GSA Administrator Lurita Doan To Employees: ‘You Are The Wind Beneath My Wings’
GSA Administrator Lurita Doan To Employees: ‘You Are The Wind Beneath My Wings’
Tomorrow, General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan will testify before Congress about her potentially illegal activity.
House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has discovered that in January, Doan asked “senior GSA officials to help ‘our candidates’ in the next elections through targeted public events.” Doan discussed with GSA officials “how to exclude House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from an upcoming courthouse opening in San Francisco and how to include Republican Senator Mel Martinez.” Last summer, she also signed a $20,000 no-bid contract for a 24-page report “promoting GSA’s use of minority- and women-owned businesses.” The firm was run by a woman with whom Doan “had a long-standing business relationship” and personal friendship, and was eventually canceled by agency officials.
ThinkProgress has obtained Doan’s opening statement, which can be found HERE. In it, she claims that the no-bid contract was simply a “procedural mistake in my zealous efforts to promote small and disadvantaged businesses.” She also denies ever encouraging her staff to engage in partisan politicking.
In a heartfelt e-mail yesterday, Doan alerted GSA employees that she will be testifying on Thursday and won’t forget to mention “the great work all of you have done this last year.” The e-mail:
Sent by: GSA Administrator
To: All Users
Subject: MESSAGE FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR
Date/Time: 03/26/2007 04:48 PMDear Fellow GSA employees:
As you may be aware, I will be appearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee this Wednesday at 10 a.m. (EDT) to answer questions raised in recent news articles. I want you to know that I am grateful to have the opportunity to address these questions and set the record straight. But I also look forward to letting the Committee know of the great work all of you have done this last year resulting in many “good news” stories about GSA and what this agency is doing to serve the American people.
Because it’s important to keep all of you informed on something as important as this hearing, I wanted to share my written testimony with you before it is released to the public. You can access it by going to GSA InSite (http://insite.gsa.gov/).
Thank you again for all of your support and kind words — you truly are the wind beneath my wings!
Cordially,
Lurita
We assume she’s not talking about the “great work” by the employees in her agency’s Inspector General’s office, whom she labeled “terrorists.“
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What no, “The Children are our Future…”
Ack.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:01 pmForgive my ignorance, but has anyone who has testified before Congress ever received any punishment more serious than a slap on the wrist? Seriously.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:07 pmNo wonder such a failure. It is basically the air above the wings that makes a non-flapper device fly.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:08 pmIf anyone violated the law, they should be prosecuted.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:10 pm“There are two kinds of terrorism in the US: the external kind; and, internally, the IGs have terrorized the Regional Administrators,†said Lurita Alexis Doan…
Right. The people who are trying to stop waste fraud and abuse are terrorists. I guess that would mean that right-wing GOP political appointees, whose sole purpose for being in a government office is to make their friends rich, are heroes? And when they leave government and take high-paying jobs with those friends that they made rich, they should be nominated for sainthood?
You twisted little piece of crap.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:11 pm“Where wings take dream”…Unfortunately for her she was dreaming about jail Sunday night…
March 27th, 2007 at 1:13 pm#4
Unless it’s the President, or the Vice-President, or the AG, or Karl Rove, or Scooter (oh wait he was prosecuted)….. Right Jake?
March 27th, 2007 at 1:13 pmMoan, Groan, Doan, Bushie Clone! You got “snagged” with your fingers in the cookie jar, gal. I hope you look good in orange jumpsuits because that’s where you’re headed. Let’s see what being a “loyal Bushie” does for you now, eh?
March 27th, 2007 at 1:13 pmDoan is the sh!t beneath our shoes… good luck getting out of this one, lady! You’ll have to roll over on one of your superiors.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:14 pmEvery nook and cranny of this administration’s chief positions and their “henchmen” includes a corrupt official – so let the investigations begin. Maybe they could occupy their own “bushie wing” at Sing-Sing??
March 27th, 2007 at 1:14 pmShe’s one attractive/intelligent woman, her husband is a blessed man.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:22 pmShe’s one attractive/intelligent woman, her husband is a blessed man. Comment by Daryll — March 27, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
If we weren’t sure you are *gay* before, this proves it!!! BAHAHAHAAAAA
March 27th, 2007 at 1:24 pmShe’s one attractive/intelligent woman, her husband is a blessed man. – - She’s got Closet Lesbian in Denial written all over her. And Daryll, you need to upgrade your criteria of “attractive.”
March 27th, 2007 at 1:26 pmChop down the entire GOP forest. They are cutting off the sunlight to the life on the ground.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:27 pmStick a fork in it, it’s Doan.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:29 pmOh yes Lurita dear just a ‘procedural mistake’ just like bending over !
March 27th, 2007 at 1:33 pmI wish I had a nose that big full of nickels.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:33 pmCrump’s Brother:
That’s kinda off topic, but, no — if any of them violated the law, they should be prosecuted as well — in the special case of the President (and arguably the Vice President), he must first be impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate BEFORE he can be indicted for any crime.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:33 pmWe are watching a complete and total implosion of a once-great political party, the Grand Old Party, because its members can’t see past their noses far enough to realize the guy they’re ultimately sticking with, W, is a lying, sociopathic crook.
A whole generation of Americans, the Millennials, are being raised to despise and mistrust the GOP. That’s a big age cohort to lose, second only to the Boomers. I don’t want a one-party government comprised of Democrats any more than I want a one-party government of Republicans . . .
Please, for the love of America, Republicans, get your goddamned house in order!
March 27th, 2007 at 1:36 pm“If anyone violated the law, they should be prosecuted.
Comment by Jake — March 27, 2007 @ 1:10 pm”
You keep saying that, but I have PROVIDED multiple instances that Bush has committed crimes….. Yet you stand like a deer in the headlights and defend him and his criminal acts……
Why are the Republicans such hypocrites?
March 27th, 2007 at 1:42 pmShe’s one attractive/intelligent woman, her husband is a blessed man.
Comment by St. Daryll — March 27, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
Ever since “2 seconds” Daryll has been posting here, I’ve said that he is a parody…
I Rest My Case!
March 27th, 2007 at 1:43 pmUntil the Democrats stop applauding the criminals in their party and prosecuting them they have nothing to talk about. From murderer Ted Kennedy to slap on the wrist Sandy “What’s in my pants†Berger. I guess they don’t like looking in the mirror when it comes to actions and tactics.
You go girl – ROTFL
March 27th, 2007 at 1:44 pmis she admitting she’s a vulture? Wind beneath my wings comment and match it up with the accusations and you get vulture.
Excellent point Chadwick.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:45 pmyou truly are the wind beneath my wings!
Cordially,
Lurita
WTF? Is she going to break out in song next?
(Oh gawd, I think I’m gonna puke!)
March 27th, 2007 at 1:46 pmShe’s reminding her staff how much she really really loves them, regardless of what kind of vicious treatment she’s given them in the past.
Shorter Doan: Please don’t rat me out!
March 27th, 2007 at 1:52 pmIt seems the sociopaths have all gravitated toward one political party. Could be useful…
March 27th, 2007 at 1:57 pmShe and Ashcroft need to sing it out loud.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:59 pmgummitch: “Shorter Doan: Please don’t rat me out!”
Exactly!
March 27th, 2007 at 1:59 pmRemoveBush
It is not so much that they are hypocrits, as that they are basically stupid that gets me.
I mean, take K Street. Biggest flipping bribery scandal in living memory, the very first time that a single party has been shown to be taking bribes with noone on the other side having gotten any, and the Republicans still treat Delay like some sort of hero for making it all happen. That’s not hypocrisy, that’s stupid.
The truth about Republicanism, is that you have to be at least a little bit deficient to follow it. I mean, seriously, think about evolution in schools. This fight was over back in the 1920’s for crying out loud, Tennessee was made a laughing stock over it way back then and yet Republicans will still try to push it. That isn’t hypocrisy, that is just plain stupid.
And now look at this case here. Lurita Doan may well have broken the law, and yet, you can bet, as the evidence gets more damning the Republicans will become ever more convinced that the court system, under a supreme court with all of two Democrat nominated justices, has a liberal bias. It won’t be hypocrisy, it will be stupidity.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:13 pmLurita looks like she is working for Taco Bell, or is that the new Bushie Uniform? Where do these lackeys come from?
March 27th, 2007 at 2:13 pmHow come she looks completely different in everyone of the pictures??
March 27th, 2007 at 2:15 pmIs she a graduate of Pat Robertson U….better known as PU?
Bruce Gorton, I do agree 100% with what you said…..
Thanks for the input.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:17 pm#11 She’s one attractive/intelligent woman, her husband is a blessed man.
Comment by Daryll — March 27, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
You need specs. Huge ones. And a white cane.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:21 pmI wonder if she’ll say the Repulsivescum magic words…
…”I take full responsibility”…
…and be absolved?
March 27th, 2007 at 2:32 pm“you are the wind beneath my wings…and now, watch with glee as they pluck out my feathers.”
March 27th, 2007 at 2:36 pmI too believe Daryll is a parody. Thanks.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:36 pmDaryll
Insulting her own IGs kind of makes me think she isn’t that bright.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:39 pmLurid a, ‘You are the dump beneath my tailfeathers’.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:40 pm“You are the wind beneath my wings of graft and corruption” is what she wrote on the first pass, but her editorial conscience kicked in.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:44 pmExtremely important point made by Kos at Daily Kos:
Paraphrasing: Don’t let the Republicans trick Democrats and Progressives into blaming everything on Bush….we love to see Bush crumble but the NeoCons are trying to detach themselves from the very conservative philosophy that Bush represents. This is what they are trying to do. Scarlborough included…..Remember it’s not just Bush…..
“Nitpicker:
So, while it’s good to see Congress finally chipping away at the crust surrounding the Bushies warm, gooey center of corruption, it’s important to make clear that this isn’t simply a rogue, incompetent administration. This is a rogue, incompetent administration which is, nevertheless, following the exact recipes Republicans have written over the last thirty years. Americans need to understand that, in one sense, Bush hasn’t failed. He implemented core Republican principles and they failed. And they always will.
Remember, the problem isn’t Bush. It’s the entire conservative movement. And focusing on Bush actually helps other Republicans make the case that the problem was a single man rather than an ideology.
If we could impeach an entire ideology, I’d be for it. Right now, we have to make sure we don’t fall into the trap of making everything about Bush, but about an ideology that holds, as an article of faith, that government cannot function.
I think the Baby Blue Cherub is right:
But this wingnut worldview has gotten complex and sprawling. Its cast of characters, bizarre understanding of history, and policy positions have grown and expanded so that only obsessed true believers can really feel a part of it. They’ve established an entire mythology, and its adherents have become cultlike.
Atrios was riffing off this great post at Crooked Timber.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/27/115946/337
March 27th, 2007 at 2:48 pmA bumper crop of sociopaths, narcissists and nihilists in this government. Civil “servants” my fat ass.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:50 pmHow come she looks completely different in everyone of the pictures??
Is she a graduate of Pat Robertson U….better known as PU?
Comment by anne
I think she actually graduated from Vassar. http://tinyurl.com/2hhnx9
Has a Master’s and is a self-made hotshot capitalist. I do wonder how she fits in with the Administration’s attitude toward affirmative action, since she is apparently African-American and took advantage of minority contract opportunities. Whatever you may say about her, she’s clearly no dummy.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:52 pmHa, ha, ha, ha . . .
I remember a certain Angie from Georgia who posted here about six months ago, bragging how close she was with this woman. She even talked of some contracts that Doan threw her way. I hope TP does a search, and comes up with the posts; it might be evidence.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:54 pmTom Delay stated on his recent book pimping tour the three things he was most proud of in his public service were : changing the “culture” in DC, the success of the K Street Project, and Terri Schiavo.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:55 pmThis is where the right comes from – psychosis.
I looked at that name and thought that it HAD to be an anagram for something.
March 27th, 2007 at 3:14 pmYep: TOAD URINAL.
Childish, and has nothing to do with her venality and corruption, so I apologize.
I looked at that name and thought that it HAD to be an anagram for something.
March 27th, 2007 at 3:14 pmYep: TOAD URINAL.
Childish, and has nothing to do with her venality and corruption, so I apologize.
That is about as corrupt as it can get. The question becomes, how is it that Bush is so successful in finding the ethically challenged for appointment to key government jobs.
March 27th, 2007 at 3:17 pmI wonder if a boot beneath her ass would lift her “spirits” as well..?
March 27th, 2007 at 3:29 pmHer “wind beneath her wings” will become bottled sulphur in the days to come….if it smells rotten, it probably IS rotten!
March 27th, 2007 at 3:37 pmHey, I think Jesus was alright, he did some cool things, he did send some mixed messages, and maybe that fasting had some effect on his mind. I certainly don’t love him, that would be gay…
March 27th, 2007 at 4:46 pmI wish I could watch this hearing tomorrow, but I’ll have to wait and watch the reruns on C-SPAN. I think Doan’s in deep shit. Read Waxman’s supplemental memo describing the sequence of events: http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20070327105037-20322.pdf
It might seem a little dry, but this is basic corruption and dishonesty. I can’t wait to see her try to explain it all away.
March 27th, 2007 at 6:03 pmThat makes me puke.
March 27th, 2007 at 6:09 pmWaxman is one busy dude.
March 27th, 2007 at 6:13 pmIgnore this post…it is a test to see if TP can accept tabular input.
Number A1
Number A2
Number A3
Number B1
Number B2
Number B3
Fingers are crossed for good luck, but I doubt it works.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:00 pmLurita, DOAN you know WHAT YA DID WRONG, YA STUPID BITCH?????
March 27th, 2007 at 7:04 pmWHAT A MAROON!!!! LEAVE IT TO Bushland Uber Allies TO PLACE SUCH AN INEPT, BUMBLING, POLITICALLY MOTIVATED, CORRUPT, STUPID JERK IN SUCH A POSITION—-WHICH IS EXACTLY THEY ARE IN THE TROUBLE THEY ARE NOW, AND DESERVEDLY SO!!!!!! THROW THE BOOK AT THIS STUPID WOMAN!!!!!
where do the Republicans dig up these air headed wombats… “mistake”? no one in their right mind should buy this excuse. does there need to be a pictorial one page manual for the Bush apointees because they’re too brainless to read manual.
March 27th, 2007 at 8:46 pmSweet Baby Jesus, there would appear to be no low to which these souless hacks will not voluntarily sink. I thought this was all going to get nasty when Bush snuck in thru the back door back in 2000, but this is simply far uglier than I could ever have imagined.
Where will we ever get the money just to build enough prisons to hold all these A**holes?
March 28th, 2007 at 2:23 amMs Doan has no respect for Congress.
March 29th, 2007 at 1:53 amAt best she will be fired
at worst she could go to the pokie or get probation!!
March 30th, 2007 at 4:41 pm