The Blue State

House Speaker knew about Foley's pedophilia and did nothing

I am getting the feeling that this story will not go away anytime soon.  Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), head of the Congressional Page Board, knew about Mark Foley's inappropriate e-mails to a 16-year-old page in the summer of 2005.  But he wasn't the only one who knew.  National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds (R-CA) was told by Shimkus about it.  This is the information we learned yesterday.

But today, thanks to a statement by Tom Reynolds, we now know that Dennis Hastert was informed about the e-mails, as was Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA), who represented the district of the boy that was sexually harassed online.  As expected, the Republican leadership did nothing to penalize Mark Foley:

Rep.Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republican election effort, said hetold Speaker Dennis Hastert after learning a fellow GOP lawmaker sentinappropriate messages to a teenage boy.

...The teen'sfamily contacted their congressman, Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., whothen discussed it with Reynolds sometime this spring.

"RodneyAlexander brought to my attention the existence of e-mails between MarkFoley and a former page of Mr. Alexander's," Reynolds, chairman of theNational Republican Congressional Committee, said in a writtenstatement Saturday.

"Despitethe fact that I had not seen the e-mails in question, and Mr. Alexandertold me that the parents didn't want the matter pursued, I told thespeaker of the conversation Mr. Alexander had with me," Reynolds said.

Reynoldsadded that Alexander also discussed it with the clerk of the House, andthe congressman who oversees the page program, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill.

Shimkus has said he learned about the e-mail exchange in late 2005 and took immediate action to investigate.

To me, I couldn't care less whether the family did not want this pursued.  Why was Mark Foley still co-chairing a Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children?  Why was Hastert, the Republican House Leader, all mum about it?  Foley should have been kicked off the committee -- end of story.

Meanwhile, even more e-mails have surfaced within the last few hours.  Even though I don't like to censor myself on this web site, some of the e-mails are just too disgusting to put on here (many other news organizations have said the same).  So, view under your own risk.

Break time for Congress

So much for Congress.  Friday was Congress' last day in session before the November 7th vote.  Republican leaders decided to allow lawmakers to take this vacation to give some of their incumbents in battleground races more time to campaign.

As all of us know, the last day of Congress ended on an embarrassing note, as Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), co-chair of the Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, resigned after e-mails surfaced that showed sexual explicit messages that Foley wrote to Congressional pages.

Also this week, Congress quietly passed a detainee legislation giving full rights and protections to high-level terrorists, but allows the feds to detain low-level prisoners indefinitely.

Finally, a wiretap bill was also passed this week that allows the government to conduct warrantless wiretaps of Americans, essentially overturning the 1978 Foreign Surveillance Act.

Both chambers of Congress will reconvene in a lame duck session following the November vote.  It is expected that little will get accomplished during that time because the losing Republican incumbents will have no reason to remain loyal to their party leadership.

Woodward's Book: Many in war cabinet wanted Rumsfeld fired

Laura Bush, Andrew Card and Condoleezza Rice led the effort to convince the President to fire Rumsfeld back in 2005:

The book reports that then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. CardJr. twice suggested that Bush fire Rumsfeld and replace him with formersecretary of state James A. Baker III, first after the November 2004election and again around Thanksgiving 2005. Card had the support ofthen-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and his successor, CondoleezzaRice, as well as national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley and seniorWhite House adviser Michael J. Gerson, according to the book.

Evenfirst lady Laura Bush reportedly told Card that she agreed Rumsfeld hadbecome a liability for her husband, although she noted that thepresident did not agree. "I don't know why he's not upset with this,"she told Card, according to the book. But Vice President Cheney andsenior Bush adviser Karl Rove argued against dumping Rumsfeld, and Bushagreed.

The book details how Rumsfeld alienated key figuresthroughout the government and military: Rice complained that Rumsfeldwould not return her telephone calls, forcing Bush to personallyintervene. Rumsfeld rebuffed Card when he conveyed Bush's order to sendNational Guard troops to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina untilhearing from the president himself. Gen. John P. Abizaid, the seniorU.S. commander in the Middle East, concluded that "Rumsfeld doesn'thave any credibility anymore."

My guess is that Dick Cheney wouldn't let it happen.  He and Rumsfeld are too close, and represent the most influential wing of the Bush war cabinet.  With Rumsfeld gone, Cheney knows Rice and Hadley would assume more control -- and as a result the Vice President would see his power diminish.

Some tax cuts, huh?

President Bush recently credited his tax cuts as the reason why the U.S. economy is growing.  But as the following two charts from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities show, the economic expansion is slower than average, and since 2001 a large portion of the tax cuts have gone to the most wealthy.

Chart one: the kind of economy the tax cuts have caused.

Chart two: which income bracket has benefited the most.

I am not trying to engage in class warfare.  Someday I hope to be up there in income.  But if you believe there is a difference between needs and wants, and that hard work ought to be rewarded, then you can't say that it is alright for wages and salaries to be this low.

Another thing: tax cuts are special -- there is no other way of putting it.  If you want to argue for a regressive or flat tax, then fine be my guest.  But tax cuts are supposed to go to the income group that is most likely to spend it so the circular economic flow can continue.  This is basic macroeconomics.  Any money that gets removed from the circular flow of economic activity prevents the overall economy from growing to its potential.  An example of this is when money is saved instead of spent.  But the more money that is spent, the more money that is out there to help businesses, especially those smaller ones. 

When I say circular flow, this is what I mean:

The last time I wrote about this sort of thing, which was last spring, I was called a socialist.  But quite the contrary.  We are a consumption based economy.  There are positives and negatives to that economic system, but that is what we are.  The best way to help the economy through tax cuts is by giving tax cuts to individuals most likely to spend that money, not save it.  And the tax cuts for the rich?  Well, how about paying down part of the National Debt?  A locked box doesn't sound like such a bad idea now, does it?

Texting to victory

The power that text messaging could play on election day.

A valuable resource is right in front of us, and only if we are smart that very resource could maximize voter turnout on election day.  All across America, tens of millions of text messages are sent out each day.  These messages, sometimes no more than three or four words, allow family and friends to remain connected with one another in a culture that now more than ever is on the go.

All of us should take full advantage of text messaging.  All it would take is just a few minutes on the morning of election day.  Text your family, friends, workers, co-workers, neighbors and local businesses -- remind them to get out there and vote on election day.  If they have absentee ballots and they still didn't fill them out, tell them to do so and turn them in at their local precinct.  By law, they can also be mailed on election day.

The best part about this resource is that if used by the Democrats it will maximize turnout among youth voters, who more than ever are trending Democratic.

It might not seem like a big deal.  But if on election day all of us texted every single person we knew that had cell phone service, then we would be doing a whole lot in a national contest that is expected to be decided by the slimmest of margins.  Every vote makes a difference.

Democrats are the new ideas party

So Democrats never come up with new ideas, eh?  Sounds like a bunch of revisionist history to me.  In all reality, there is a reason why progressives call themselves "Democrats".  The party has a proven track record of thinking outside the box and boldly concluding that in America any hope is within our reach and every challenge can be met by the resilient.

Remember, we were the party of Social Security, minimum wage, the 8-hour work day, the Unemployment Compensation Act, the Marhsall Plan, the Peace Corps, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Water Quality Act, the Clean Air Act, Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Home Loan Program, the School Lunch Program, NATO, and many others.

Some Democrats were less bold, while others touched the sky.  John F. Kennedy pledged during his shortened term in office to fund the effort to put a man on the moon by 1970, and we did it. 

In 1993, Bill Clinton passed the Deficit Reduction Act.  Many Republican lawmakers cried foul because it was a tax increase mostly on the wealthy.  But that added revenue, coupled obviously with the stock market boom, helped Bill Clinton balance the budget later on in his term.  Not one Republican voted for the Deficit Reduction Act.

I am a 23-year-old that has a lot to learn about life and history.  Ever since I started following politics back in 2001, the Republicans have been in power.  When looking at the most recognized new ideas over the last seventy-five years, most of them have came from Democrats.  Ever since the GOP has been in the majority, we have been missing that leadership.  That is why I am a Democrat.  If our side gets back in power, things will get done.  My generation is waiting for something to happen.

Although my parents and most of my extended family are Democrats, I'll admit that I even contemplated becoming a Republican after 9/11.  But after studying the issues and studying the history of what the two parties have offered, I am a proud Democrat.

You can be a liberal, conservative or a little bit of both, and that is your right.  But don't tell me that the Democrats lack new ideas because that simply is false.

9/30/06: Saturday Morning Clips with Breakfast

Happy Saturday morning.  Here are your video clips.

First Up: There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right with America.  Time for the DCCC's television spot, outlining why we need a change in November.  You all ready?

Second in Line: Preview of Woodward's Book.  Keith Olbermann previews the book "State of Denial".

Third: Dean responds to Bush.  DNC Chairman Howard Dean spoke to CNN about Bush's speech yesterday.

Fourth: More on Foley.  ABC News, the network that originally broke the story on Congressman Mark Foley, investigates.

More clips on Sunday.  Remember, Bob Woodward will appear on CBS' 60 Minutes tomorrow.

(Video) The details of Rep. Mark Foley's perverted habits

Click to watch video clip about Mark Foley's explicit e-mail with a teenager

Republican Mark Foley, co-chair of the House Committee on Missing and exploited Children, has resigned for writing sexual online messages to under-aged Congressional pages.  Meanwhile, the GOP continues to use morality as a campaign issue.

Rep. Mark Foley's (R-FL) resignation follows a two-day roller coaster ride of rumors and finger-pointing.  Yesterday, when it was alleged that Mark Foley flirted online with a 16-year-old male page, the Foley Campaign immediately blamed Tim Mahoney, his Democratic opponent for waging "a smear campaign."

But today when even more graphic e-mails were released, there was nothing Foley could do to hide behind them.  Hours ago, Foley resigned from Congress.  CNN's Dana Bash put together a great run-down of what those e-mails contained:

Click to watch clip about Mark Foley's explicit e-mail with a teenager

--- Partial Transcript of e-mail conversations ---

FOLEY: "What ya wearing?"

TEEN: "tshirt and shorts"

FOLEY: "Love to slip them off you"

another e-mail conversation

FOLEY: "Do I make you a little horny?"

TEEN: "A little."

FOLEY: "Cool."

Another person that needs to be blamed for all this is U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), who confronted Foley about this one year ago, but failed to take any action.  Shimkus is the Chairman of the House Page Board.  This looks like a case of Shimkus wanting to protect his own political party more than his pages.  He should definitely step down immediately from his chair position.

From what I am reading, it looks like more than one page was victimized by Foley's e-mails.  So a lot more to this story might be revealed within the next few weeks.

As for Foley's reelection battle, the Washington Post has more:

Foley's name will remain on the ballot, which has alreadybeen certified, said Susan Smith, a spokeswoman for the FloridaDepartment of State. But Republicans have seven days to notifyelection officials of a replacement nominee who would takeFoley's spot if he wins, she said.

President George W. Bush carried the district with 54percent of the vote in 2004. Democrats said Foley had beenpolling at under 50 percent and they would contest the seat,but Republicans said they remained confident.

This seat is now in play!  Please give all that you can to the Tim Mahoney Campaign.  We're not just looking to take back Congress, we're looking for a landslide!

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Other sites blogging about this issue: AMERICAblog, Taylor Marsh, Blog for America, Down with Tyranny, Wonkette, Swing State Project, Center for Media and Democracy, Huffington Post, Expressions of Liberty, Bloggasm, Media Girl, The Lippard Blog, News Hounds.

Inappropriate e-mails with 16-year-old boy force Congressman to resign

I know that I said no more posts until Saturday, but this one can't wait.  Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) has resigned from Congress after ABC released inappropriate e-mails that the Congressman wrote to a 16-year-old male:

Saying he was "deeply sorry," Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) resignedfrom Congress today, hours after ABC News questioned him about sexuallyexplicit internet messages with current and former congressional pagesunder the age of 18.

A spokesman for Foley, the chairman of the House Caucus on Missingand Exploited Children, said the congressman submitted his resignationin a letter late this afternoon to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Yes, you read that right.  Foley was the Chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.  What a hypocrite.

Oh, and I'd like to give a big shout-out to Seth, who yesterday called me "disingenuous and deliberately distorting" for even writing about this story.  It looks like there was a lot more to this story, huh?  I don't just cut and paste.  I do my research, and look for credibility in each story.  An apology would be nice.

More posts on Saturday

I will be back with more posts tomorrow.  Enjoy your Friday night everyone.