Pelosi pressed for trip records

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050421-115645-8030r.htm

House Republicans yesterday called on Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to provide documentation to prove that a Washington lobbyist firm did not pay for a trip she and other Democrats took to Puerto Rico in 2001.
"We feel that such lingering questions undermine the integrity of the institution and we hope will be cleared up as soon as possible," wrote Republican Reps. Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia.
The Washington Times reported earlier this week that Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Ohio Democrat and member of the House ethics committee, listed a registered lobbyist as the trip's sponsor. House rules prohibit registered lobbyists from paying for travel by members.
>>>>>snip

Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Feeney, Florida Republican, yesterday became the latest to be ensnared in the escalating bipartisan hunt for ethical lapses in congressional travel.

And so it begins....The Dem's better grow a spine and attack back or we will be the ones on the news...not them.

the best defense (for Delay and other Repubs) is a good offense...

unfortunately, I suspect we have some ethical "lapses" on our side of the aisle too....nothing like Delay (if we look deep enough into Delay we're going to find money-laundering which is a crime) but there might be some stuff there to embarrass the party and give the repubs the slightest bit of "they did it too" cover.

:shrug:




www.stopbolton.org

Delay and distract. Of course they are all dirty to some degree. Pelosi has been generously supported by many interests.

You have no right to say that about her.

"We feel that such lingering questions undermine the integrity of the institution and we hope will be cleared up as soon as possible,"

Whereas lingering questions about republicans are part of a vast left-wing media conspiracy.

:eyes:

That's rich.

If I were Pelosi I'd tell the Repubs not to make accusations that they can't back up. If they have evidence that this or any other trip was payed for improperly they should submit that evidence to the committee.

Seems to me if they did have anything they'd have used it a long time ago. Maybe not. But it sure smells like desperation to me.

guy was saying 50 Democrats are doing the same "stuff" Delay is doing. I was wondering why they weren't counter-attacking earlier. But now they have started... did anyone expect Delay to roll over and play dead?

For checking out donors seems to be quite low. I'd think that a congressperson could afford 10 percent of one aide's time to research where these goodies come from.

However, I think the best defense in this case (presuming we need one) is a good release of all data quickly and without prevarication.

Show the difference between bugman and our guys.

Wadda ya think?

nothing's secret. its all public record, and she has invited them to elaborate on what they are referring to. they are simply feeding unsubstantiated allegations to the media

The Republicans had to go all the way back to 2001 to try to dig up dirt? Yeah, that sure is "lingering".

....... smoke screen


Motherfucking rat bastards ....... DeLay's the bad guy ..... so where do they look? Under women's skirts.

all of his corrupt records first.

You knew this was coming, this is how they fight back. Change the discussion and point in other direction.

I'm curious to know more about this specific rule.

toss her overboard and get on with kicking Delay in the teeth. If she's not, then answer the charges and kick Delay in the teeth. Either way, there's no room for hypocrites.

If it stinks, get rid of it.

:thumbsup:

DeLay need to go before any Democrat.

If they want to talk about any Democrat, they need to get rid of DeLay first.

We do not throw our own overboard while we are on the attack - that will just protect the right wing and make Democrats look corrupt.

There will be no investigation of Democrats until DeLay is thrown out of office. That's it, no room for deals, no attacking our own. Once the Republicans clean up their act, then we can talk about our side.

Don't let them win by trying to be the "good guy". In politics, the good guy is the loser - ask Gore or Kerry.

on his hate radio show. I wonder if those congressmen want Delay's "lingering questions" cleared up as soon as possible.

How could a good Christian Republican like DeLay be considered guilty?


Are you mad?

The distract and divide machine is starting up, its only a matter of time before it picks up full steam.

The Democrats only hope to keep the flames of change burning is to attack this hard. Pelosi needs to come out, level with the public if its true, and label this for what it truly is: a distraction tactic.

The Republicans are banking on Democrats saying "We better back off then, we dont want them coming after us." I think if the Republicans want to open this can of worms, then so be it. Expose all of the fraud related to lobbyists, especially those in the energy sector.

We can let our attack down. Delay needs to be pounded and pounded again. He is the very definition of a crook and liar.

Here's hoping we continue growing our spine and stand up to this farce.

If she did wrong, she needs to take her punishment whatever it is and by no means let it distract from the real issues. If she didn't do wrong, then it wouldn't be difficult to prove...just prove it.
We can't sit in judgement of hypocrites while being hypocritical.
If our own are guilty of what Tom Delay is guilty of...advocate the same punishment and get someone in there who is willing to do their job without breaking the law.

As much as I like Pelosi, it would be disingenious of our party to look the other way while laying the hatchet to Delay. Its reminiscent of the late 90's when the Republicans were going after Clinton, yet Newt and other were neck deep in the same stuff. But remember, this is Republicans we are talking about, the "rules dont apply to them".

I'm all for being fair on this, but we need to get out there very soon and frame this for what it is. The Republicans see the Pelosi story has legs, so thats all the talk from the hate-radio hosts as well as all of the Republican talking points that all my republican co-workers love to spout.

If we dont get out there now, we will be the ones burnt by it and Delay will get off scot-free, smelling like a rose and grinning that smug grin. Then we will be the ones to lose in the long run since the issue will have been turned on us and will be the 2006 & 8 GOP talking points.

The second that Pelosi starts admitting things, the game is over and DeLay will never be punished. The Republicans are counting on Democrats being "nice" and turning on their own. If we choose to be "nice" and be the "good guy" then it's check mate and DeLay has won and we lost our leader.

When will Democrats learn to fight instead of give in?

This is not about Pelosi, it's about DeLay - if we make it about Pelosi then we are just giving in and letting Republicans win again.

Democrats need to be on the offensive, not defensive.

When DeLay steps down, then we can talk about Pelosi, until then no way.

if there is an algorithm that politicians use to guage when to release info, when to hold info...and all that sort of thing. Do we have any politician-type folks who know about this?

If she's guilty of improper actions, she should come clean with it immediately, and the Dems can (and SHOULD) use that to pound home the distinction between them and the obfuscating scumbag Repukes. I think that a lot of voters notice things like that.

Then we allow Democrats to become the target of a probe and DeLay is still standing while our leaders fall.

That is the wrong way to go about this.

DeLay goes down before we even talk about Democrats.

Do not allow the corrupt right wingers and their control of the media to turn this away from DeLay.

This is about the crimes of Tom DeLay and we need to keep it that way.

If you think being "good" is going to work, or if you think that voters appreciate being "nice" instead of fighting, go ask Al Gore or John Kerry. You know what happened to them when they tried to be the good guys to Bush's corrupt lying propaganda machine.

This is a smoke screen tactic, aimed at making us look the other way.

They know the public is becoming more aware of the Repugs rule changes, and are looking for ANYTHING to divert attention. Anyone with a sense of fair play knows how wrong they were to have changed the rules midstream.

Get DeLay first, then we reprimand our own if necessary.

25 overseas trips and he's not on any
foreign relation committee...and he
travelled with his lover and Chief of Staff...

check the ties to DeLay at
www.houseofscandal.com

Our side bends over and takes it when attacked. Republicans attack back ten times as hard when they are attacked.

Why are so many elected Democrats such cowards and wimps?

They just won't attack like they need to - even when they are being beaten on by corrupt idiots.

Democrats should respond by finding another ten or twenty Republicans to take down. Go on the attack even more now that Republicans are trying to attack. We have to make them pay for being corrupt!

they won't stop this kind of shit until they pay dearly for it.

to distract from DeLay

Scarborough, Hume wrongly accused Democratic reps of "same" ethics violation as DeLay

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Fox News' Brit Hume both accused Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) of going on a trip to Puerto Rico they claimed was funded by lobbyists, thereby flouting the same ethics rule that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) has been accused of violating. Scarborough also criticized House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) for participating in the same trip. But the April 20 Washington Times article that both Hume and Scarborough cited as the basis for their allegations provides strong evidence that lobbyists did not in fact pay for the 2001 trip to Puerto Rico.

How can you stand to watch his show! I shut it off about a week after he started with MSNBC.

It's like inviting Freeperville into your living room.

"That intern isn't dead, she just restin her head...I swear I never touched her...

they have so much practice.

What a frickin' surprise. Our first big clue was that the Repugs didn't offer any evidence at all. If they had it, they sure as hell would be using it by now. The only thing the 'Pukes have is a well-oiled propaganda machine.

Oh, BTW, have you heard? The UN is a "Scandal-Plagued Institution(tm)." It's "plagued with scandal," "awash in scandal," "mired in scandal..."

Really.

Scorched earth is preferable to what we've got. If they go after Dems, then Dems need to go after more of them. That'll slow down the Republican Attack Machine. If you emptied out Congress and the Senate we'd be ahead of where we are today.

We are better off attacking them back than responding to their attacks on Pelosi.

Until DeLay is punished, they should get no response from Democrats about her.

Once the DeLay case is dealt with and he is in jail or at least out of office, then we can talk about Pelosi.

Democrats need to learn to stay on the offensive, not the defensive, especially in a case like this where we are obviously on the right side of the argument by any standard.

there are no "lingering questions" with regard to that. so, i assume he'll be stepping down now? if pelosi did the same, i'll be happy to say good bye to her too. let's get rid of *every one* who did the same, and see what's left. i'm entirely in favor.

:sarcasm:

Grip the reigns by the bullhorns Senator Boxer!!!!

God, I wish we had a FREE PRESS in this country that would stand up and call BULLSH*T on these *ssholes.