Redstate

By krempasky Posted in FEC — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Another day, another release from our friends* at Democracy21. Today it's a little more institutional whining and incoherence about possible FEC appointments.

Sixty-Seven Percent of American People Rate President Bush Negatively on Ethics in Government

Nevertheless, President Bush Is Seriously Considering Using Recess Appointments to Place Agents of Congressional Incumbents on
Captive FEC

"Get me Hostage Rescue at Quantico, now!!" Seriously, folks - it's always struck me as awfully funny that the reformers are so terrified of putting someone on the FEC that's actually...um, had to comply with the regulations in a professional capacity. Isn't that a novel thought?

President Bush Is Also Seriously Considering Dropping FEC Chairman Scott Thomas from the Enforcement Agency, the FEC Commissioner with the Best Record for Properly Interpreting and Enforcing the Laws

"Properly Interpreted" - odd how they seem to love to capitalize that. Kinda despot-ish, don't you think? Regardless, this simply means, "most likely to side with Democracy21 in their effort to stomp out speech."

Read on...

Sixty-seven percent of the American people rate President Bush's handling of ethics in government negatively, according to an ABC /Washington Post poll released last week on November 3.

The same poll found that 58 percent of the public does not consider the President honest and trustworthy, the first time the President's public rating has fallen below fifty percent on these important character issues.

I'm sure our dear friends are concerned with our President doing all those favors for potential donors to his re-election campaign. Oh. Wait a minute...

Despite the striking findings concerning President Bush, the President reportedly is considering making four appointments to the six-member Federal Election Commission (FEC) that will perpetuate its role as a captive agency, which consistently fails to properly interpret and enforce the nation's anti-corruption campaign finance laws.

Hmm...I wonder if the FEC is any more captive of Congress (or is it parties? candidates? the White House? the milkman?) than Democracy21 is beholden to folks like the Pew Charitable Trust? Beuller?

Adding insult to injury, the President reportedly is considering bypassing the Senate confirmation process and using recess appointments to fill these four jobs without subjecting his nominees to any public or Senate scrutiny. The recess appointments could come as early as the Thanksgiving recess.

Recess appointments are seldom made and are generally used only after a nomination has been submitted by the President to the Senate and has been denied a hearing or a Senate vote for a period of time.

Well, if he was going to edumicate us on recess appointments, you'd almost think he'd go ahead and remind everyone that these appointments are TEMPORARY.

''The FEC is widely considered to be a failed enforcement agency,'' according to Wertheimer.

Well, Fred Wertheimer is widely considered to be a dishonest charlatan who shrieks about clean government while stealing donuts from the mouths of children flat-out making stuff up.

For example, one name proposed by Republican House leaders and reportedly being considered by President Bush for recess appointment to the FEC is Don McGahn, a lawyer with close ties to House Republican leaders.

That's it. Call the New York Times. A Republican campaign lawyer has ties to people....Republicans....that run campaigns.

Mr. McGahn serves as counsel to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the fundraising arm of the House Republicans; as a member of the legal team defending Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX) in his various pending legal and ethics problems; and as the campaign finance lawyer for Representative DeLay's PAC, ARMPAC.

Hmmm...would that be the legal team that seems to be winning in Texas? Or would Fred rather put Ronnie Earle on the Commission?

At the same time, President Bush reportedly is considering dropping from the Commission, FEC Chairman Scott Thomas, following the refusal of congressional Democratic leaders to recommend his re-appointment to the Commission.

Wait a moment! I thought the system that allowed Congressional leaders to recommend was a BAD one?! Now they're being gigged for playing by those rules?

Chairman Thomas, who has received bipartisan support for re-appointment to the FEC from Senators McCain and Feingold and Representatives Shays and Meehan

Ok, stop right there. Talk about four members sharing one brain. HR 1606 was bipartisan too. Didn't stop Fred from blowing a gasket.

''It would be wrong and very damaging to the nation's anti-corruption campaign finance laws for President Bush to proceed with recess FEC appointments chosen by congressional leaders to protect the interests of congressional incumbents rather than to represent the interests of the American people.'' Wertheimer stated

Yeah - this from one of the privately funded (by anonymous donors, no less) groups that literally purports to 'speak for the American public' instead of those No Good Nasty Congressional incumbents. You know...the ones that actually represent the American public