Another GOP Scandal! Losing Count?

[Doug]

6/12/07

GSA head Lurita Doan was a suspicious appointee to begin with. Her qualifications to head the nation's main federal contracting agency, the General Services Administration (GSA), seemed to have been primarily that she and her husband had given hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions to Bush and other right wing politicians.

Yesterday Bush's Office of Special Counsel recommended she be fired for engaging in "the most pernicious of political activity" banned by the 1939 Hatch Act and for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. ""Doan solicited the political activity of over 30 of her subordinate employees when she asked 'How can we help our [Republican] candidates?'" The recommendation points out that "Doan has shown no remorse and lacks an appreciation for the seriousness of her violation."

...It was clear from the moment Doan took the stand at Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that she is a deceitful partisan hack who has been schooled to repeat, ad nauseum "I do not remember."

Watch the video [link below] of Blue America freshman Bruce Braley (D-IA) questioning Doan and showing how she conspired with Karl Rove to politicize the GSA in the most narrowly partisan possible way.

Doan has been caught trying to use government resources to defeat Democratic elected officials. Waxman's committee has uncovered a clearly illegal conspiracy between Rove's office, the Republican National Committee and Doan's GSA.

Today's USAToday reports that Scott Bloch, head of the Office of Special Counsel, recommends that "Administrator Doan be disciplined to the fullest extent for her serious violation of the Hatch Act and insensitivity to cooperating fully and honestly in the course of our investigation." She's being dragged back in front of Waxman's Committee tomorrow for further questioning.

See here.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

What you want to bet W gives her a medal for it? Hopefully, she will receive said medal in the federal pen.

[NeilS]

Let's just say for argument that Doan (the Administrator) did not have anything to do with staging this particular brown bag lunch. Let's say she she arrived late (as she suggested she often did, and was surprised by the topic. Her proper course of action as a leader would have been to:
1. Openly object to the topic in the strongest terms
2. Immediately adjourn the meeting
3. Report the violation

Any leader in a government agency is responsible to know what constitutes legal or illegal activities. It is NOT rocket science. Such a person should also be of sufficient intelligence to UNDERSTAND why such activities are illegal in an agency. A leader is responsible to ensure that the work environment does not discriminate even on terms of political affiliation. Having a brown bag lunch focusing on a partisan agenda sets the tone for discrimination in the work place.

She stated the brown bag lunches are designed to develop "superior employees". Her leadership was INFERIOR. The topic was not such that contributes to the development of personnel.

Having served in agencies, and knowing that government personnel (civilian and military) are briefed on the Hatch Act, it would have been clear to everyone present that the brown nag lunch was NOT exempt from hosting political activities. Doan's statement that it was a usual activitiy may have been true for her agency under her tenure. It is not, however, usual in government agencies.

Just for the record...most government employees that I have known would NOT have tolerated this event.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Same here - most government employees I have known would have shut down on this behavior pronto. This administration has been doing its best to take us back to the "bad old days" prior to civil service - we got civil service (experienced, trained professional - and permanent - workers) because a president was assassinated by a "disgruntled office seeker" - a person who expected a job when Garfield became president and didn't get it.

[Lawood]

"Just for the record...most government employees that I have known would NOT have tolerated this event."

Just for the record did your service or those you have known occur under the current Rightwing Mafia running the Administration?

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

I don't know about NeilS, but I worked for government (prior to my current university position) back in the early 70s - the Carter years.

[Doug]

Washington - Three-term Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican facing a federal inquiry into his family's insurance business, said Thursday he will not seek re-election next year. Renzi becomes the fifth GOP House member in recent weeks to announce retirement plans, giving Democrats hopes of possibly picking up seats next year that otherwise would not be in play.

"I will not be seeking re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008," Renzi said in a brief statement released by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Neither Renzi nor his top aides had immediately returned repeated calls and e-mails requesting further comment Thursday afternoon.

See here.

[Doug]

From here.

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men's public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.

...On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

...After he was arrested, Craig, who is married, was taken to the Airport Police Operations Center to be interviewed about the lewd conduct incident, according to the police report.

...According to the incident report, Sgt. Dave Karsnia was working as a plainclothes officer on June 11 investigating civilian complaints regarding sexual activity in the men's public restroom in which Craig was arrested.

Airport police previously had made numerous arrests in the men's restroom of the Northstar Crossing in the Lindbergh Terminal in connection with sexual activity.

=======================
DOUG
I think I heard on the news that Craig's office had issued a PR piece some time ago denying that Craig is gay.

[Dardedar]

Quote:

"Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, an advocacy group, on Monday called Craig a hypocrite.

"What's up with elected officials like Senator Craig? They stand for so-called family values and fight basic protections for gay people while furtively seeking other men for sex," Foreman said."

LINK