DeLay Defender Blunt Hits Conservatives For Defending Corrupt Politicians
DeLay Defender Blunt Hits Conservatives For Defending Corrupt Politicians
Outgoing House Majority Whip and “DeLay protege” Roy Blunt (R-MO) delivered a post-election mea culpa at the Heritage Foundation, entitled “The New Way Forward: Refocusing the Conservative Agenda.”
Blunt said voters’ rebuke of conservatism was due in part to “a seemingly constant stream of ethics issues afflicting a few Members of Congress.” Blunt’s suggestion to fix the problem is to stop covering up for corrupt members:
Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats, neither liberals nor conservatives, is immune from having bad actors in their midst. … The test of any organization or political movement is how it responds when confronted with these individuals. [...]
Before 1994, when conservatives were out of power and were unable to make new laws or rules, we recognized this truth and confronted serious legal and ethical violations by declaring that those who were part of that had no place in our movement. I suggest that we need to recommit ourselves to that standard. For conservatives, holding onto or gaining political power should never come before our obligation to be worthy of people’s trust.
Blunt should take his own advice. Here’s Blunt last year:
Blunt has been among DeLay’s the most visible defenders since the probe into DeLay’s use of corporate donations began. Blunt has contributed $5,000 to DeLay’s legal defense fund and $10,000 to the DeLay Foundation.
He continued that support Wednesday, vowing that DeLay would not stop exerting influence in the House leadership.
“He’s going to be an effective and influential part of what we are doing as he works now to get beyond this terribly unfair thing that’s happened to him,” Blunt said of Delay.
Blunt is currently locked in a tight race with John Shadegg (R-AZ) for Minority Whip, the #2 minority position in the House. The election is on Friday.
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November 15th, 2006 at 12:21 pmTom Delay buddy Blunt was for overlooking corruption before he was against it.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:26 pmA week late and a few hundreds of millions od dollars short
November 15th, 2006 at 12:26 pmPot, meet Kettle.
OT: Interesting eyebrow thing he’s got going on…
November 15th, 2006 at 12:37 pmLet me be Blunt…
November 15th, 2006 at 12:40 pmYou’re a big part of the problem, Roy.
Didn’t you learn anything from Talentless?
Do you have to go next?
You belong behind bars, (not nightclubs), with or without DeLay.
You’re still pissed that you didn’t get Hastert’s post, eh?
Get over it!
You’re not a solution, you’re a big part of the problem.
Talk to Ney. Listen to him, because you’re next.
Roy, why would the American people want a crook as House whip?
Roy?
“The test of any organization or political movement is how it responds when confronted with these individuals. […]”
This is absolutely correct. Does anyone want to comment on why Pelosi’s first act is to endorse Murtha for House leadership?
November 15th, 2006 at 12:50 pmThe Culture of Corruption charge (DeLay, Abramoff, etc.) was really having minimum impact outside the individual races involved. That was until the Republican leadership’s handling of the Foley mess was exposed that a real foothold on the corruption issue happened. The issue then was more the lack of leadership (of which Blunt is included) rather than actual corruption that tipped the scale. Blunt may try to deflect the blame but history shows that he is mostly wrong here. Republicans don’t know how to lead so a new team was brought in. It is that simple.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:57 pm“The test of any organization or political movement is how it responds when confronted with these individuals. ”
- Blunt after smoking a blunt.
The Republicans already were “tested” and found to be responding to corruption with coverups and more corruption Congressman “blunt smoking” Blunt.
November 15th, 2006 at 12:58 pmDon’t he look like one of them Klingons from the old, Shatner “Star Trek”?
November 15th, 2006 at 12:59 pmHe’s been smoking too many blunts.
I can spell Goldwater, but I cannot spell Ray-gun.
November 15th, 2006 at 1:10 pm#7….
I have wondered thusly, and since I tend initially to give anyone and everyone the benefit of the doubt ….. here goes…..
Reresentative Murtha is a courageous, experienced, and intelligent legislator who has demonstrated leadership and responsibility to the electorate.
November 15th, 2006 at 1:32 pmJust the kind of straight forward, straight talking and straight walking leader this country so desperately needs.
The question is: How can you distinguish corruption from Republican ideology? The Republican “solution” to corruption has always been to make it legal. They have no problem with Big Money interests calling all the shots. Why should they? They’re the party of Big Money and oligarchy. Why worry about corruption when you can just hand over power to corporations?
November 15th, 2006 at 1:33 pm#12. aguafiero. If he had an (R) next to his name, you would be demanding his resignation from Congress.
November 15th, 2006 at 1:38 pmPaul now joins Exley and Mighty Hag in their minding reading abilities.
November 15th, 2006 at 1:42 pm#4 …the Goldwaters of your party are dead and gone… those that remain are now independents or Democrats (the Libertarian Democrats that Kos speaks about have now taken the big tent of the Dems and made it even bigger). Your party is done. Oh, and as far as Reagan? He is a joke, he came about at a good time, had some good speech writers, and then what? Showed us that trickle down doesn’t work, and opened the doors to the corporate takeover of this country.
Your party is gone. Don’t misconstrue this analysis as an arrogant Rovian assessment of a “permantent majority” (lmao). Republicans will win elections again, but the Republican party is long gone. If this were Europe where they label parties according to what they actually stand for, your party would now be the neo-fascist party.
They are all corporatists, fascists, and most of them are flat out un-American. Yup I said it… when you stand against the Constitution you are a traitor, flat out. Past republican values like financial responsibility are now Democratic values. You no longer have any intellectual foundation to stand on, and that is why you have begun to fall.
…and its a lovely sight to see. Karma’s a bitch.
November 15th, 2006 at 1:45 pmSpeaking of Hypocrites, how come this site never brings up corrupt Democrats? You know Reid is a scumbag, but this site never talks of his exploits. Opps, here he comes again -
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/11/abramoff_report_1.html
November 15th, 2006 at 1:54 pmBecause he is one of the few Democrats with balls.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:00 pmWhy? Got proof of anything? A link, some facts? Anything?
And don’t make it a right wing rag.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:01 pmOh boy, an ABC News blog. Like that isn’t slanted to the right. Try again.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:02 pmaguafiero. If he had an (R) next to his name, you would be demanding his resignation from Congress.
—- paul
For Murtha not taking a bribe on tape?
November 15th, 2006 at 2:03 pmLeave it to a republican to show how messed up republican priorities are.
Just look at the coverups by republicans paul. You are being a hypocrite.
Zooey, Doktor, you beat me to it!
November 15th, 2006 at 2:12 pmI was going to ask Zooey if that was his Spock eyebrow, or maybe the Rock’s whatcha cookin eyebrow??
Why SpudgeBoy, are you in the center? This site not only slanted left, it slid off the left edge. Do you deny it? Do you bring up any Left-Wing Corruption?
Get real. Until you show both sides no one takes you seriously.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:50 pmDon’t take it from me. CNN aired comments from Murtha’s camp questioning Hoyer (D) for the timing of the ethics questions. This is democrats eating there own. With friends like these…
November 15th, 2006 at 2:50 pmdid happy dude just post something?
November 15th, 2006 at 2:53 pmWas DRxJ unable to answer a straight forward question? Some of us are not surprised…
November 15th, 2006 at 3:02 pmI was going to ask Zooey if that was his Spock eyebrow, or maybe the Rock’s whatcha cookin eyebrow??
Comment by RUCerious
I know nothing of imperfect eyebrows…
Heh. I crack myself up.
November 15th, 2006 at 3:15 pm#20. you should probably listen to the tape.
November 15th, 2006 at 3:36 pm“a seemingly constant stream of ethics issues afflicting a few Members of Congress.â€
“seemingly” ??? …. oh, is that word related to swimmingly ? If so, I’ve got.
November 15th, 2006 at 3:54 pmI’ll go try to find the transcipt, but I heard him justifying why he wasn’t taking the bribe because he believed someone would expose him. What wasn’t said was: I’m not taking this bribe because it is wrong.
November 15th, 2006 at 4:01 pmREP. JOHN MURTHA, D-PA.: Now, as I told Howard, I want to deal with you guys a while before I made any transactions at all, period. In other words, I want to say, “Look put some money in these guys.” And I, just let me know, so I can say, you know, these guys are going to — they want to do business in our district. Then there’s a couple businesses that I’m not personally involved in but would be very helpful for the district, that I could make a big play of, be very helpful to me.
After we’ve done some business, then I might change my mind. But right now, that’s all I’m interested in. Period. And I’m going to tell you this. If anybody can do it, and I’m not bull (expletive deleted) you fellows, I can get it done my way.
A short while later the agent again offers Murtha a bribe of $50,000. This time, Murtha says that he might consider taking the money at a later date after they do more business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me ask you now we’re here together, I was under the impression, OK, and I told Howard we were willing to pay. And OK, I went out and got the fifty thousand. From what you’re telling me, OK, you’re telling me that’s not what, you know, that that’s not what you…
MURTHA: I’m not interested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
MURTHA: At this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
MURTHA: You know, we do business for a while, maybe I’ll be interested, maybe I won’t, you know.
November 15th, 2006 at 4:05 pmThat didn’t take long.
November 15th, 2006 at 4:23 pmDipshEt,
I bring up lefty corruption any time it shows up. It shows how much you pay ateention to what is written in these threads. You just like to post your blather and not pay attention to what other people say.
November 15th, 2006 at 4:25 pmSo I can hear Murtha turn down a bribe. You posted the transcript. I don’t see anything there. Bring some evidence he did something wrong, not evidence that he did the right thing.
November 15th, 2006 at 4:29 pmWhat is he talking about , he is corrupt!
November 15th, 2006 at 5:59 pmThey’re fully aware of the short attention span and abbreviated memories of the public, so when they completely contradict themselves, few people notice.
November 15th, 2006 at 6:16 pmWell said by the man with all that Missouri Abramoff cash in his wallet. Very well said, indeed. But, we’re no longer staying that course, as both the 07.NOV.2006 election outcome and those tenuous coming investigations will bear out. I just hope coming subpeonas will end this rascal’s career sooner as opposed to later.
November 16th, 2006 at 11:39 amGee funny how the press withheld the story that Abramoff had squealed on several democrats including Harry Reid until after the election. Funny how Pelosi supported AbScam Jack Murtha for majority leader and now support Hastings, a convicted felon, for a chairmanship. I guess the most ethical congress in history lasted for about a week.
November 16th, 2006 at 5:38 pm