Smart explainer from Marin Cogan, at NYMag, on “How Downton Abbey Office Décor Morphed Into a D.C. Spending Scandal“:
… Other reporters actually had looked at Schock’s finances before but didn’t report them.“The irony of this whole thing is that the fact that he spent a lot of money on hotels and travel has been known among Republicans forever and it pissed them off,” says another reporter who is now working on the Schock story. “Once Ben had a great story by accident it gave reporters an opening to be like, he lives this lifestyle. It all kind of fit into the mold that Ben created. On its own a story that Aaron Schock spends a lot of money is not that interesting because he’s not in leadership. It would seem very random. No one had a hook until we discovered that he was working in a replica of Downton Abbey.”
Adam Smith, communications director for Public Campaign, a nonprofit working to reduce the role of special-interest spending in politics, has two explanations for why Schock (who declined a request for comment) went from a media favorite to one of its top targets. One is the difficulty in understanding Congress’s arcane and complex ethics rules. “It’s all super-complicated! I’m pretty well-versed in this stuff, but I still had to track down and confirm what the ethics violation would be, even though I knew it was … something. Same goes for our bullet-hole-filled campaign finance laws,” he says. When you see big spending stories blow up like this one, they’ve often originated in opposition research shops. It’s fair to ask: ‘Would we have seen that without a dedicated opponent looking for it?'”
He continues: “But I think the big thing, for me, is that reporters are cynical generally, and on money in politics in particular. Everyone’s schmoozing with lobbyists, everyone’s prostrating themselves in front of big donors, so what’s the big deal? They’ll say everyone’s corrupt, voters don’t care, politicians aren’t going to do anything, so why cover it? It’s all about the horse race — who’s picking up the most bundlers, who’s raising the most money.” Eventually, some other reporter might have come by and noticed the office, but if Schock and his staff hadn’t freaked out about it, it might have never raised alarm bells. Instead, on Tuesday, Politico reported that Schock was lawyering up to deal with the allegations made against him. Terris, meanwhile, got another tip in his inbox. “Ben, I enjoyed your recent article and the accompanying photos,” it read. “I was surprised to see the long tail pheasant feathers in a government office since I thought it was illegal to keep such feathers.” The plot thickens.
Russ Choma, at the Center for Responsive Politics OpenSecrets.org, further explains that his GOP associates had very little impetus to go after Schock, because Aaron made sure that everybody who mattered got a taste:
… While Schock’s campaign committee spends lavishly on airfare and catering — not to mention cufflinks ($2,678) and flowers ($3,570) — his leadership PAC, GOP Generation Y Fund, is, relatively speaking, all business. It raised $782,000 in the 2014 cycle, through late November of last year, and spent $776,000. Of that, $517,000 — almost 70 percent of the PAC’s total spending — was spent on contributions to other federal candidates (all of them Republicans)…
… [O]n the list of leadership PACs that give out the most money to other members of Congress, Schock’s stands out at No. 14, just behind a short roster of stars and leaders from both parties, like Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
***********
Apart from making notes on the best way to make friends & influence people, what’s on the agenda as we start the weekend?
Baud
The dress is orange and green. Wake up, sheeple!
greennotGreen
This reminds me of the way too many reporters viewed Al Gore in the 2000 campaign. They had fun punching holes in his stories (even if they had to misquote him to do it.) Calling their bud W. a doofus wasn’t fun because no one was surprised he was a doofus.
Schock’s spending wasn’t worth mentioning until the Downton Abbey theme made it fun. So now they’ll pile on.
Where’s the Media Horse? Oh, how I miss her.
muddy
This isn’t the point, but why would having pheasant feathers be against the law? You can shoot and eat the birds after all.
mtiffany
Those aren’t donations, that’s hush money — to make sure Schock’s fellow Republicans keep their mouths closed about what he puts in his.
Anne Laurie
@muddy:
If they’re taken from an endangered species, it’s illegal to own them, even if you came by them through inheritance or accident. I can’t identify them just by looking at a few tail feathers in a photo, but there are plenty of endangered pheasant species, and more than a few birders who undoubtedly can do a visual ID!
muddy
@Anne Laurie: Ah, thanks. I thought pheasants were just pheasants.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@muddy: I know I’ve seen them for sale at online craft stores. I believe the various long-tailed species are vulnerable if not endangered in the wild.
srv
You people, we finally get a handsome closeted Republican who watches PBS and all you can do is stone him.
Pogonip
@Anne Laurie: I believe eagle feathers are used in some feather-not-dot Indian ceremonies, I hope those people get an exemption. I know they’re allowed to grow peyote.
Roger Moore
@Pogonip:
Yes, Native American religious uses of eagle feathers are exempted from the more general prohibitions on having parts of endangered species. IIRC, there is some level of tedious paperwork involved in getting them, though.
Iowa Old Lady
@muddy: Maybe it’s a misprint for peasants.
David Koch
Baud
@Iowa Old Lady:
Peasant feathers are worthless.
RaflW
What’s on the agenda: Apart from watching Boehner and his pal Kevin McCarthy make a spectacle of the House GOP, I’ll be enjoying a home-made (not by me!) chicken pot pie. And maybe some Netflix.
And tomorrow, moar snowboarding! Big storm forecast for the CO rockies. Today was a feast of powder at Vail. Mmmmm.
Of course, that makes one hungry for pot pie, so thank FSM for a kitchen-enabled houseguest!
Mike in NC
Today is a day to say goodbye to Spock and fuck you to Schock.
Villago Delenda Est
@David Koch: Betty Cracker posted that earlier, but it’s well worth being reposted.
Villago Delenda Est
@Mike in NC: WIN!
NotMax
Dale Carnegie is spinning in his grave.
Baud
Chuck Todd on Rachel. Mute engaged.
Baud
Quiet night.
ThresherK
Made Beef Bourgingnon tonight for my wife, part Julia Child’s recipe, part Ina Garten’s.
Before you go on about how rich I must be, the beef was pretty damn cheap compared to what non-crap moo critter costs today.
The wine is the real variable expense for me, because I have no idea what a good Pinot Noir / Rhone / Burgundy should cost, except for hewing to the adage “If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it”.
Since this is a crowd which loves their cooking and their drinking, I’m currently taking recommendations.
srv
@RaflW: sweet. I was always a vail
Guy but really enjoyed a turn at keystone last month. Helps to have a bro with a lodge there.
I always go as far back at vail and slalom the stands
Gin & Tonic
Don’t know if it’s already been covered, as I’ve been on the road, but a leading Putin critic, Boris Nemtsov, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Moscow tonight. He’d essentially predicted that Putin would have him killed. Putin, of course, will deny any involvement.
I’ve been wondering what could be a breaking point for Vladimir Vladimirovich. While I don’t think this is it, something will be. After all, Nicolae Ceasescu had over 90% approval almost until his, uhm, sudden end. The planned protest march on Sunday will be … interesting.
schrodinger's cat
@David Koch: I don’t remember much from the reruns of TOS that I watched many moons ago, but I do remember Spock, he was my favorite. It is only logical.
Live long and purrpurr.
srv
@Gin & Tonic: not sure it’s a drive by if everyone gets out of the car, surrounds you, and the executes you.
Vladimir needs a drone encounter of the third kind
NotMax
@ThresherK
Might go to a good liquor establishment (or a liquor department with a knowledgeable manager at the supermarket) and ask for reasonably priced recommendations for something full and rich but not with strong tannins for cooking purposes.
catclub
@Gin & Tonic:
I think the rest of Romania was almost North Korea poor by the time that happened – and Russia is not that poor.
I also think I heard the Putin admin describe the murder as possibly a provocation in advance of the Sunday protest march. (Along the lines of ‘Stop hitting my fist with your face’)
gogol's wife
@Gin & Tonic:
I remember when I thought Nemtsov was going to be the leader of Russia. This is so, so horrible.
Mike in NC
@Gin & Tonic: Putin had Nemtsov eliminated just as Stalin had Trotsky put down.
raven
@Mike in NC: Ice axe?
Tree With Water
If the people and taxpayers of New Jersey allow Christie to get away with his ExonMobil settlement, they’ll prove themselves the dumbest marshmallows in the nation. That man belongs in jail.
smike
Why have a not seen a plethora of #O’ReillyHistory memes? It seems so easy. Like ,”I was in Franfort and I saw the bombs raining down on the city. The explosions looked like the devil himself was throwing fire from the underworld on the whole town. #O’ReillyHistory.”
Origuy
According to Billmon, you all are jumping to conclusions by blaming Putin. Since he had an 86% approval rating, and Russian polls are so reliable, he could have no motive for ordering a hit. It therefore must have been a CIA job.
Actually, I think it might not have been Putin; Nemtsov might have run afoul of someone else who plays for keeps. Thinking it was a false flag by Putin’s opposition, though, seems pretty far out there.
Morzer
@Baud:
On the other hand, derivatives created by bundling peasant feather loans together…..
MattR
@efgoldman: Asbury Park Press
Short version is Christie is pushing to accept a $250 million settlement to resolve an $8.9 billion suit against ExxonMobil that the state has more or less been gradually winning over the past 11 years. I am sure it is just a coincidence that ExxonMobil gave half a million to the Republican Governor’s Association last year.
Gin & Tonic
@Origuy: The idea that somebody could put a hit on Nemtsov in the open, steps from the Kremlin, without at least Putin’s knowledge, is ludicrous.
Morzer
@Gin & Tonic:
*in the voice of Romanov in Portland*
That’s what the Obama-von Biden fascists want you to think, which is why they arranged the hit using Ukrainian special operatives with alien DNA.
RaflW
@srv: I have had some fun runs in Blue Sky, but I’m a Sundown bowl fan (Sun Up, too). I only get to Vail 2 or 3 days a year – it’s expensive.
After 15 years of trying every cheap-ish hotel and lots of moderate condos in Breck, Frisco, and such, I took the plunge and bought a condo in Dillon (and now I’m renting it out to others when I’m not here…). So we ride Keystone, A-basin and Breck, and like today when the snow is worth it, Vail.
Origuy
@Gin & Tonic: You’re probably right. I didn’t realize how close to the Kremlin it was until I saw the picture in the NY Times. I remember crossing that bridge south of St Basil’s two years ago.
Heliopause
TSA Agents: underpaid and pissed off. Before they were told to work for free.
Good luck, flyers.
beth
Watching Vice episode about using viruses to fight cancer. It’s fascinating. One interesting fact – a doctor having great results with clinical trials had funds dry up for a few years with the collapse of the economy and also sequestration. Just think that a cure for cancer could be delayed due to stupid economic policies. Something to think about.
Morzer
@beth:
Just think that access to affordable quality healthcare for all could be delayed due to corrupt ideology and militant ignorance.
Mike J
@Origuy: Billmon sez:
which implies that Putin would be taking a risk by killing somebody in the opposition. It doesn’t matter how unnecessary an assassination is if there is zero risk.
Gin & Tonic
@Mike J: Exactly. What price was paid for the assassination of Litvinenko? Slowly, publicly, loudly, in London?
Origuy
I cheated and used Google Translate:
Неужто никто не избавит меня от этого бурного священника?
But I don’t think Putin is going to make a pilgrimage on his knees in penance like Henry II.
Mike J
@Gin & Tonic: If you’re trying to decode a murder mystery it may make sense to say, “he couldn’t have done it, everyone suspects him!” In real life, the guy everyone suspects probably did it (which is different from proving it, but we’re not talking about the court system here,)
Nine times out of ten, the boyfriend did it.
Morzer
@Mike J:
IIRC crime statistics show that an overwhelming majority of murders are committed by a family member/person known to the deceased.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike J:
The tenth time, it was the butler.
Mike J
Tijuana is not the happiest place on earth tonight. Down two nil at the half to Pachuca.
Morzer
@Omnes Omnibus:
What if the butler is the boyfriend? Where does that fit in?
Peale
Watching the video of ISIS running amuck in museums in Mosul. Yeah, I know it’s not people their killing, but honestly, every place they pop up seems to suck worse than before, no matter how crappy conditions were when they got there.
Gin & Tonic
@Origuy: The adjective isn’t quite right – бурный is “turbulent” in the sense of “stormy” or “blustery.” From what I know of the original it was more “meddlesome” or “troublesome”, so I’d choose perhaps хлопотный.
Peale
@Morzer: it’s 2015 now. A few times the butler’s boyfriend does the deed, in the parlor with the rope.
Omnes Omnibus
@Peale: Exactly what deed are you talking about now?
Morzer
@Gin & Tonic:
Apparently it’s just an oral tradition, so you can probably argue for any adjective that takes your fancy. The contemporary biographer Edward Grim (who was actually present at the murder) has Henry II say:
“What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?”
Which, I suppose, makes Becket the first known victim of a drone strike….
SFAW
@efgoldman:
In retrospect, Stalin’s biggest problem was that he was born 50 years too soon. Had he been around in the early 2000s, W would have looked into his eyes/soul, and everything would have been OK for Joey S (or Joey D., if you’re a sort-of purist).
Of course, then Obama would have committed treason by allowing Staling to become so powerful, etc., etc.
SFAW
CRASH-Bs on Sunday. Get to watch a lot of people rowing to nowhere, seven minutes at a time.
ef, I expect you and Mrs. ef to wend your way up from Rho Dilun, because who wants to hand around waiting for more ice dams to back up the melty stuff?
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW:
You’re forgetting the time machine.
Morzer
@Omnes Omnibus:
YOLO, man!
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
Didn’t really forget it – after all, his ability to change the Honolulu papers, 40 years after they were originally published, is always on (what passes for) my mind. But how would he have used it in this instance? (Apologies for my denseness.)
Origuy
@Gin & Tonic: Yeah, I was in a rush and I don’t know Russian well.
mikej
@efgoldman: I had friend who was a three day champ and won $3000. Everyone missed final everyday.
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: I say, I think it is dashed unsporting of you to expect me to come up with a logical explanation of wingnutty pseudo-thought, old bean.
Gin & Tonic
@efgoldman: I wish her success.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
What ho, Squiffy?
What’s next — cabbage crates over the briny?
(Sorry, was just watching that sketch.)
SFAW
@efgoldman:
OK, I guess we can let you slide. Once.
Best of luck to your daughter (or daughter-in-law?). Let us know how she does/did. When you’re allowed to, that is.
ETA: And while you’re down in DC, see if you can entice Inhofe into a snowball fight. Just make sure yours have rocks in the center – they’ll be right at home in his head.
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: Sorry, old man, we don’t understand your banter.
Anyway, I was going more for Bertie Wooster.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
Hey, I would too, if my daughter were on it. (Assuming I survived the coronary I’d have when I found out she made it on the show, that is. I mean, I love my daughter, and she’s reasonably intelligent, and she watches Jeopardy a fair amount, but she’s not really “a good fit” for Jeopardy.)
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
Wasn’t he the sixth
BeatlePython?Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: No, that was Connie Booth.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
Wait a minute – did Hugh Laurie have one of “those” operations? I’m so confused.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: May she have a quick finger on the button.
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: He’s a rower; they don’t go in for that sort of thing. It’s ruggers who do cross-dressing and the other weird stuff.
SFAW
@mikej:
Are we talking Art Fleming vintage? Because you don’t see too many Trebek-era three-day champs who average only $1000 per day. Or was that a typo?
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
Nice segue back to the CRASH-Bs!
Oarsome! (as they say)
[And I actually did remember that he rowed. People remember the most useless things sometimes.]
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
You mean weird stuff like wearing a wedge of “cheese” on one’s head, to show one’s support for a local sports franchise?
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: I also played rugby.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
True. And perhaps I’m being too literal, but he wrote “three-day champ,” as opposed to “contestant.” And I’ve seen a couple of co-champ outcomes, but never a three-day-everyone-zeroes-out (or close enough) outcome.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
Yeah, but aren’t/weren’t you also a lax-er? That would excuse a variety of other personality flaws. Or am I mixing you up with someone else?
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: God no. Never lax-ed. Skied, fenced, ran, ruggered – that’s it.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
So which of you lawyers played lacrosse? Burns? I know Cole did, but I thought I remembered one of you ambulance chasers playing it as well.
Omnes Omnibus
@SFAW: Burnsie is a lax guy. And a tax guy.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
OK, thanks. Glad to know I’m not completely fucked up, only partially so.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Take it up with Burnsie. I report; you deride.
SFAW
@efgoldman:
You might consider quitting while you’re ahead. Don’t you have a plane to catch?
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Liberal elitist.
Morzer
@efgoldman:
Isn’t Burnsie an ex-lax guy these days?
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Nah, I can tell that you are going for reverse snobbery like John Kerry driving a late 80s LeBaron ‘vert in 2004.
Tenar Darell
@Peale: They destroyed a winged Assyrian bull sculpture. Probably looked like this. (Almost, but not quite, makes me wish it had stayed safe and buried).
Yesterday I was reminded during a lecture of the destruction that was visited upon European art and monuments in the last century’s World Wars… Massive deliberate destruction of the cultural heritage of centuries has multiple historical precedents. For example, off the top of my head, the Ghent Altarpiece has been saved at least twice. In the 1940’s, and in the 16th century during the iconoclasm that swept through that area during the waves of the Reformation. I hope that the curators who might have remained behind were able to hide, or save some objects without endangering themselves and their families.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: You drive a pickup? I must re-evaluate all my preconceptions about you.
ETA: My 8 y/o Saab has finally aged into something not too “nouveau.” My dream car is actually a 12 y/o exotic, not a new one.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Moi? I want this. I have watched as it moved from the East to the West coast. I still want it.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: It appeals to all my James Bondian adolescent fantasies and is simply one of the most beautiful cars that I have ever seen.
opiejeanne
@Heliopause: Urk! I’m flying on Sunday. This will certainly be interesting.
SFAW
@Omnes Omnibus:
I’m not sure if “snobbery” is the word I’d use vis-a-vis driving a LeBaron.
@efgoldman:
Yeah, it occurred to me (somewhat later) that you’re close to Amtrak, and might avail yourself of their equipment. I hear Keolis is running them now, as of two days ago.
Except when you compare it to mine, you one-percenter-wannabe.
Where’s the party? I’ll be there! (No, you REALLY don’t want to tell me, trust me on this.) But, congratulations, I guess. Looking forward to it? Or will there be dread/trepidation?