More good news for the GOP:
Top House Republicans were told in recent days that a former employee of their campaign committee may have forged an official audit during the contentious 2006 election cycle and that they should brace for the possibility that an unfolding investigation could uncover financial improprieties stretching back several years, according to GOP sources briefed on the members-only discussions.
The National Republican Congressional Committee has retained a forensic auditor to review its accounting for the last several election cycles, the sources said.
All together, wingnuts: “I QUESTION THE TIMING!”
jack fate
When it rains, it pours. Is this the thing that was in the news regarding the RNC contacting the FBI?
Bubblegum Tate
Somebody check out the investigators’ countertops!
stinky mcgee
This can only help John McCain.
LiberalTarian
Bwahahaha.
So, here is the thing about fanatics (aka wingnuts). They switch sides, and then are equally as wingnutty on their new side. Unfortunately I don’t have time to find the quote, but Lenin is supposed to have said, “A fanatic for your cause, when turned, will be a fanatic for my cause.” Of course, he said it much better, but the inherent meaning is there.
There are 24%ers who are going to flip, big time. I bet they break for Obama. They’ve been fed frothing hatred for “libruls” for so long, they really do think there is a powerful liberal movement out there that will be taking over the world. Once they perceive the Conservative Movement as a powerless and weak organism, they’ll be deserting in droves.
Then again, maybe not.
Maybe Obama is too “other” for them. Maybe Clinton will be the white to the Conservative Movement’s Black, and they’ll do a 180 to get on her track.
And then again, maybe not.
I could never get with the Conservative Movement because I always felt it was inherently flawed and morally corrupt. But, I’m one of those pragmatists re liberal True Believer-dom. As long as I’m on top of it and not under it, I am fine with riding Obama’s wave. Or Clinton’s. I’m a slut that way.
Punchy
Just wait until said auditor is suddenly told, “executive privilege, bitches” and is told to pack it up and go home.
They did it with the RNC-based emails, why not this?
TR
This is nothing that a little stalking of a 12-year-old coma victim won’t solve.
To the hedges!
Gus
I’m really shocked, not by this scandal, but by how quickly the Permanent Republican Majority disintegrated. By no means do I think that the Democratic presidential candidate will win in a walk like a lot of people seem to, but the coalition, unnatural as it was seemed so strong just 4 short years ago. I love to see Reagan’s 11th commandment violated. The infighting is enough to feed my schadenfreude jones for the next decade.
4tehlulz
THE RNCC HAS BEEN INFILTRATED BY LIE_BRUL ACCOUNTANTS
/wingtard
Dennis - SGMM
After COINTELPRO I never thought I’d say this but, bless the FBI. Whatever the NRCC did must stink on ice to be investigated under this administration. Looks like Bush will have to drop his veto pen and pick up his pardon pen.
Rick Massimo
I believe the current wingnut slang is “I find it very interesting that …”
cleek
frog march! we were promised frog marching, and i want to see some GOP toady frog-marched out of a courtroom somewhere. cross your fingers.
jcricket
It took something like 4 or 5 years to unpack the relatively simple VT/NH phone-jamming scandal, and we still don’t have a full accounting of that. It ended up handled like the NFL “spy-gate”, in that there was no investigation as to how high up it went.
In fact, the Libby/Plame-gate thing was much the same.
I’m not one for conspiracy theories but the current GOP leadership has been pretty good at avoiding any official investigations into their behavior at the top. It’s all been passed off on their toadies. From the missing emails, executive privilege for visitor logs, and whatever excuse they come up with for this – we should stop talking about Nixonian levels of secrecy and start talking Cheneyite.
Jake
Surely there is a gay/brown/Jewish/female on the RNC payroll who can be thrown to the wolves.
The Grand Panjandrum
Me too. This should have been held until October. They drop this little bombshell now to make sure it dies down before the election!!!!!!!! (See it really isn’t that hard to be an inverse wingnut. It’s rather simple, and easily dupicated. Over and over and over, again.
fester bestertester
Yup, same old same old. Let’s see. Emails wills be mysteriously deleted. Files will have been mysteriously lost (that is, shredded). Key players will suddenly get amnesia. Nothing comes of it in the end. Hey, look, over there, Roger Clemmons took steriods – let’s investigate that.
"Fair and Balanced" Dave
The auditor is probably the former Arthur Anderson accountant who gave Enron’s books a clean bill of health all those years.
jnfr
I so would love to see John Edwards as AG.
RSA
Why does the FBI hate America?
demimondian
Actually, it’s recycled old news. This hit the papers almost two weeks ago.
America didn’t care then, and they won’t care now. They all do it.
srv
Ted Haggard and his chuch abandon fixing him to be straight.
h/t
jcricket
Naaah, they have scanners for that at the door. But there are some rich white people who can handle a couple months in jail before being pardoned by Bush and getting a right-wing-welfare job from Scaife.
Zifnab
It does make a campaign contributor feel a bit clammy in the feet. I mean, if I heard the FBI was investigating the DNC, I’d be a bit reluctant to hand Howard Dean my money. On the flip side, if I take another shot of kool-aid and throw more money down the pipe, there’s no assurance it’ll actually reach my candidate.
I remember, back in the day, when PACs were about money laundering and under-the-table bribery/corruption. Now its just about theft and fraud. What a world.
Punchy
OT:
John, can you add this to your on-going stuggle against Operation Code Brown incidents? Cuz, ya know, those 9-11 ‘jackers were all rastafarians….
And I cant wait for TZ to start up with his “The airline can do whatevah the fuck it wants to!” baloney.
Xenos
Nice job, Politico- it only took until the 9th paragraph to mention that the “former employee of their campaign committee [who] may have forged an official audit” was none other than the TREASURER of the committee!
These little details they manage to obscure…
bdr
Bushco admits waterboarding Super Tuesday morning:
I question the timing!
ThymeZone
Like I told you last year, you don’t have to take my word for any of it. Write the FAA, the airlines, and ALPA and ask them. They’ll tell you the same thing I did.
But, please, it’s easier to just go on thinking whatever you already think, so don’t bother yourself.
The airline, and ultimately the crew, and finally the captain, decides who stays on the plane. Nobody will challenge that authority, and you can rest assured that the pilot isn’t going to pay the award.
I’d wager that the final-authority chain will never be changed in air travel, any more than it will be on the sea. It’s here to stay.
It doesn’t matter who you are. The crew decides who flies.
Punchy
Pretty sure I fixed that for you. Because you can’t legally throw off all the black people on a plane. Just cant. Read the link, Sir Know-It-All.
You’re stuck in the diff between what they can physically do and what they can legally do. Sure, I can punch someone in the face and leave them unconscious. I can. My hand has the final say in the matter. Write my trainer and ask him. Doesn’t mean I won’t get arrested/fined/sued for it later.
Hence, they CANNOT. Legally. Do it. Stop pretending like the law doesn’t matter. Cuz it does.
demimondian
TZ, did you read the actual article before you went non-linear? Because if you did, and you missed the fact that the judge explicitly rejected that argument, then you might want to go back and read again.
Here, I’ll help you. Here’s the nut graf:
[Emphasis mine.]
Bottom line: the pilot’s judgment is not final; the company can be sued for an egregious error like this; and, if a company has a regulation which appears to override that, then the regulation is unenforceable, and any such company would be in contempt of court.
Dennis - SGMM
On a whole ‘nother note: MSNBC is reporting that Hillary is loaning her campaign five million dollars to remain competitive with Obama. This in the face of Obama’s huge fund raising advantage in January. Hillary’s supporters maxed out in the first round while Obama can still go back to the well. Yep, she’s the front runner all right.
Zifnab
Chelsea can join the Mittens boys in looking on in horror at the family fortune’s applications.
Zifnab
I always pegged you as more of a kicking type. Hmph.
HyperIon
i was thinking ankle-biter.
jnfr
Chelsea’s making good money on her own. I’m sure she can take care of herself.
ThymeZone
Actually, it is. Nobody is going to override the crew at flight time. The passengers will be deplaned if the crew wants to deplane them. There is no recourse at flight time that I know of, never has been and I am sure never will be.
The court can impose a fine or penalty on the airline, but the airline isn’t going to do anything different. It basically is going to consider the payment a cost of doing business, which of course, it is. I’d be surprised if this holds up to appeal. Civil law is not adjudicated on an airplane. Crew judgement is the law, and that won’t change, you can count on it.
The court cannot enforce any action at the gate. Every case has to be judged on its merits in real time, and I don’t think you will see judges showing up at the airport to adjudicate them. The crew will decide, and the chips will fall where they may.
But the bottom line is, the crew, and only the crew, decides who flies. What happens later … well, that’s another story. In this case, the judge is being an ass. He can’t second guess the crew. There’s not a flight crew on the planet that is going to let courts decide who they have to fly and who they can deplane, in real time. The airlines know this quite well, it’s not exactly a new issue.
Face
How odd–the daughter of a president–twice–for, at least theoretically, 16 years of your life, but not consecutively.
All sorts of crazy oddities if Hi-double-hockey-sticks makes it.
Punchy
Shorter TZ–I’m wrong, the judge said so, so he’s an ass.
In TZ’s world, anyone can complain about anyone else in the plane to get them tossed. All Silly Negros must deplane after boarding, becuase their cornrows scare the elderly grandmother. The guy with the beard in seat 5B looks too much like 14A’s rapist, so she’s too scared with him aboard. That damn contact lens just caused me to wink, and now I’m tossed b/c that 13 year old complained I was hitting on her, and no pedophiles allowed.
Of course, a judge sees through all the bullshit. TZ keeps insisting that civil rights no longer exist in small metal tubes on long cement driveways. Judge says otherwise. TZ goes earmuffs and ignores it.
Z
Ooooh! Now I want to be a pilot!
You! In row 25A, you can’t wear sweatpants with the word HOTTIE written across you butt on MY plane! Off you go!
ThymeZone
No, I am not wrong. And you needn’t take my word for it. Inquire at the local airport, airline, TSA office. Who decides, right now as we speak, whether a passenger flies? Who has the final authority? The crew.
Who will have this authority tomorrow? The crew.
A year from now? The crew.
Ten years from now, I am pretty sure, the crew.
If you think I am wrong, please go forth and bring back any reports you can find where somebody out there can override a flight crew on passenger boarding, right now as we speak.
Where anyone can force a crew to fly with a passenger they want to deplane. Not even the airline has that authority. And I can assure you, nobody will try to take that authority for reasons I have already explained to you.
Yes, the judge is an ass. He imposed what is obviously a wrist-slap token penalty in a situation where his opinion has no effect on subsequent operations, whatever. None.
Nothing will change here.
It’s not my world, you moron. It’s the real world. Feel free to rant about how awful you think it is, but until you can supply a workable alternative, it will not change.
Hint: There is no workable alternative to the current scheme. That’s why it exists, and won’t change.
WTF is the matter with you?
ThymeZone
Since I am most likely the only one present who has flown passengers for hire, I take the issue rather to heart.
You can rant all you want about civil rights and whatever, but when you step onto the plane, your presence there is at the discretion of the crew, and the PIC. If he wants you deplaned, you will be deplaned. Later you can go on Larry King and rant about it and call him, and me, an asshole, but at flight time, you will be waving goodbye to the plane as it takes off, from the ground. Maybe you can win a case and get money. Perhaps you can write a book and go on tour. Monuments may be erected with your likeness. But you will be off the plane on flight day.
And that’s the way it should be, the way it is, and the way it will be.
Your problem, you are having an entirely different argument, and you have nobody to have it with. You are making a social or civil rights argument. That has nothing whatever to do with flight safety.
Having this discussion feels a lot like trying to explain piano temperament to a dog.
Punchy
God DAMN are you obtuse. Yeah, nobody can take away my ability to commit a civil offense. I can do it, in real time (to use your phrase). That ability, however, DOES NOT MAKE IT LEGAL.
It is ILLEGAL to force a bunch of Dark Skinned Scary People just becuase they sat together as a group in the boarding area, then had seperate seats on the plane. Holy shit, what a CRIME!! SEPERATE SEATS!! The judge said so. I’m sorry you’re purposefully and willfully ignoring the difference between what a human can do and what they can legally get by with.
Seriously, answer this: are civil rights protections not applicable inside of an airplane? Really, you’re claiming that any flight attendant can order off every single male just….because they’re “scary” or “sit in seperate seats”?
DougJ
I agree, why release this now, just 9 months before the election? Couldn’t it wait til 2009?
Anne Laurie
Hell, I strongly suspect some percentage of the most fanatic YES-WE-CAN!!! Obamaniacs voted for Dubya in 2004, swooned over the Codpiece of Accomplishment, cheered every slander out of Limbaugh’s and Coulter’s yaps, and played that egregious Toby Keith ditty about putting the boot up raghead arses every time they drove their Our-Sainted-Dead-magnetic-ribbon-festooned SUV to Starbucks. Remember, by 1946 there wasn’t a single Frenchmen who hadn’t supported the Resistance, and every German who wasn’t actually under indictment for war crimes would swear with a straight face that they had always known that Hitler was up to no good. And it’s not lying if they actually BELIEVE we have always been at war with Eastasia.
As Eric Hoffer (THE TRUE BELIEVER) would remind us, a certain percentage of our fellow
sheeplecitizens don’t care what flag they’re following, as long as they have a flag to follow.Dracula
Looks like the passengers did, and won.
Really, why even have screening, if the TSA can certify that you are unarmed, absent knives, fluids, blades, razors, darts, and matches, but you’re still a flight risk? Uh….how, exactly?
libarbarian
I got to back TZ up on this.
A person can sue for damages after the fact but there is no immediate recourse – if the pilot wants you off the plane there is NO ONE who has the authority, much less the practical ability, to overrule him and put you back on the plane and then force him to fly it.
The PIC always has the TRUMP of saying “I will not fly this plane with that person on board” and leave the plane sitting on the tarmac. There is no one with the legal authority to force someone to pilot a plane against his/her will. He/she can be fired by the company for doing so but neither they nor any judge has any authority to force him/her to get in the cockpit and take off – nevermind that, regardless how unjust the circumstances seem, only an idiot or an asshole would force the other passengers to put their lives in the hands of a nervous and unwilling pilot who, for whatever reason, might not be able to focus his full attention on doing his job..
The problem in cases like these are the people who find dark skin people “suspicious” for doing normal things – not the pilots or airlines who try to balance the interests and safety of many many people.
ThymeZone
It’s not a civil offense. It’s a simple, straightforward and widely understood tenet of aviation regulation. The Pilot In Command decides who flies on the plane. He cannot be overridden at flight time.
Period. I don’t know what you think you are arguing. Are you trying to argue that this basic principle of marine and aviation conduct should be changed in favor of civil rights principles? Then you will need to make your case to the FAA, not to me. I didn’t write the FARs, but I have sure worked under them, and I fully support the wording, and the ubiquitous interpretation of them, as I have described.
That won’t change, but go ahead and seek its change if you think that is the right thing to do. Really. Knock yourself out. What do you think arguing with me about it is going to do, man?
They may or may not be relevant in a later action. In the plane, under Part 93 conditions, they have no relevance whatever. Pilots are not trained to judge civil rights questions. They are not paid to judge them. They judge them as they see fit. If the subjects of their decisions have a complaint, they can process it later. For now, if the PIC says deplane, they deplane. Period.
Unless you can describe a set of regulations, protocols, and practical procedures for handling civil rights issues on airplanes better than exists now, I’m afraid that your letters to FAA might go unheeded.
Last time I looked, John McCain was the big cheese in oversight of the commerce and transportation committe stuff which oversees FAA. That was a while ago, but I reckon he is still involved in it. Why don’t you write to him and express your concerns, and let us know what you find out?
ThymeZone
Exactly, and this is why the airlines will not change their handling of these situations. In one scenario, the airline pays a reggae band $8k to shut them up because a court doesnt understand what is going on here. In another, the airline watches a $120m airpane sit on the ground while people wrangle over who said what to whom, and what people think the civil rights issues might be for a few hours.
I think you can see how that gets resolved, can’t you?
ThymeZone
This of course is very true, but unfortunately, the way it works in real life is, once the PIC determines that somebody has to leave the plane for safety reasons, the game is over. Whether the outcome is fair or not, that’s another matter, and will be decided much later. Quite honestly, the PIC does not, and should not, care about that. When you have PICs making safety decisions on the basis of political correctness and peoples’ feelings, then you might as well shut down the system. No, he makes a snap decision, it’s carried out, they close the door and go. Flying is not group therapy. It’s not even blogging.
What’s really hilarious here is that people are going to whine about this as if this is all about me. All I’m doing is reporting the facts as they exist, and will continue to exist. If you don’t like them, talk to the authorities. Maybe they will listen to you. If you actually care about the matter, don’t waste your time arguing it with me, I am not going to join you in the fight to bring civil rights justice to airplanes. Go forth, and crusade. Tilt at those windmills. Maybe you can get John Cole to organize a protest march for you?
Buck
The PIC should have total say on this issue. Of course, if the PIC chooses to be an asshole, repeatedly, and kick people off that are not in any way a threat, that PIC will soon find him/herself without employment.
In other words, the PIC should have say for safety reasons, but not to be a dick.
libarbarian
Some comments on Malkin … just because.
When you can’t think of a more relevant stereotype you can always fall back on how group X are lazy, shiftless, and always looking for a handout.
Not just Mexicans. Not just illegals. ALL “hispanics” are conspiring to “take back”the southwest. He never does explain why people from Guatemala or Peru particularly care about reconquering America for Mexico, but I suppose he thinks its so obvious as to no require one.
It wouldn’t be a right-wing blog without the obligatory semi-veiled declaration that non-conservatives need to be shot.
“Can you talk illegals out of wanting to take over?” When did they start?
Blowjobs caused 9/11.
Ok, back to reality.
libarbarian
Dude, I was agreeing with you.
The “bad”, caused to both the pilot and the other passengers, of forcing an unwilling or nervous pilot to fly with passengers he doesn’t want more than outweighs the “good” of immediately fixing a relatively small injustice to a handful of people. They can wait for their day in court and get their settlement.
It would be nice if dumb people wouldn’t feel threated by brown people quite so quickly, but once the cat is out of the bag the pilot has to weigh the interests (and LIVES) of many people – in a timespan far too short to convene a hearing to evaluate his decision.
Digital Amish
Jesus, Tz says the pilot decides who flies. He’s right. A judge can say in six months that the extracated passenger gets 6 bazillion dollars for compensation but he still didn’t fucking fly.
Svensker
Dubya was getting BJs from Monica, too? Who’da thunk?
The Other Steve
We’d have to call him AG Edwards then, and that name is already taken.
The Other Steve
I believe the airline is authorized to taser passengers who they deem need ot be tased.
demkat620
I have to admit I don’t get this story. They turned a republican in to the FBI for ratfucking the party? But that’s what they teach them when they are Young Republicans. Ratfuck everybody and never apologize. What did this guy do wrong? Sounds like an ideal GOP candidate for the House.
CJ
I normally prefer to lurk, but the airline thing is a bit ridiculous.
The PIC should have the final say in who rides on the plane;
The passenger should have the final say in whether to file suit for removal (and whether to fly on the airline);
The judge/jury should have the final say to determine whether the PIC violated the passenger’s rights; and,
The airline should have the final say in whether they want pay for PIC’s that don’t exercise proper reasoning in throwing people of of planes — the airline can also have the final say in determining what “proper” reasoning is from their point of view, which loops back to the discretion of of the passenger in determine which airline to fly.
It’s messy, but this an appropriate feedback loop. Removing links from feedback loops is what gets us into messes like Iraq.
CJ
Dennis - SGMM
The hell with that. “You! In row 25A, wearing sweatpants with the word HOTTIE written across your butt. Wanna’ find out why they call it the cockpit?”
Zifnab
Yeah, TZ. “Darkies on the plane!” does not constitute an emergency, no matter how far you stretch the definition. I think you’re blowing smoke out your ass on this one.
A pilot can throw a guy off the plane because the guy makes him nervous. He can then proceed to beat the guy up with a handful of rebar. The involuntarily disembarked passenger can then sue the airline for any number of civil offenses and the state can then move to censor, punish, or otherwise burden the airline with more shit.
All of this can take place. The judge, in this instance, has declared that if you throw a bunch of people off the plane for no reason, you get slapped with a fine. That’s, basically, the letter of the law for the time being. Mr. Pilot can toss people off of planes to the tune of $1570 a head.
Dennis - SGMM
Being aboard an airplane, or a ship at sea, or a unit in combat (I’ve spent some years doing those three) I really do want someone to absolutely be in charge. The responsibilities of command usually weed out those with poor judgement fairly quickly.
Asti
RE: TZ’s Airline argument.
John Cole already answered this in the post on this thread:
Unless you are going to have a seat reserved for a judge on each flight to rule who can stay and who can go, TZ wins this argument… and by the way, an award of $1,500 or thereabouts for each person who was thrown off is a pittance, no real harm was done.
Asti
Zifnab, define an emergency? Who can say what may become an emergency? The pilot has to make prescient considerations of what might create a problem on his or her flight, and I’m sure the airline is NOT HURTING having to pay $1,570 a head. For whatever reason the pilot saw a problem, that $1,570 a head is much easier to swallow than the millions or more it would cost in plane loss and lawsuits.
ThymeZone
A poster can proceed to stamp his feet about a subject he knows nothing about, until he ends up saying something totally ridiculous, making an ass of himself, and losing all liklihood of being taken seriously henceforth.
I have some news for you: They don’t hand the keys to $120m airplanes to just anyone. The people who take that job take the responsibility rather seriously.
Obvoiusly you don’t take any of this seriously.
Think whatever you want, conversation’s over. If you think I am wrong about it, like I said, get more opinions. Talk to your local TSA office, airline officials, pilot groups. Get your steed of righteousness and carry the torch of justice far and wide. Good luck. Godspeed. Come back when you don’t have to stay so long.
pfrets
Yep…as TZ said above, that’s just the cost of doing business.
I worked in the industry and flown well over 1M miles, so I’ve seen more than my share of happenings in the air travel business. Give it a rest…no matter what, the PIC decides who stays or goes on the plane.
P.S. Don’t fuck with the flight attendants, either. The PIC will back them up 99.9999% of the time. Been there, seen that, and laughed my ass off as I watched jackasses get escorted off the bird.
myiq2xu
Consider this scenario: The investigation results in some fines and wrist slaps for a few GOP scapegoats who then depart to spend more time spreading vicious rumors about their families while working in sinecures at some conservative “think-tank.”
This allows the Bush administration to deflect charges of partisanship (we prosecute Republicans too!) while also invoking “double jeopardy” protections that would prevent the next adminstration from further prosecutions.
IOW – Sweep this mess under the rug while G-Dub’s crew is holding the broom.
Anne Laurie
Hey, Repubs: How’dja like the phrase “Attorney General Hillary Clinton”?
‘Cuz if the Magical Unity Pony Rider is gonna be President, I want him backed up by someone who fully understands the positive meaning of the word “revenge”…
Punchy
Yeah, they never catch pilots drunk at the wheel/helm.
What Zifnab said.
The Other Steve
Oh, you are mean!
Innocent Bystander
Remember that missing $8BB in Iraq funds that went missing? You know, the money we sent in by the pallet load, administered by vetted Republicans only? You know, the operation run by Kate O’Beirne’s husband? I’d bet a healthy wager that the irregularities are centered around accounting for an inflow of dollars that were disbursed to Republican candidates and “expenses” in 2004 and 2006. It costs a lot of money to game elections.
Tax Analyst
Re: The Airline thing. Several have already said this, but it’s really quite plain and clear that AT THE REAL TIME MOMENT the pilot decides who flies and who waves bye-bye from the ground. It’s GOT to be that way, and yes, it is entirely possible for a pilot to exercise execrable judgment. The deplaned passenger’s recourse is to sue the shit out of the airline…which happens on the ground, in a court of law, in the future.
IMHO, I have to say this is exactly how it should be.
Man, I hate flying – not the actual flight itself – that’s more-or-less acceptable because you get where you are going so damn fast…once you are on-board and actually in the air. It’s all the bullshit and crappy treatment and clueless confusion leading up to it. I usually try to avoid doing business with people who treat me like shit and act like they’re doing me a favor while they are doing it. I’ve already decided to drive instead of fly on my next vacation trip, even if gas hits $5/gallon.
Well, I’ve got a Tax Return to do so I’m outta here for now.