We repeat yet again: The PRETENDED IGNORANCE of Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the gross, criminal ABUSES OF POWER and CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT of the Bush-Republican Party is worth at least $200 million (almost a quarter-BILLION dollars) to the Republican smear-and fear attack media, campaign efforts, and PR/spin machine.
#1. - In 2000, Vice President Al Gore REFUSED to use George W. Bush's AWOL-during-the-Vietnam war record and other scandals, including Texas funeral-gate, Harriett Miers' role in lottery-gate, and Texas' busted budget, against then Texas Gov. Bush. The Vice President deemed that it was beneath his dignity to confront the "honor and dignity", "moral values," compassionate conservative" rhetoric of the Republican candidate, even though those were the very themes that convinced millions of Americans to give Gov. Bush their vote, and a chance to become president.
(Absent without Leave: In 1971 Air National Guard Lt. George W. Bush refused to report for duty at an Alabama Air National Guard post as ordered, during the Vietnam war, as he had previously refused a direct order to take a flight physical exam at his Texas ANG base. His Texas ANG commanders came up with the Alabama assignment in order to get Lt. Bush out of Texas, to prevent a court martial that would have been a terriic embarassment to Lt. Bush's powerful, moving-up in the Texas Republican Party father.)
#2. In 2004, Senator John Kerry REFUSED to use President Bush's comments "I'M NOT THAT CONCERNED ABOUT... bin LADEN ANYMORE" against the president in Kerry's 2004 campaign... despite those comments being posted for the entire world to see on the official White House website. (comments about 1/3rd way down from top of page.)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html
MoveOn.org even made 30 second and 60 second videotaped ads JUXTAPOSING President Bush's flagrant "Get bin Laden"/"I'm not that concerned about him anymore" comments... and Kerry and his campaign REFUSED to notice, or develop their own, similar, one-punch-knockout, campaign winning ads.
(MUCH LESS the president trying to make election-eve VIDEOS of bin Laden from Afghanistan... as PROOF or BRAGGING POINT OF HIS, Bush's MASTERFUL LEADEDERSHIP of the War on Terror?!)
#3. In 2002, Senate Majority Leader TOM DASCHLE threw the ENRON investigation into Senator JOE LIEBERMAN's Government Affairs Committee.... where the most pro-war senator in the entire senate (and thus the Cheney-Bush administration's biggest fan) QUASHED an aggressive, competent investigation into Enron's manifest financial fraud.
Senator Daschle ALLOWING the treacherous Senator Joe Lieberman to wet-blanket a meaningful, active Enron investigation ROBBED Democratic candidates, voters, and activists of their best campaign issue in 2002 - the OPPORTUNITY to TIE President George W. Bush to the CORRUPTION and FRAUD of his number one campaign donor. Enron and its Chairman, Ken Lay, were THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTORS to George W. Bush's two Texas gubernatorial campaigns, his 2000 Republican primary campaign, his 2000 Republican presidential campaign, his 2000 Florida recount battle, and the 2001 Bush-Cheney inaugural committees.
For ROBBING Democratic voters, candidates, and activists of their best issue in the 2002 election, not only did Senator Daschle preside over the Democrat's LOSS OF THE SENATE MAJORITY.... but he also lost his own re-election campaign, despite the stunning incumbent advantage AND the concentration of power he brought as a SENATE MAJORITY LEADER to a small, rural state!
#4. THIS YEAR, SPEAKER of the House NANCY PELOSI is FOLLOWING SQUARELY in the LOSER, non-confrontational, "PRETEND NOT TO NOTICE CRIMINAL ACTIONS from the abusive Republican administration" path of her Democratic "leadership" predecessors.
But in the case of Speaker Pelosi IGNORING the POLITICAL LYNCH-MOB ATMOSPHERE enveloping DEMOCRATIC legislators (and former Governor Don Seigelman) in Alabama, Speaker Pelosi's Dereliction of Duty is not only an example of GROSS INCOMPETENCE... it is an example of CRIMINAL dereliction of duty.
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Alabama Democrats are Under Attack in Alabama
by Larisa Alexandrona
Posted March 11, 2008
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larisa-alexandrovna/alabama-democrats-are-und_b_90913.html
If you are not familiar with the Don Siegelman case, then you have some catching up to do. See HERE and read through the links.
Now for the latest nightmare -- the brown-shirts arrive. Honestly, this is so unreal, I have no words (emphasis mine):
AL -- Alabama Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Spearman today called in to question the method by which U.S. Marshals attempted to serve legislators subpoenas to appear to testify in a grand jury proceeding. Reporters were apparently tipped off by calls stating U.S. Marshals were coming to the Alabama Statehouse to serve some legislators. "The drama surrounding these actions and the U.S. Department of Justice's disruption of a legislative session for the routine serving of a summons to appear in court sends a poor signal to Alabama citizens who are already complaining about partisan political interference into the federal prosecution of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman," says Spearman.
These ladies and gentlemen have not been charged with a crime and could have been served by other means in their local communities, not in Montgomery during a legislative session in front of TV cameras and reporters." Spearman stated. State law actually prohibits serving members of the legislature while they are in session. Section 29-1-7 of the Alabama Code protects members from this kind of action by U.S. Marshals yesterday. In fact, the Marshals could have violated this law by their disruption of the session and have been charged with a misdemeanor.
Thursday's action only strengthens our resolve to insist that the U.S House and Senate as well as the U.S. Attorney General immediately launch an inquiry into Alabama's federal justice system to assure Alabama citizens that politics and partisanship have not been used in prosecutions or in the serving of subpoenas. If Republican operatives had any advance knowledge of yesterday's serving of subpoenas at the Statehouse, they should have to testify before Congress under oath." Spearman concluded."
Exactly. This a subpoena to appear before a grand jury (and strangely, for quite a few Democratic state legislators). This is NOT a failure to comply with a subpoena (like Miers, Rove, and Bolton have done). So why were US Marshals used as part of this spectacle and on whose authority?
Once again I ask, why are Democrats the target of these investigations? Where the hell is Congress? When will these police-state tactics be enough finally? Or do we just wait for the rest of the brown shirts to arrive?
Time to head to Alabama folks, a state in our union that appears to be under siege.
I am not very good at organizing anything, but perhaps this request might just be enough. Let's go to Montgomery and occupy every corner of it with our peaceful bodies and shut the city down. No business. No government. No school. Nothing, but orange scarves and ourselves, just simply sitting it out until Congress finally acts. If you care even just a little about defending the Constitution -- as is your duty as a citizen of this country -- I ask that you now show your patriotism in a peaceful way and get up, get in your cars, get on a plane, get on a train, but just get going. If you do not, then your words of outrage are nothing but hollow complacency and you deserve to lose the most precious of freedoms. I am not a Democrat. But I am an American. Are you?
