also applied to Congressional aides and other assistants and was used to target certain individuals. The fact that all of this was made public was against privacy rights already in place for government employees who are not elected officials.

No one liked or agreed with the OCE. Team Donkey created it in 2008, then promptly attempted to defund it, but failed. It is a joke.

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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Fair point, but it should have been reformed.

But here is the thing, anything that congress does in the name of congressional reform or ethics oversight is a farce and for show. They have no interest in reform. If they did, they would implement term limits. Democrats certainly have no interest in reform. Part of the internal struggle they are facing is that committee chairs are permanent in so far as the person chooses to remain in the position and continues to win elections. This leaves fresh blood to believe there is no room for advancement. And guess who actively is lobbying to keep this in place? The CBC. Why? Because Conyers, and that corrupt menace Elijah Cummings hold permanent positions in key committees. So yes, if you elect democrats in the house, it goes without saying that you are electing a status quo. As the same busted members who led committees under their watch last time would now. Granted, Elijah Cummings wasn't the ranking member when dems held power last time, he only got it because the guy withdrew under a cloud of disagreement with Pelosi.

The very fact that politicians from Detroit and Baltimore hold such prominent permanent positions should alone make people hesitant to vote for Democrats.


"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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no one liked, maybe a bit strong. surely some dems like waters and rangel didn't. but it survived as best i can tell so gutting in secret seems like typical spineless move. in my state, repubs had a similar organization but cut it to the bone plus gov stacked with his people to run....big scandal when he came in office. he left congress with cloud over his head but goat ropers, sorry good people, in this state voted for him anyway. wish there was good solution we could agree on. that swamp draining seems to be taking a back seat.
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [tyrod1] [ In reply to ]
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tyrod1 wrote:
no one liked, maybe a bit strong.

That isn't the issue. My last post identifies the biggest issue. Imagine if this group had jurisdiction over all citizens and, every time an anonymous complaint was filed, it was publically published that the person was under investigation. People would be crying about the "Gestapo." If it only applied to elected officials, I would have less sympathy. But, it doesn't. It applies to staffers and support staff.

tyrod1 wrote:
surely some dems like waters and rangel didn't. but it survived as best i can tell so gutting in secret seems like typical spineless move.

I completely agree. I said in my first post that this was not done properly.

tyrod1 wrote:
in my state, repubs had a similar organization but cut it to the bone plus gov stacked with his people to run....big scandal when he came in office. he left congress with cloud over his head but goat ropers, sorry good people, in this state voted for him anyway. wish there was good solution we could agree on. that swamp draining seems to be taking a back seat.

Getting rid of a dysfunctional entity, regardless of what it is named, does not mean the swamp draining has stopped.

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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Getting rid of a dysfunctional entity, regardless of what it is named, does not mean the swamp restocking has stopped.

Fixed it.
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [JSA] [ In reply to ]
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Republican lawmakers look stupid on this. Speaker abd majority leader were against it. They pointed out how it would look. The people who brought it up have been under investigation. It is a total grudge issue.


"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [TheForge] [ In reply to ]
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Good point. The majority party showed their true colors before tide was turned. Their other true colors are to favor the rich with tax cuts....hope this goes down the tubes too. Congress, how about starting with average joes and kitchen table issues.
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [tyrod1] [ In reply to ]
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The cynic in me thinks this was staged. How do you have two back benchers force a vote on something regardless of reality looks good to the public as one of the first items of business. How does such a thing not get run by the pres elect of your party.

See, you push such an outrageous idea against party leadership wishes. Then the president elect steps in and saves the day. To weird. Or maybe I'm too cynical.


"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Towers. And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying stripes of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway." T Durden
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Re: Business As Usual For Washington... [TheForge] [ In reply to ]
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Count me cynical too.
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