What If A Member Of The GOP?

[bernardjenkins]

Sen.Feinstein quits, just walks away from the Military Construction appropriations Subcommittee under war- profiteer cloud.

mlyon01.wordpress.com/2007/03/30/feinstein-quits-military-construction-appropriations-subcommittee-under-war-profiteer-cloud/

The media, the nihgtly news, should be all over this. Sen. Feinstein if this is true should be forced to give up her seat.

[traveler]

Ok, all of you "can't wait til the democrats take over Congress to clean things up" crowd, not even six months into the new Congress and look at what is happening. Amazing. And this is just the beginning.

Jeez. This is really unbelievable....but not really, unfortunately.

[Gary]

Some politicians are corrupt. News at 11.

[legaltender]

The media, the nihgtly news, should be all over this.

The investigation was started and later funded by the liberal magazine The Nation. Left-leaning media on the case.

[Gary]

I find it hard to even find any Democrats the like DiFi. I think only just enough Californians like her to keep her in office.

[traveler]

Some politicians are corrupt. News at 11

Touche!!!

[traveler]

I think only just enough Californians like her to keep her in office.

I would think that most of her support comes from the SF Bay (Pelosi) area.

[Copperhead]

Gee, talk about your media blackouts! I guess it's NOT news for a democrat to be corrupt then, right? Is it supposed to be a given? Or perhaps it's a given that ALL politicians are corrupt, regardless of political affiliation, so this revelation isn't newsworthy?

Take your pick of theory. In any event, Feinstein needs to step down.

[traveler]

No, Copperhead, it is just another example of the bias of the media. Feinstein is loved by the media so it is not going to get much, if any, attention. It is shameful.

[legaltender]

traveler said:

No, Copperhead, it is just another example of the bias of the media.

That's a little facile. It doesn't matter where the Republicans are, they don't have the stones to do anything. DiFi's been ranking member on that committee for years and the GOP ran the Hill for the last six years.

Could be prima facie bribery - think Duke Cunningham and the $140,000 yacht. Why didn't Gonzales sack the U.S. Attorney who failed due diligence in such an open-and-shut case? Where are the Republicans?

[traveler]

I am not defending the Republicans but I am confident that there have been multiple efforts from the Republicans to get this into the media but have been shut out. The media should be all over this....just as they did with Cunningham....and just as they are doing with Gonzales.

Why is it the opposition's responsibility anyway? Corruption is corruption. The media should be reporting it.

[legaltender]

You're still shifting blame. The GOP had - and still has - a huge megaphone and no love loss for her. Back-bencher Gingrich going after Jim Wright or Rostenkowski was hugely covered. I don't see Dick Cheney missing any opportunity when he's portrayed as a war profiteer every time he sits across from Russert.

Military contracts at issue involve divisions of Feinstein-linked URS (EG&G Technical Services [EG&G]), sold by investment firm the Carlyle Group. Carlyle is a $14 billion buyout firm whose associates and advisers include former President George Bush. L'affaire Diane could be backroom don't-ask-don't-tell. There's honor among pimps.

phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=89381&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=567522&highlight=

[traveler]

So, it is the responsibility of the Republican Party to root out and report corruption? Is that what you are saying?

[legaltender]

Partly. Especially when they're running Congress, and when an opposition loudmouth is perched on a critical committee.

[traveler]

The problem is the media controls the microphone and what goes out to the public. I do not know what efforts, if any, the GOP has made to draw attention to this but the media is the filter through which information flows. If they don't report GOP efforts, it is their responsibility. If the GOP has not made any effort in this regard, I will agree there is partial responsiblity.

It is up to the media, however, to ask the questions and report. The story is now out.

[legaltender]

It's been out for years. Republicans obviously have worries where this might lead.

Charles Lewis, executive of the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity watchdog group in Washington, says that "regardless of whether there is a direct conflict of interest, it's useful to know that the spouse of a sitting senator is getting richer because of what's going on in the world."

"Why hasn't she expressed outrage about some of the potential conflicts with people in or close to the Bush administration?" Lewis said. "Could it be that she herself has some entanglements?"

---

URS acquired defense contractor EG&G (the technical services branch that won the $600 million contract) from the Carlyle Group investment firm. That's the outfit that boasts ex-President George H.W. Bush, former Secretary of State James Baker and ex-British Prime Minister John Major as advisers.

In exchange, Carlyle received cash and a chunk of URS stock worth a total of $500 million. What's more, a top Carlyle manager now sits alongside Blum on URS' board of directors.

www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/04/27/BA284459.DTL