Totally off topic:
Noticed you couldn't be bothered to respond to my question (post 14201) about what kind of Republican "shenanigans" you were referring to. So I think I can safely ascribe your "glass houses" jibe here to a certain partisan, even snotty, churlishness, not one based in any kind of considered evaluation of the matter. Oh, I'm sure if you look you'll find some irregularities perpetrated by Republicans, but I submit activities like stuffing the absentee ballots is far more the norm than among Democrats. So perhaps you'll understand why some of us regard the Democrat's touching concern for the sanctity of the voting process in the current presidential race to simply be another tactic in their effort to gain power. Other than a petulant, unsubstantiated comment on the matter, you've done nothing to dispel my contention.
I believe your comments are based on my saying those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. It's easy to exchange barbs about whose party is nastier than whose, so let's let the judgments of the courts decide for us. If you can find more convictions of Democrats than Republicans at the presidential level, I'll apologize and even offer to take you to dinner at the restaurant of your choice.
We can start with Watergate:
cnn.com
By the time Richard Nixon resigned in August 1974, the term Watergate had become a catch-all for a breathtaking range of high crimes and misdemeanors. In all, more than 30 officials were convicted in the nation's worst political scandal ever.
There were other break-ins, like the burglary of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office in September 1971. There was "national security" wiretapping of news reporters who revealed information the Nixon White House did not want uncovered.
There was misuse of the FBI and CIA for political purposes. There were allegations that Nixon intervened in an antitrust action against ITT in return for political contributions and raised milk support prices for similar considerations, and obstructed justice by firing special prosecutor Archibald Cox.
Finally, there was the smoking gun -- taped evidence that Nixon discussed a cover-up just a week after the Watergate burglary. Three days after the White House released those transcripts, Nixon announced his resigation. And soon Vice President Gerald Ford took office. "Our long national nightmare is over," he declared to a nation exhausted by a long cascade of scandal.
There's the Teapot Dome scandal:
encarta.msn.com
Teapot Dome was the popular name for a scandal during the administration of U.S. President Warren G. HARDING. The scandal, which involved the secret leasing of naval oil reserve lands to private companies, was first revealed to the general public in 1924 after sensational findings by a committee of the U.S. SENATE. One cabinet member eventually went to prison for his part in the affair, and a number of Washington officials were implicated, threatening to destroy confidence in Republican leaders of the period. . . .
Fall, who had resigned his office in 1923 and joined the Mammoth Oil Company, served a year in prison and paid a fine of $100,000 following his conviction in 1929 of accepting a bribe.
And the Whiskey Ring scandal:
gi.grolier.com
The Whiskey Ring, in American history, a national internal revenue scandal, which was exposed in 1875 through the efforts of Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow. Statistics showed that for some years prior to 1875 the United States had, in St. Louis, Mo., alone, lost at least $1,200,000 of tax revenue which it should have received from whiskey, yet special agents of the Treasury set to work from time to time had failed to do more than cause an occasional flurry among the thieves.
. . .
Indictments were found against 152 liquor men and other private parties, and against 86 government officials, notably the chief clerk in the Treasury Department, and President Ulysses S. GRANT's private secretary, Gen. Orville E. Babcock.
Good website for just about anything you want to know about the presidency:
gi.grolier.com
Incidentally, I try not to make careless comments that can't be backed up. I welcome you to do the same.
Regards,
Patricia |
