It hasn't taken Democrats long to remind America why they should never run Congress.
Currently, the Democrats' ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee is Rep. Jane Harmon of California, who is pro-defense, at least by Democrat standards. However, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning to pass over Harmon and make Rep. Alcee Hastings chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
Who is Alcee Hastings? Well, from 1979 to 1989, he was a federal judge. Why is he no longer a federal judge? Because in 1989, he was impeached by the House and removed from office by the Senate for taking bribes to fix sentences of mobsters. The House vote was 413-3. He is one of only six federal judges in the history of the United States to be removed from office. Among those who voted to impeach were future Speaker Nancy Pelosi, majority leader Steny Hoyer, and pretty much all the Democratic leaders who were in Congress back then.
If Hastings had been a Republican, that would have been the end of the story. But in 1992, Hastings ran for Congress. Voters in south Florida's 23rd Congressional district apparently thought that a judge who was impeached and removed from office for taking bribes to fix mobsters' sentences would make a great Congressman. They elected him to the first of eight (so far) terms.
In case you missed it, THIS IS WHO NANCY PELOSI WANTS TO PICK TO LEAD THE HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE. She can't claim that he was framed, or that the right-wing smear machine is attacking another decent man, or whatever excuse liberals usually use. She voted to impeach him.
This controversy is reminiscent of the last Democrat to lead the House Armed Services Committee, Ron Dellums. Dellums was a Stalinist who took a variety of pro-communist positions during his long career in Congress. These included defending Fidel Castro and Grenadan communist Maurice Bishop, opposing many weapons systems, trying to cut the military by 75%, and eliminate the CIA. When he first became the most senior Democrat on the committee, Republicans challenged his position. The house held a vote, and only about ten Democrats voted against letting Dellums hold the position.
Dellums retired in 1998, apparently unhappy with the Republican victories in Congress. If Republicans hadn't been elected in 1994, he'd probably still be the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Just this month, he was elected Mayor of Oakland, California.
Incidentally, Dellums was succeeded by his aide Barbara Lee, who in addition to being the only member of Congress to vote against war with Afghanistan, was also a leader of a branch of the American Communist Party.
There may be some corrupt Republicans, but the Republican Party doesn't defend and promote the people whose misdeeds have been exposed.
Democrats may claim to love America, but the facts say otherwise.
1 comment:
Gee Allan, you must have missed the point that Hastings was acquitted on those charges in a court of law. As far as I'm concerned, if voters feel confident to elect the man to Congress then he should be entitled to all privileges thereof. And before you run off the deep end (though I guess you already have) many Democrats have come out in support of Harmon taking the chairmanship. In other words, this is a non-issue and your argument just shows why Conservatives are no different from Democrats and is emblematic of why it was so important that you lost this election. You only want to let the voters decide when they decide in your favor and would be quite happy with a one-party state. Quit your whining and move to Cuba!
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