Democrat Gerry Connolly calls for voter fraud
No, I’m not kidding. If a Republican had said this, the liberals in this country would be going ballistic and calling for a special prosecutor. This is, by their own definition, voter fraud and from a duly sworn-in member of Congress. This is a huge violation of the House’s ethics code.
Now, I’m sure there’s already dismissive waving of hands out there saying, “Oh, he was just joking.” That wouldn’t fly for a Republican and it shouldn’t for a Democrat. Assuming, of course, they’re serious about wanting our elections process to be fair, and all that.
Comments
Comment from Ric James
Time January 22, 2009 at 16:18
OK, wait a minute. Lott stuck his foot in his mouth about Thurmond and – what the hell – I’ll even concede for the sake of this conversation that his comments were racist. How does that equate with calling for voter fraud, a violation of federal elections law? Making a racist comment is bad, I agree, but it’s not illegal. This isn’t even apples and oranges, it’s apples and lug nuts. Are you seriously saying this is a same-same kind of deal?
Delay has been indicted, not convicted and the charges were regarding campaign finance, not elections and voter fraud. This one’s closer than the Lott example but you’ve revised your history. There was absolutely an attempt made at changing the rules of the Republican Conference to allow him to keep his seat but it was the pressure from the Republicans as a whole, not the House and certainly not the Democrats, that forced his resignation from the committee seat in January 2006. That’s the Right, by the way, that was pressuring him to step down, not trying to hide it as you’ve implied.
You do, however, prove my point entirely. Both of these men were Republicans and neither were allowed to get away with it with considerable commentary coming from we on the right that what they’d done wasn’t acceptable. Connelly’s just the latest. West Virginia’s Rockefeller, CT’s Chris Dodd, NY’s Charlie Rangel and, now, Connelley are all involved in very publicly-documented violations of ethics and, with Connelley at least, federal law. I’d be very interested in seeing the holding to a higher standard to which you refer. I don’t want to see the letter but I do want to ask: are you planning to write your congressmen and/or local editor about it?
Comment from Bob James
Time January 23, 2009 at 07:07
Oh, hey, that’s the last time I trust one of your headlines. When I read what you said about him calling for voter fraud, I thought you were being serious. That line he said about telling every Dem his audience knew about the election being one day, and then telling every Rep that the election was a week later? Yeah, that was a jab at the flyer circulated in Virginia telling Democrats that, due to the projected volume of voters in the 2008 election, only Republicans were voting on November 4. Democrats were to vote on November 5. *That* was an attempt at voter fraud, which you can read about at http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/phony-flier-says-virginians-vote-different-days.
Now… and please read this line… having said that, I still think Connolly was wrong, and he should not have said it, as it was not only in poor taste, but could be easily taken as an urging to voter fraud. But having viewed the video, I think you’re overreacting.
Comment from Bob James
Time January 22, 2009 at 11:44
Of course it would fly for Republicans. Remember Trent Lott? Remember Tom DeLay? Lott shot his mouth off, got burned for it, and the right tried to pooh-pooh it off as him just wishing an old man a happy birthday. DeLay got caught and was charged criminally, and his Republican buddies in Congress tried to amend their own rules to let him keep his Committee post. Fortunately, in both cases, all the hand-waving done by the right failed to save them.
And I certainly hope the hand-waving doesn’t save Connolly, either. We’re going to be holding ourselves to a higher ethical standard going forward.