Dean/DNC need to kick Bill Jefferson out of the party NOW

[Proud2BAmurkin]

get him out.

[NYCGirl]

1. How do you kick someone out of the party? I do agree Jefferson should

resign, but I have no idea how you ban someone from the party.

[bigscott]

2. agreed

hard to claim the high ground unless we do this - I know innocent until proven guilty - but so is Tom Delay

[walldude]

5. They say they have him on tape... he needs to go down

I don't need any corrupt assholes in my party.

[pitohui]

7. tapes can be edited...they can be FAKED

they had cleo fields on tape too, you notice he fought back, he's still around and he's still able to help his community

stop w. the targetting of black democrats already

tapes are edited to give false and misleading impressions all the time

jefferson is not the one profiting from a huge war in iraq to boost halliburton stock or from supplying overpriced trailers to an airport in arkansas

eyes on the prize

this is part and parcel of the power grab to get new orleans area into conservative hands, they have their ray nagin, they have their george bush, getting rid of a thorn like william jefferson is just too much of a coup

he should fight and so should we or at least if we don't have the heart to fight don't give aid and comfort to the jackbooted thugs

[walldude]

10. I'm sorry, if this asshole is taking bribes I want him out

maybe I'm jumping the gun but so are you. Maybe we should agree to wait and see the evidence before we convict or let this guy go. I really don't care what color he is, I don't care who he is sleeping with, and I don't care where he is from, if he's corrupt he nees to go.

[Warpy]

3. Yes, the party needs to act this time

because it needs to shame the pubbies.

Ordinarily, I'd say wait until he gets a trial, but that video is damning, along with the cash he put into a freezer instead of his bank account.

He needs to go NOW.

It's the only way to demonstrate which party has a chance of restoring justice and dignity to government.

[napi21]

4. I doubt Dean can do it, but the Dems in Congress can.

I don't think Jefferson would be able to take on a coupl of hundred of his fellow congressmen and survive. I can't help ya, because MY Rep is a Pub, but if all you DUers with Dem Reps contact them and say KICK HIM OUT, I'd say (if they listen to you) he's as good as gone!

[pitohui]

6. mods can we please combine these hatin' on jefferson threads?

if we must spend hours trashing a democratic politician who at least does something for his community, could we take out this trash and put it all in one thread?

[WI_DEM]

23. by taking bribes he does nothing for his community

except hurt them in the end.

[papau]

8. Getting a consulting fee is not a crime - can we wait until he is charged

with something before we kick him out.

We are well into the second year of the investigation, 2 staff members have been judged guilty of accepting money to influence Jefferson and have given state evidence so as to lower their sentance,

I am beginning to wonder if this was a sting and a con by the GOP Justice dept.

It looks dirty - but why no charges - unless they can not prove a damn thing.

[onenote]

11. maybe not a crime, but its against the House Rules

Limit on outside earned income is 15 percent of Congressional salary. $100,000 is a tad over that limit.

http://www.rules.house.gov/ruleprec/RXXV.htm

Bribery and tax evasion are crimes. It will be interesting to see whether he reported the $100K on his tax return?

[papau]

13. True - but perhaps he held it in escrow? Or an advance payment on a

capital sale?

OK - I am reaching.

sigh

:-)

[w13rd0]

9. If Dean and the DNC...

...had the ability to "kick out" politicians, don't you think we would have somehow managed to forbade Zell Miller and Ed Koch from every going on TV again speaking as "Democratic Politicians"?

[Sadie5]

12. Too many incidences for my money

Seems like they are in up to their necks in the shit they have created. Stands to reason that when McKinney fought back they had to look in other directions. They came up with Jefferson and unless he fights back too, they will run with this deal.you may be on to something about the NO takeover.

[funkybutt]

16. They raided his home in NOLA and his car in DC PRE-KATRINA

this investigation has been going on a while.

[Rageneau]

14. I suspect that at least 50% of this Jefferson case was RNC in origion.

The Rethugs are desperate to "prove" that since 'we all do it', don't punish us GOPpers. How convenient. Here's my bet that we will eventually (if the press does its job) find out that the Bush Administration ITSELF is behind the investigation into Jefferson, instigated it, initiated it, pursued it beyond normal legal procedure; that Jefferson (among others) has been selected for special scrutiny -- perhaps even '
We've already found out that Bush has been using the IRS to punish people (the very thing that conservatives have long falsely accused Democrats of doing). Anyone who doesn't believe that Bush and Cheney would misuse the power of the Justice Department to attempt to destroy their political rivals is so brain-dead that only Bill Frist could think them sentient.

[dogday]

15. Jefferson should resign

They have so much against him, he is doomed... He also should plead out and accept responsibility for his actions....

[funkybutt]

17. Please Read Some about the Case

I'm not sure if these are the best articles but they do lend some more information about the case against Jefferson. Anyone from New Orleans knows that Jefferson is no stranger to corruption speculation. I've been following the story closly. In my opinion, they've got him this time. He's in big trouble.

http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/library-103/1148277691120750.xml?nola

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1146723317321760.xml

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-5/114681071927680.xml

[tkmorris]

18. Shouldn't he actually get convicted first?

He looks guilty as hell to me but everybody gets their day in court.

[funkybutt]

19. I don't think so

I'm sorry but I don't want my Congressman so distracted with his mounting legal troubles while our area struggles to return. We NEED someone who can focus ALL of his energy on his work! It would be fine with me if he sticks to his guns declaring his innocence, then gets found innocent, THEN returns to public office. But right NOW the people of New Orleans and surrounding areas DESERVE a public servant who is totally focused on the task at hand.

[Rageneau]

20. Do you also believe that all GOP politicos under suspicion should resign?

There's quite a passle of them. A dozen or so at my last count, including the Senate Majority leader, Speaker of the House, Vice- President of the US and numerous smaller fry. All of them have jobs to do that these investigations will interfere with. Should they be subject to the same medicine you prescribe for Jefferson -- resignation without investigation? IOW, is fair, fair?

Or do ethics apply only to Democrats?

[funkybutt]

24. Not just suspicion

first of all, it's more than suspicion. Please read some of the stories I posted in the a previous post on this thread if you're not familiar with many of the facts of the case. Secondly, if there is a mounting degree of evidence, like in Jefferson's case, AND they are supposed to be representing an area that was recently devestated and struggling to recover... ABSOLUTELY YES! RESIGN! For the sake of the people you are supposed to be representing. I don't care if Jefferson is a dem or rep right now, I just want him focused on our recovery and doing everything in his power to support the citizens he was elected by. He's in the news every day. Holding frequent press conferences...but not about how he's going to rebuild New Orleans. Sorry Jefferson, your legal problems are your own.

[LittleClarkie]

21. I've never heard of anyone kicking anyone out of any party

Bill Jefferson can call himself whatever he wants.

[WI_DEM]

22. Explain how Dean and the DNC can do this?

Dean has already said that Jefferson should go, but he can't force him to resign. Don't you think that Jefferson's collegues in the House should probably be the ones who would be able to exert the most pressure?