White House Had Drug Officials Appear With GOP Candidates

[cal04]

Source: Washington Post

White House officials arranged for top officials at the Office of National Drug Control Policy to help as many as 18 vulnerable Republican congressmen by making appearances and sometimes announcing new federal grants in the lawmakers' districts in the months leading up to the November 2006 elections, a Democratic lawmaker said yesterday.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said documents obtained by his panel suggest that the appearances by the drug control officials were part of a larger White House effort to politicize the work of federal agencies that "may be more widespread than previously known."

Waxman cited a memo written by former White House political director Sara M. Taylor showing that John P. Walters, director of the drug control office, and his deputies traveled at taxpayer expense to about 20 events with vulnerable GOP members of Congress in the three months leading up to the elections.

In a letter to Taylor, Waxman also pointed to an e-mail by an official in the drug policy office describing President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, as being pleased that the office, along with the Commerce, Transportation and Agriculture departments, went "above and beyond" the call of duty in arranging appearances by Cabinet members at campaign events.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/17/AR2007071701892.html?hpid=topnews

[williesgirl]

1. This shit has to be illegal - on our money to boot. recommended

[MountainLaurel]

12. Definitely is

According to the article:

The drug control office has had a history of being nonpartisan, and a 1994 law bars the agency's officials from engaging in political activities even on their own time.

[cui bono]

2. Does this violate the Hatch Act as well? n/t

[Miss Chybil]

3. The only surprising statement here is

"may be more widesspread than previously known." Everybody has "known." Finally, somebody is in a position to do something about it, if only to bring it to light before 2008.

[Jed Dilligan]

4. Well, if you ask me

it isn't any more political than anything else these FASCIST PIGS are paid to do.

edit for typo

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. With ChimpCo, everything is about politics and gaining a political edge

Rove and his Machiavellian underlings are putting every one of their envelope-pushing schemes to work. But the fault lies with the Chimp, who lets it all happen around him. No statesmanship, no leadership, no representation of all of the American people, but only local Texas-style partisan politics at work in this White House permeating every one of their acts.

[Jed Dilligan]

11. Drug control has been politicized since Reagan. nt

[Tigress DEM]

5. further down in the article... it IS against the law... AND pointedly one bias.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/17/AR2007071701892.html

<snip>

The drug control office has had a history of being nonpartisan, and a 1994 law bars the agency's officials from engaging in political activities even on their own time.

..... GUESS WHY PARTY IT WAS BIASED TOWARD?

<snip>

The new disclosure comes after former surgeon general Richard H. Carmona testified last week that the White House routinely blocked him from speaking out on politically sensitive public health matters such as stem cell research and abstinence-only sex education. Carmona also said he was asked to make appearances to help Republican candidates and discouraged from travel that might help a liberal politician.

[sbyte]

7. Washington Post! bang up job.

So the WH was making a point that they are tuff on drugs in the the lead up to the election. Further, that the WH is responsible for the federal workers being there.

On the flip side the WH says there is nothing unusual about this and similar actions have been used in previous administrations. (Need to cite examples, but could be true.)
They will probably also say that the Director was in political appointee type of position and so it is OK for him to appear with fellow re-pubs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a few questions to ask Douglas Simon and Sara Taylor.

So where do you draw the line??? With staffers? Or, ? Is the appearance voluntary or is it a direct order from the WH ?

Is there some fudge factor in the law, and does the law need to be clarified?

Are the appearance by the director purely political and did he try to sway votes by asking the audience to vote for re-pub candidate overtly? (subvertly?)

What presidents were made to try to avoid partisanship? What kinds of actions should have been taken?

[Blackbird_Highway]

8. Wow, I'm Sure Congress...

...will do absolutely nothing about it.

Why even bother with these stories anymore. If Congress isn't going to do anything about it, then it doesn't matter does it?

It may be actually against the law, but if nobody will uphold the law, then it is defacto legal.

[WileEcoyote]

9. It's still early in the game of a long season.

Besides even with all that illegal campaigning it's not like it did or will do the GOP a lot of good.

We are witnessing history in the making: The fall of the GOP. All bound for the scrap heap of other failed political groups.

You don't see the KKK and the Neo Nazis holding a lot of public marches lately do you? OK that is the GOP down the road. We're just trying to speed up the process.

[formercia]

10. George HW Bush used the Office of National Drug Control Policy

as a political tool. When Bill Clinton took office, he had a bunch of ODCP staff fired for engaging in selective enforcement.
Junior just learned this trick from pops.

[wishlist]

13. Reagan Admin had Soc Sec Commissioner appear with Jesse Helms

Same crap went on under Reagan, where political appointees heading agencies went around doing public relations stunts with Repub candidates such as Jesse Helms in the months before elections.