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You are here: Home / Politics / Good For Lanny

Good For Lanny

by John Cole|  July 29, 201011:51 am| 58 Comments

This post is in: Politics

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As much as I loathe Lanny Davis, I kind of admire his going to bat for Charlie Rangel. I think the comparison to Sherrod is stupid as hell, but, still. I guess I just still really respect loyalty.

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58Comments

  1. 1.

    Toast

    July 29, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    I respect loyalty as long as it’s not slavish and/or misplaced. Lanny Davis’ loyalty fetish also drove him to defend years of indefensible slime-ball moves by the Shame of Connecticut, Joe Lieberman (I – Have no principles).

  2. 2.

    NobodySpecial

    July 29, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    Did I mention Fuck Lanny Davis?

    I know that even some Democrats, anonymously of course, are hoping that Charlie Rangel will resign so that Republicans can’t label the Democratic Party with the “culture of corruption” tag — a phrase I believe Democrats unfairly used in the 2006 elections to try to associate most honest Republicans with a few dishonest ones like Randy Cunningham.

    I’d love to know who these ‘honest Republicans’ are.

  3. 3.

    Alex S.

    July 29, 2010 at 12:03 pm

    He surely knows how to pick the wrong side…

    Edit: I read on his wikipedia page that he’s a lobbyist for the pakistani government, lol.

  4. 4.

    jeffreyw

    July 29, 2010 at 12:07 pm

    I am loyal to Heinz ketchup. At least I was, until they sold us out.
    The bastards.
    I am making my own ketchup today. And I’m using all the damn salt I want in it. Sue me.

  5. 5.

    Keith G

    July 29, 2010 at 12:07 pm

    I like Charlie Rangel. I agree emphatically that there should be no rush to judgment.

    And I really appreciate this from the article’s comments”

    “I believe Rangel is an honorable man who had 4 rent controlled apartments in New York.” Fixed it for ya

    I think good ol Charlie got to be a bit detached from the things he needed to be paying attention to.

  6. 6.

    My Truth Hurts

    July 29, 2010 at 12:12 pm

    You admire honor among thieves? No wonder you were a Republican for so long…

  7. 7.

    anthrosciguy

    July 29, 2010 at 12:14 pm

    I guess I just still really respect loyalty

    How very GW Bush of you. :)

  8. 8.

    Bobby Thomson

    July 29, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    Anyone who thinks Lanny is defending Rangel out of the goodness of his heart (rather than for pay) is . . . perhaps a bit naive.

  9. 9.

    parksideq

    July 29, 2010 at 12:19 pm

    Speaking of Shirley Sherrod, she’s planning to bring a suit against Andrew Breitbart.

    Of course, this only reinforces the notion that Sherrod is shrill, as well as a reverse racist. Why is she trying to add more weight to the white man’s burden, anyway?

  10. 10.

    Corner Stone

    July 29, 2010 at 12:22 pm

    Lanny Davis is the nominal D version of Bill Kristol.
    Anytime Lanny takes a side you can bet he’s being paid to do so, and it’s going to be the wrong one.

  11. 11.

    Zifnab

    July 29, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    OT: But this is ripe for a “Going Galt” piece.

    http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immigration-phoenix-20100723,0,6111019.story

    The purchase of the briefcase-sized shoulder bags means that another one of Katchi’s customers, mostly Latino immigrants, is packing to leave the state before what is touted as the nation’s toughest law against illegal immigrants takes effect July 29.

    Katchi’s store isn’t the only business suffering. The vast shopping center that holds his small shop is almost empty. The Food City supermarket closed this spring. Then the furniture shop. Then the pizzeria.

    The giant apartment complex across the street, once brimming with tenants, is two-thirds vacant. Katchi is behind on his rent.

    “The business is broken,” said Katchi, who has operated his shop at this intersection for 14 years. “After the 29th of July, what happens? Maybe I have to close the store.”

    Looks like John Galt was an illegal immigrant. What a twist!

  12. 12.

    Paris

    July 29, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    ‘“culture of corruption” tag — a phrase I believe Democrats unfairly used in the 2006 elections ‘

    Lanny ‘The Blind Sqirrel’ Davis is a douchebag of the highest order.

  13. 13.

    El Cid

    July 29, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    Has Charlie Rangel hired Lanny Davis? Or is he free from representing any 3rd world coups lately?

  14. 14.

    feebog

    July 29, 2010 at 12:26 pm

    Davis makes a good point in his article. I don’t know anything about the charges against Rangel, but they are just that, charges, not proven at this point. And lets not forget that in many of these ethics cases, they go through the hearing and then come back with a recommendation of censure or some other mild form of discipline.

  15. 15.

    wilfred

    July 29, 2010 at 12:30 pm

    Lanny Davis is the pricks’ prick.

    Still, this is a bit much, no?

    Two Democrats didn’t wait to hear the charges. Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio, a second-term lawmaker who received 65 percent of the vote two years ago, said Rangel needs to resign to preserve the public’s trust in Congress. Rep. Walt Minnick of Idaho, a freshman who got 51 percent of the vote last time, called for resignation if the charges are proven.

    Is including percentage of the vote a new trend – like an electoral batting average or something?

  16. 16.

    Zifnab

    July 29, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    @feebog: That’s the thing though. After the DeLay years, I have very little confidence in the Congressional Ethics system. It’s barely functional on a good day.

    Even if Rangel walks away with a clean bill of health or a mild censure, he could have a million dead kittens in his closet or he could be an anointed saint and I have still have no clue which.

    I, personally, have a hard time believing you get to be the head of the Appropriations Committee without getting dirty, no matter who you are. I’d just like to see something that would let me put my suspicions to rest. At least with Clinton, the climax of the investigations was a blowjob. That’s the sort of thing we can all laugh off as asinine.

  17. 17.

    eemom

    July 29, 2010 at 12:34 pm

    @parksideq:

    Speaking of Shirley Sherrod, she’s planning to bring a suit against Andrew Breitbart

    .

    Yay! Yay!! I was so hoping she’d do it. This is eleventy kinds of awesome.

    Please Shirley, bring it in DC. Hire the sharkiest lawyer in town to grill that fucker’s ass in front of a DC jury. Prove the existence of God.

  18. 18.

    JGabriel

    July 29, 2010 at 12:40 pm

    John Cole @ Top:

    As much as I loathe Lanny Davis, I kind of admire his going to bat for Charlie Rangel.

    Really? It kinda made think less of Charlie, whom I like but don’t exactly think of as the least corruptible person in NYC politics.

    Definition of an honest NYC pol: Someone who makes sure the project is for the good of the community before taking the kickback.

    P.S. I can say that, I live here. The rest of you …

    .

  19. 19.

    El Cid

    July 29, 2010 at 12:41 pm

    @Zifnab: Climax?

  20. 20.

    Triassic Sands

    July 29, 2010 at 12:41 pm

    Davis wrote:

    Charles Rangel is entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence, before everyone jumps to the conclusion that he is guilty as charged.

    I agree with Davis on this and note with sadness that the presumption of innocence has largely become a quaint memory, that is if one assumes it was ever given more than lip service in this country.

    I guess I just still really respect loyalty.

    The presumption of innocence is something Davis and we owe to everyone regardless of political party or friendship. It shouldn’t have anything to do with loyalty.

  21. 21.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 29, 2010 at 12:44 pm

    @parksideq: Good for her. I hope, though, that she is prepared for the serious level of vile shit that is going to be thrown at her throughout the course of the suit. A defamation suit is going to open the doors to any, and all, crap about her life that could show that her character is low and, therefore, she could not be defamed. She is a brave, or seriously pissed-off, woman to do this.

    And if face is on this thread, sorry for saying something that could start the lawyer talk you seem to hate so much.

  22. 22.

    Bill H

    July 29, 2010 at 12:46 pm

    When someone is doing something wrong, it is not loyalty to support that.

    When a SD Chargers player is arrested for drunk driving the other players all say “Well he’s my teammate, and I’m loyal to him.” In so doing, they condone drunk driving, and they facilitate the idiot driving drunk again. Think Vincent Jackson.

    Real loyalty would be to tell that friend that his behavior is unacceptable, that you will support him but specifically saying that that you will not support the behavior.

  23. 23.

    MBunge

    July 29, 2010 at 12:47 pm

    Lanny Davis is going to spend the rest of his life saying stuff like this to try and tamp down the self-loathing he feels from the whole Clinton-Lewinsky thing. He’d be better off just going to a therapist.

    Mike

  24. 24.

    El Tiburon

    July 29, 2010 at 12:48 pm

    Shorter Lanny Davis: Even if Rangel is as corrupt as they come, so what, he served in the war.

    Look, elected officials (like cops) should be held to a much higher level of scrutiny. We ordain them with the power to decide our fates, including deciding on whether we earn a living or die.

    Regardless of the good Rangel has done, IF IF IF he is guilty, then put him on trial or whatever is appropriate. IF IF IF he is found guilty, then let the Judge or jury decide on leniency.

    Otherwise big fucking shocker that the MSM has already decided his fate. You have jack-offs like Little Timmah Russert on the beat. What can you expect.

  25. 25.

    brendancalling

    July 29, 2010 at 12:49 pm

    @Zifnab:

    i loved that article. It literally had me laughing out loud. not in a laughing with way, like when I watch Louis CK, but a laughing AT way.

    It would warm the cockles of my heart if every single latino in Arizona, regardless of citizenship status, left. Think of the impact of 30% of your population leaving. not just the immediate economic impact, with all the closed businesses and abandoned homes. They’d have no one to harvest their cotton and lettuce (two major crops). No one to pack meat.

    the only people remaining would be a lot of angry white people complaining about getting what they asked for.

  26. 26.

    valdivia

    July 29, 2010 at 12:49 pm

    TPM reporting Rangel just cut a deal so there would not be a trial.

  27. 27.

    Mnemosyne

    July 29, 2010 at 12:51 pm

    @brendancalling:

    Unfortunately, the angry old white people who demanded this law aren’t the ones being hurt by having Latinos leave the state. As usual, it’s poor people and other immigrants.

    Sure, eventually they’re going to have trouble finding a housekeeper or a gardener, but that’s going to be long after all of the people in that article have gone bankrupt.

  28. 28.

    Allan

    July 29, 2010 at 12:54 pm

    I can’t hear Lanny Davis over the screams of his clients’ victims. Could someone ask them to keep it down so I can concentrate on Lanny’s message?

  29. 29.

    eemom

    July 29, 2010 at 12:58 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Interesting. I kind of assumed they’d try to buy her off.

    I don’t know much about defamation law, but I seriously doubt a “low character” defense would go over well. I’m sure Breitbart’s own army of highly paid sharks would come up with something better than that. I.e., a large settlement offer, which I hope she won’t accept.

  30. 30.

    MattR

    July 29, 2010 at 1:01 pm

    There is that magic number again (from a TPM article about the declining opposition to HCR)

    The survey paints a picture of minimal, but intense, opposition to the law. Only 27 percent of those surveyed would like to see the bill repealed, while a significant majority are either supportive of the law or willing to give it a chance.

  31. 31.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 29, 2010 at 1:02 pm

    @eemom: The fact that a low character defense would not be successful in court does not mean the Wurlitzer won’t conduct it in public.

  32. 32.

    Bender

    July 29, 2010 at 1:06 pm

    TPM reporting Rangel just cut a deal so there would not be a trial.

    Good. Now we can dispense with that “presumption of innocence” tripe for that fat old corrupt parasitic bastard. Every time I read “20-term Congressman,” I realize how stupid the general citizenry is, which directly equates to how fucked up the government is.

  33. 33.

    Bender

    July 29, 2010 at 1:14 pm

    Speaking of Shirley Sherrod, she’s planning to bring a suit against Andrew Breitbart.

    Greeeeeeat. Now when this case is inevitably dismissed, Breitbart can use the “I was exonerated” defense so popular with slimesuckers like the Climategate crew and ACORN. So then we’ll know that everything he did was on the up-and-up, right?

  34. 34.

    JohnR

    July 29, 2010 at 1:20 pm

    Uh-huh. Say, you know who else was loyal?

  35. 35.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 29, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    Is it just me or has the quality of the trolls around here really declined?

  36. 36.

    JGabriel

    July 29, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    As batshit crazy as BOB was, at least he never struck me as particularly angry. For instance, I never got the feeling that BOB was the type who would go into a Montessori school and kill all the kids just because their parents were liberals.

    I don’t why I thought of that just now. It’s not like there are any angry conservatives that make me think they would do that posting in this thread.

    (whistles innocently, strolls away …)

    .

  37. 37.

    Zifnab

    July 29, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    @brendancalling:

    the only people remaining would be a lot of angry white people complaining about getting what they asked for.

    Now they finally have all those great, high paying jobs back. Hurray!

  38. 38.

    MattR

    July 29, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    @Bender:

    Greeeeeeat. Now when this case is inevitably dismissed, Breitbart can use the “I was exonerated” defense so popular with slimesuckers like the Climategate crew and ACORN. So then we’ll know that everything he did was on the up-and-up, right?

    Huh? Both the Climategate scientists and ACORN were exonerated but no one seems to care about those details.

  39. 39.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 29, 2010 at 1:29 pm

    @JGabriel: Montessori in particular?

  40. 40.

    Paris

    July 29, 2010 at 1:29 pm

    @Bender: Get some new medication and try again.

  41. 41.

    Zifnab

    July 29, 2010 at 1:31 pm

    @Mnemosyne: The damage trickles up. You can’t have a city purely of the rich. More jobs than just “domestic housekeeper” exist, even in Bellaire and the OC.

    Who do you think is stocking their grocery stores? Who do you think is driving the trucks that ship in merchandise to their malls? Who paves their roads?

    Fewer residents means a higher premium on existing talent. And make no mistake. Laying asphalt that doesn’t crack and shipping groceries so they don’t spoil are talents. The upper classes will feel it if there’s a big enough exodus.

  42. 42.

    Davis X. Machina

    July 29, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    Is it just me or has the quality of the trolls around here really declined?

    I haven’t noticed anything special — they’re as pie-obsessed as ever.

  43. 43.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 29, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    @Paris:

    Get some new medication and try again.

    Fixt.

  44. 44.

    Cacti

    July 29, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    Rangel is, of course, entitled to the presumption of innocence in any legal proceedings against him.

    But, considering he is 80 years old and has been in Congress for nearly 40 years, maybe now would be a good time to step aside and make way for some new blood.

    He could use his free time to give his full attention to exonerating himself.

  45. 45.

    Tom65

    July 29, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    The fact that Lanny Fucking Davis is coming to Rangel’s defense is proof-positive that Rangel is guilty.

  46. 46.

    TimmyB

    July 29, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    I agree about admiring loyalty. I couldn’t help but think, while watching Al Cowling drive O.J. Simpson during the infamous “low speed chase,” that Al was a great friend.

    What stuck in my mind was that I couldn’t think of a single person who I could ask to drive me to Mexico so I could escape an arrest for murder. But O.J. had such a loyal friend.

    Not that Al shouldn’t have been charged with helping a fleeing felon, but who among us ever had a friend like that? Now that’s loyalty.

  47. 47.

    eemom

    July 29, 2010 at 2:05 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    yeah, I just meant I think that strategy would backfire because it would make Breitbart look like even more of an asshole than ever.

  48. 48.

    cfaller96

    July 29, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    Perhaps John needs to reexamine his definition of “going to bat” for somebody. You see, when I pay someone to deliver a good or perform a service for me, I don’t think that someone is “going to bat” for me. I think that person is “hired.” Lanny Davis is just doing whatever his “employer” told him to do.

    (And yeah, we may not technically know that Rangel hired Davis. But c’mon, it’s Lanny Davis.)

  49. 49.

    eemom

    July 29, 2010 at 2:09 pm

    @Bender:

    I know I’ll regret asking this, but what exactly is the basis of your belief that the case would be “inevitably dismissed”?
    Are you a defamation specialist? Cuz to a regular Jane Q. Lawyer like me, Sherrod’s case looks pretty solid.

  50. 50.

    eemom

    July 29, 2010 at 2:10 pm

    oh, fuck that c*al*s shit that got me in moderation again. Who though up that stupid name for that drug anyway?

  51. 51.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 29, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    @eemom: I know, but the fact that he is that much of an asshole will mean that he and his friends won’t be able to stop themselves.

  52. 52.

    J sub D

    July 29, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    The GOP is hoping this drags on until November. Charlie might oblige them.

  53. 53.

    eemom

    July 29, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    ah. Good point.

  54. 54.

    Bill Murray

    July 29, 2010 at 2:22 pm

    @JohnR: My neighbor’s wolf. Until the neighbor got hurt and the wolf made a play for alpha status right at my neighbor’s neck

  55. 55.

    Bender

    July 29, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    @MattR:

    Huh? Both the Climategate scientists and ACORN were exonerated but no one seems to care about those details.

    Suuuuure they were. Just like Breitbart will be, right?

  56. 56.

    MattR

    July 29, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    @Bender: I am still confused. Are you aguing that despite the fact that a court will have found him guilty of no wrong doing Andrew Breitbart will be forced out of business, similar to ACORN?

  57. 57.

    Norwegian Shooter

    July 29, 2010 at 5:09 pm

    @Zifnab: Rangel is Ways and Means, but my main point is that there are powerful congressmen who are clean. Appropriations is currently chaired by David Obey. Besides the scandalous Alan Mollohan, who lost his primary in May, the other top D’s are Norm Dicks and Marcy Kaptur. The other top-ranking D’s on W&M are Sander Levin, Pete Stark, Jim McDermot and John Lewis. Besides the 2 louses, the rest are stand-up people. That’s about 20% scandal-ridden. Not too bad, eh?

  58. 58.

    brantl

    July 30, 2010 at 7:52 am

    Loyalty that isn’t leavened with common sense just makes lemmings. And no, you can’t make lemming-aide from lemmings. You make TeaBaggers from lemmings, at least the hairless variety.

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