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Remember their claims about "zero tolerance"? They don't, either.
Shortly before House Republicans won their majority in the 2010 midterms, Eric Cantor acknowledged the GOP congressional scandals from the recent past, but said they wouldn't be tolerated going forward.
"I think that as Republicans emerge as a new governing majority, it is incumbent upon us to institute a zero-tolerance policy," Cantor said at the time, adding that when it comes to ethical transgressions, Republicans have "learned our lesson."
A year and a half later, the House GOP appears to have forgotten that lesson.
Speaker John A. Boehner has not said much publicly about the ethics issues swirling around Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida, the embattled chief fund-raiser for House Republican candidates, but Mr. Boehner will [be] standing by Mr. Buchanan's side at a pricey fund-raising event in Sarasota this weekend.
Mr. Boehner, who vowed to take a hard line on ethical transgressions as speaker, is scheduled to be the guest of honor at Saturday night's fund-raiser at a private residence in Mr. Buchanan's district. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported this week that donors can get their pictures taken with Mr. Boehner at a special V.I.P. reception for $10,000 a couple.
In terms of political symbolism, the planned appearance amounts to something of a vote of confidence from the House speaker for Mr. Buchanan.
For the record, Buchanan has drawn the interest of FBI investigators, the IRS, a federal grand jury, and the House Ethics Committee -- all at the same time. The federal inquiries surrounding his alleged misdeeds "appear to be widening," as allegations suggest the conservative politician's companies "improperly reimbursed contributors to his campaigns and claimed improper tax deductions."
Boehner not only doesn't intend to address any of this, he also has no qualms about keeping Buchanan on as a member of the House Republican leadership and embracing him at a high-priced Florida fundraiser.
So much for "zero tolerance."
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iokalayar.
Well it's not like we can expect them to actually mean the things they say, can we? Eric Cantor scored some points with the Very Serious People by vowing to be Very Serious about any ethical transgressions. What Eric didn't say is that nothing a Republican ever does is considered a "transgression," so....
Oh, what a tangled web
wethey weave.....Whoa now, they meant zero tolerance for Democrats not Republicans.
Ain't it past time we quit shrugging the obvious corruption off as just a part of the game?
So let's see: House Republican leadership is not even paying lip service anymore to its "zero tolerance" crackdown on ethics scandals and its pledge to tie each new bill to a specific section of the Constitution didn't make it as far as HR 1. The "Jobs, jobs, jobs" promise apparently didn't mean helping Americans find work but was some sort of relief act for Apple since it seems John Boehner was talking about Steve Jobs, not find you a job, when he made the commitment. Then there was Paul Ryan's plan to convert the immensely popular Medicare program into a turkey that looked like the one behind Sarah Palin who got its head lopped off on camera but was still called "Medicare."
Why aren't reporters banging on the doors of Republicans on the Hill demanding some explanation of what they're doing?
well, this could start a job boom...we are gonna need a ton of civil rights lawyers to handle all the claims against the States and additional Judges to hear the cases.
Boehner is afraid of his own shadow so his reluctance to do anything about the scandals is no surprise. But that is exactly what brought Speaker Hastert down.
I am sick of this milk toast wrapped in super hero costume. I once thought he was basically a nice guy. I might go have a drink with him, but once you get to know him, he just seems so phony. I also have an idea about alcohol abuse. While I do not disparage drinking alcohol, but sometimes it leads to blackouts, memory loss, delusional thinking and when driving a vehicle, much damage can happen. Maybe we need a designated driver and stop the Republicans from plowing into pedestrians or drive a bus over a cliff.
Barney Frank!
Anthony Weiner!
Charlie Rangel!
yada yada yada!
And let's not for get that Serial Adulterer! -(no,no, not Speaker Newt; Wm. Jefferson Clinton)
What?
Just a Troll, Mouzer, and not a very talented one at that.
What??? Really???
are you calling day a troll, or am i missing something? he actually is a very astute regular poster here.
Day has posted here several times so I wouldn't call him a troll. I just don't get what his point was? If he's trying to say the Democrats have had sexual scandals before too that would be correct, however that would not be the point of the thread. Nor would saying that Democrats have had scandals of any kind be the point of the thread. The point is Republicans said that they'd have a zero tolerance policy and would immediately investigate and correct for any instances of corruption and yet here we have a situation in which such an instance has occurred and not only do Republicans not care, but they have no intention of taking corrective measures towards this representative. The pass sins of anyone- be it Republican or Democrat- is not relevant to this conversation. This conversation is about the inherent hypocrisy of someone claiming 'I won't tolerate corruption!' and then turning around and...tolerating corruption. Hell not even tolerating it- since Boehner is asking this person to be re-elected that means he's also encouraging that corruption or at the very least wanting it to be excused and wanting the person in question to not be held accountable for it.
So, I digress: what?
I'm feeling unreasonable today. Happens.
I think the point Day is making here can be summed up as follows:
Reporter: Mr. Speaker, could you comment on the allegations against Rep. Buchanan?
Boehner: Well, of course, I'd be happy to comm...Look over there! (throws smoke bomb, hides under table)
Pardon me; I forgot where I was.
Over where Steve Benen used to work we had a bit of shorthand. IOKIYAR-"It's okay if you are a Republican."
(For the folks in Rio Linda, that means Boner goes after Democrats that stray from the straight and narrow, Republicans, not so much. . .)
I thought maybe that was your point. That Republicans would just use a red herring and say 'well since Clinton did it...'
I wasn't sure though. ;-) Thank you for clarifying.
People who live in GOP houses should not throw stones except at President Obama.
Lets strike with our Vaginas now. Hold on girls, let not give them what they want until they give us what we want! You know what I mean!
LOCK YOUR CHASITY BELTS NOW!
A government inspector will be by soon to verify proper wearing of said belt and to collect the keys.Keys will be held by the GOP and sold to high bids.
problem is...GOP men don't want what's between your legs...they just want to poke sticks at it.....and humiliate. Is it not obvious that the GOP are afraid of women? Ok to pay you less, limit your rights, tell you how, when and where you can serve in the military, what role you can play in religious ceremonies...and now tell you that you can't have sex unless you plan to make and keep babies. All the while their wives and daughters receive birth control by mail in plain brown packages...and private medical procedures hidden by Dr. /patient confidentiality. (exempt from laws they create)
Boner will be wasted, that's a given. He'll cry on cue too, for an extra 40K!
Just more Not Meant To Be Factual statements for the Congressional Record. Yawn!