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OH: Presidential Politics Loom, But AG Race is Heating Up
Last Updated on Friday, 26 September 2008 11:55 Written by rslcpol Friday, 26 September 2008 09:56
With 42% of voters still hanging out in the undecided column on this race, this thing is far from over. If you haven’t checked out Republican A.G. candidate Mike Crites – now is the time. We promise he won’t be an attorney general like this. He’ll be an A.G. Ohio can be proud of. From CantonRep:
The race has begun to intensify. Cordray announced a plan Thursday to crack down on credit card marketing on college campuses, expanding on his efforts to protect financial consumers as state treasurer.
Crites’ first ad as the underdog in the race plays off the Dann scandal. Patterned after Apple.’s “I’m a Mac” ads, it features a hip, young guy telling a rumpled-looking voter that Cordray is a professional politician and that he fits the mold of Dann, who made his name as a consumer advocate and whose career now is compared to the disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
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NY: McCain Likes NY AG Cuomo to Lead S.E.C.
Last Updated on Monday, 22 September 2008 11:38 Written by rslcpol Monday, 22 September 2008 10:43
Or maybe you’d prefer to see Eliot Spitzer? That’s what Dan Colarusso over at Portfolio.com is pushing.
From amNewYork:
Republican John McCain says he could use New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the product of a family with deep Democratic Party roots, to head the Securities and Exchange Commission in his administration.
There’s no word so far from Cuomo a day after the presidential candidate’s comments on CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday.
McCain says Cuomo would restore credibility and provide bipartisanship to the SEC, which he’s criticized for lax regulation of financial markets.
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NY: Talk of a GOP Resurgence
Last Updated on Tuesday, 2 September 2008 02:05 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 2 September 2008 10:26
New York is on the short list for being the hottest battleground for state and local races in 2008. It’s too important for you not to be involved – any size contribution makes a difference. Join the over 70,000 grassroots leaders across the country who have already given to the RSLC and donate now. From the Buffalo News:
But Republicans throughout the state have not surrendered. Erie County Republican Chairman James P. Domagalski says the election of GOP businessman Chris Collins as Erie County executive last year bodes well for the right candidate with the right message.
“Our approach was to go out and find a businessman to run county government, and everybody said: ‘Nice idea, kid, but it’s not going to work,’ ” Domagalski said. “But we trusted our instincts, and it worked.”
Domagalski said he believes that Collins, who is scheduled to be showcased as a successful candidate from the business sector at this week’s convention, enjoys widespread popularity in Erie County. He suggested that Democratic Gov. David A. Paterson is enjoying similar early success because he recognizes that New Yorkers do not want higher taxes, and is cutting the budget.
“While I applaud his impetus to cut the budget, what we really need is what our county executive has suggested and not wait till there is more of a problem,” the chairman said, pointing to Collins’ criticism that Albany’s budget “cutting” is really only reducing the already approved rate of growth.
Former Assembly Majority Leader John J. Faso, agrees, and doesn’t mind saying “I told you so” after losing his Republican bid for governor against Spitzer in 2006. Attending the convention here this week, he said the Republican Party must present “genuine solutions to problems.” It has to appeal to voters’ economic concerns and reach better into the state’s immigrant population.
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TN: Dem Governor Calls Unauthorized Background Checks “Just Nosy”
Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 August 2008 10:54 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 20 August 2008 09:57
Oh and the photocopies of expunged traffic records showing up under office doors in a locked legislative building? That’s just someone being nosy.
Governor Bredesen = Governor Spitzer?
We have some free advice for Tennessee’s Democrat Governor, and any other elected officials who might find themselves in a similar situation (and we’ll put in big letters for the slower witted):
ANYTIME YOU HAVE A MEMBER OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ABUSING HIS POSITION FOR SEEMINGLY POLITICAL PURPOSES – EITHER ON ORDERS OR ON HIS OWN – YOU HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM. THE PROPER RESPONSE TO THIS SITUATION IS LETTING AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION RUN ITS COURSE WITH ZERO INTERFERENCE FROM ANY POLITICAL PLAYERS. THE PUBLIC DEMANDS TRANSPARENCY IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS. DOWN PLAYING AN INCIDENT LIKE THIS, SAY BY CALLING IT “JUST NOSY”, IS A FOOLISH AND POORLY ADVISED STRATEGY.
Tennessee Blogger Bill Hobbs might think so, calling the whole mess Troopergate (Where have we heard that before?)
From the Tennessean:
Gov. Phil Bredesen seemed to downplay Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Ronnie Shirley’s actions, characterizing him as a “nosy” officer rather than someone out to misuse the information obtained on private individuals through the unauthorized checks.
Shirley is the politically connected officer who fixed a speeding ticket in 2004 for Bredesen’s top aide at the time, Deputy Gov. Dave Cooley. The officer escaped discipline when top patrol officials concocted a fake punishment to throw off the news media and the public, a deception later reported by The Tennessean.
In the current case, a country music star, two journalists and several employees of the Department of Safety were among those whose information was reviewed by Shirley, officials said. The department would not say how many of those were unauthorized checks.
The department gave few specifics about why Shirley was doing the checks, or how many other state employees may have been run, only that no state elected officials were on the list — a sentiment echoed by the governor.
There was no way to independently verify that claim last night because officials refused to make the list public.
Posted under Dems Behaving Badly, State Legislature News | No Comments
TN: Dems Using Police For Political Gain (Again)?
Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 August 2008 04:16 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 19 August 2008 03:36
Does this sound familiar? State Democrats use their power in state government to have the state police do their political dirty work? Surely Tennessee Democrats read the paper and have heard about that far away place called New York? Eliot Spitzer? Troopergate? Any of this ringing any bells? The odds makers in Tennessee should start taking bets on which mid-level Democrat state employee is going to take the fall for this one. From the Tennessean.com:
At this point, the investigation, which began more than a month ago, is being handled by the THP’s own criminal investigations division, but the patrol has refused to comment or release specific information about the allegations.
The suspicion, particularly from Republicans, is that a politically connected patrol lieutenant, Ronnie Shirley, ran the checks for political reasons. Shirley’s name is the only one to surface in connection with the allegations.
Mumpower said his concerns are compounded by a mysterious incident a month and a half ago at his legislative office in the Capitol complex.
The Bristol Republican said an envelope appeared overnight in his locked office containing photocopies of THP arrest records involving a Republican candidate for state House. The arrest had happened years ago, and did not result in a conviction.
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WV: Dem AG McGraw Has Taken Outside Counsel to New Heights
Last Updated on Thursday, 7 August 2008 10:15 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 7 August 2008 10:15
From LegalNewsLine:
New York’s Eliot Spitzer made may have made the practice fashionable, but West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw has a lengthy and enduring pattern of hiring outside counsel and appointing special assistants to help bring sizable financial settlements to the state coffers.
The practice, once all the rage among attorneys general across the country, is now under scrutiny by legal reform groups, state legislators and business organizations. McGraw is chief among those drawing criticism.
“McGraw is probably one of, if not the most, aggressive state attorneys general in this regard,” said Amber Taylor, a Washington-based lawyer who has written articles about the need for reform.
Spitzer earned acclaim and criticism for his high-profile lawsuits, which helped vault him to the New York governor’s mansion. McGraw’s track record — one many of his critics say he continues to build with infuriating regularity — is far more extensive and enduring, if not as flashy.
Also, the attorney general regularly teams with lawyers who are also his faithful campaign contributors. These appointments, most often made without an open and public process, have helped earn outside legal firms huge sums of money in partnership with the powerful office of Attorney General.
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NY: Troopergate Records Show Sloppy Work Done
Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 August 2008 02:41 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 6 August 2008 11:05
An official mess indeed. This whole episode, and the call girl bit, all speak for themselves. From the Buffalo News:
Through 9,000 pages of testimony, e-mails and other documents detailing the Capitol scandal known as Troopergate, a portrait emerges of the former Spitzer administration’s sloppy attempt to discredit a political enemy — and an even messier bid to deal with the political fallout.
Records released Tuesday by the Albany County district attorney’s office in its two Troopergate investigations depict the administration of former Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer beset by infighting, faulty memories, finger-pointing, regrets and page after page of seeming paranoia about how the scandal eventually got out of its control.
While the documents provide tantalizing details of the inner workings of the administration’s attempt to smear former Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno, the whole affair seems to have been captured in the testimony of one of Spitzer’s top lawyers.
Posted under Dems Behaving Badly, State Legislature News | No Comments
Disgraced Former Democrat AG Marc Dann: He’s Sticking Around
Last Updated on Friday, 1 August 2008 11:24 Written by rslcpol Friday, 1 August 2008 09:51
For Ohio Democrats, Marc Dann is like chewing gum, or worse, that gets stuck on the bottom of your shoe. With over $300k still in the bank, ol’ “Sticky” Dann won’t be going away anytime soon. As far the race to fill out the balance of Dann’s term, who do you think is grumpier over Sticky’s latest move – the Jeopardy champ Rich Cordray (that’s him in the middle), or the corruption busting former Federal prosecutor Mike Crites?
And for Sticky D – it’s not like his credibility is at stake in all of this – that’s already shot. We say keep the accounts open, raise money, and run for office in 2010 – you can rehab your image. Clearly Eliot Spitzer’s and Paul Morrison’s rehab strategies aren’t working for them yet – you’re smarter – you can make a comeback baby!
From the Columbus Dispatch:
Former Attorney General Marc Dann spent nearly the equivalent of a year’s salary in his unsuccessful bid to weather a sexual-harassment scandal, but don’t count him out of political life just yet.
The 46-year-old Democrat has filed paperwork with the secretary of state’s office to run again in 2010. While that doesn’t commit Dann to seeking a new term, it does allow him to continue raising and spending money from his campaign fund.
Campaign-finance reports filed yesterday show that Dann billed his campaign fund for trips even after stepping down May 14 when sexual-harassment allegations involving an aide mushroomed into a scandal and an impeachment threat.
After leaving office, Dann billed his campaign for a drive to Cincinnati, a meal in Chicago, a cab ride in New York and a meal in Philadelphia. In addition, he billed the campaign to attend a conference of state attorneys general in Rhode Island in June.
While the sexual-harassment scandal mostly dried up Dann’s fundraising, a few dollars trickled in during his final weeks in office. State Rep. Armond D. Budish, D-Beachwood, gave $5,000 on May 7, five days after Dann admitted an affair with his 28-year-old scheduler. Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, a former state legislator, chipped in $100 on June 7.
Posted under Attorney General News, Dems Behaving Badly, Secretaries of State | 2 Comments
CO: No More Cheap Gas for DNC Convention Planners
Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 July 2008 09:59 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 30 July 2008 09:35
Ah, classic ivory tower liberalism at its best. The rules apply only to the unwashed – the elites need not worry about the rules that govern the common folk. Why would the party of Spitzer, Morrison, Dann and Obama possibly think the rules applied to them? From the Rocky Mountain News:
Denver officials abruptly have stopped allowing Democratic National Convention planners to gas up at city pumps, acknowledging that the city can’t legally sell fuel.
Public Works Department representatives also acknowledged that they never should have started selling gasoline to convention planners back in March before signing a contract with either the Denver 2008 Host Committee or the Democratic National Convention Committee.
The arrangement sparked an outcry after Public Works representatives first said that convention planners would not be charged the 40.4 cents a gallon gasoline tax and then said they would not be subject to other fees paid by drivers who use commercial pumps.
Public Works officials later said the taxes and fees would be paid.
Public Works deputy manager George Delaney sent a letter to City Council members Tuesday saying that the arrangement would be scuttled. Instead, the host committee, which raises money to put on the convention, and the DNCC entered an agreement with a private fuel vendor for gasoline for the fleet of vehicles it is using.
Delaney said in the letter that the arrangement “highlighted two fundamental issues” for the department.
First, Delaney wrote, a contract should have been in place before any fuel was dispensed. Second, “There are better ways to structure the contract than what was initially proposed.”
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MO: AG Contenders React to Dem Koster Fundraising Scandal
Last Updated on Wednesday, 9 July 2008 02:33 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 9 July 2008 12:37
An over the top response from Koster flak Danny “Full House” Kanner. Really nothing beats an elected official, especially an AG, who nuances the law to fit his own ends. It’s really reminiscent of disgraced former Kansas AG Paul Morrison, disgraced former Ohio AG Marc Dann, and disgraced former Governor (and AG!) Eliot Spitzer. What do those three have in common? They all bent the law for their own shallow purposes, and they all resigned in disgrace. You ready for what you get if Chris Koster gets elected Missouri? Missouri blogs of course are all over this one – here are just two to glance at: MPNblog dot com, and the Turner Report:
Koster spokesman Danny Kanner said: “This story is an attempt at high drama where none exists. Missourians for Koster is in full compliance with campaign finance laws and the advisory opinions of the Missouri Ethics Commission. The campaign committee has always acted in close consultation with the MEC at every juncture. As the article points out, use of district committees is common practice among statewide campaigns and has been explicitly authorized by the Ethics Commission. These latest attacks by political opponents are yet another attempt to distract voters from the choice in this race. While the politicians launch tired and false attacks, Chris Koster will continue to talk about why he is the only Democrat with the prosecutorial experience required to be Missouri’s next Attorney General.”
State Rep. Margaret Donnelly, D-Richmond Heights, came out with a statement earlier this afternoon stating: “This story raises serious questions and demands a thorough investigation. Candidates for Attorney General should be held to the highest, not the lowest, legal and ethical standard.”
Later, state Rep. Jeff Harris, D-Columbia released a statement saying the following: “Candidates for public office, especially candidates for Attorney General, must hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. This article raises serious questions about Senator Koster’s conduct.”
Posted under Attorney General News, Dems Behaving Badly | 1 Comment