It's Open Season on Democratic Governors.

[smoogatz]

Strickland's next. Watch your back, Ted.

[acmavm]

1. You're probably right.

[Debi]

2. Spitzer was not an innocent

and the Fed. Govt. didn't target him.

[smoogatz]

5. Who is?

And it appears they did. He committed, at worst, a class-B misdemeanor. For that they tapped his phones and read thousands of his IMs and emails, and revealed potentially embarrassing details to the media?

[Debi]

12. The bank tagged his unusual transactions.

the IRS noted them and thinking there was potential money laundering going on notified the FBI. That's how they caught him committing his very small-time offense. What were they supposed to do? Since it wasn't money laundering or bribery but still an illegal act just ignore it?

Had he not been hiring prostitutes he would not have been in trouble. Had he not been committing a crime (even a small one) we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[smoogatz]

14. It was a fishing expedition.

The investigation should have ended when the FBI failed to turn up evidence of money-laundering. Has he even been charged with a crime? Will he be? If there's no prosecution, why leak the details to the media?

[Debi]

16. Banks tag all unusual transactions.

Had he not been commiting a crime nothing would have come from this.

[smoogatz]

18. The crime he committed was not the one for which he was investigated

and certainly didn't rise to the same level of seriousness. The FBI was under no obligation to continue the investigation once they determined he wasn't engaged in criminal money-laundering. That could have been done without tapping his phones or reading his email; all they had to do was subpoena his bank records—if there was no pattern, then there's no money-laundering.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. "and the Fed. Govt. didn't target him."

And you know this .... how?

I'm not saying they did. I *am* saying there's reason to suspect it, particularly in light of Alabama and in light of Rove and his ilk now being free agents.

[Debi]

17. Only from what I've seen and read

that his bank, not the Federal Government, was the first to note that there were unusual transactions going on with his accounts. They notified the IRS who in turn notified the FBI. Now, we can argue that as soon as the IRS/FBI were able to verify that there wasn't any money laundering occuring that they should have closed the investigation down. However, unfortunately, they did uncover a crime (yes a very small crime - but a crime).

Had Spitzer not been sending the money to a prostitution ring the unusual transactions would have been noted - verified as legal - and life would have gone on as normal.

[yurbud]

19. why aren't they applying this kind of scrutiny to Jeff Gannon's retarded client in the White House?

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Somebody who gets it

and by the way, if we get our side to the WH, it will be open season on the Presidency as well

[smoogatz]

6. The first item on the agenda should be to purge the DoJ of Bush appointees.

They're all political hacks: out they go.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Assuming we get elections and we have a president

sworn in... my worst fear is we won't

Game, set match

[smoogatz]

10. There's that

yes.

[terrya]

4. I'm not sure my governor, Blagojevich, will serve out his term.

But that's his fucking problem. There's all sorts of unethical nastiness swirling around his adminstration. I seriously expect him to be under indictment by 2010 (the end of his second term)

[Bluzmann57]

8. "They" don't have to target Blagojevich

He's dirty from the word go.

[AngryAmish]

13. I can't wait until they get him

[mod mom]

9. In Ohio they are targeting SOS Jennifer Brunner:

ennifer Brunner takes down the gay godfather of Summit County, Alex Arshinkoff
Published: February 27, 2008

Walter Novak
Jennifer Brunner, big game hunter

Walter Novak
Subject(s): political clap-trap, legal eagles
In her brief time on the job, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has taken a rare approach to public life in Ohio: She's actually trying to do something.

First she worked to reform the notoriously inept Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. Last week she took on a bigger fish, dumping Republican boss Alex Arshinkoff from the Summit election board.

For nearly 30 years, Arshinkoff used the board as a personal job bank for friends and relatives of the party faithful. That normally doesn't raise a stir in these parts, where patronage is the mother's milk of government. But Arshinkoff may be the meanest man in Ohio politics, and he didn't exactly abuse his power judiciously.

He's been known to throw secretaries out of work for not showing the proper fealty. Scott Sigel, a campaign finance worker, was quickly demoted after he questioned a mysterious $75,000 payment the party made to Arshinkoff's personal account.

http://www.clevescene.com/2008-02-27/news/jennifer-brunner-takes-down-the-gay-godfather-of-summit-county-alex-arshinkoff/





Case: 2008-0478 Original Action Involving Expedited Election Matter
Filed: 03/04/08
Status: Case Is Open
The State of Ohio ex rel. Summit County Republican Party Executive Committee v. Jennifer Brunner, Secretary of State



http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/clerk_of_court/ecms/resultsbycasenumber.asp?type=3&year=2008&number=0478&myPage=searchbypartyname.asp

[EFerrari]

11. I went toe to toe with my local fish wrap and told them

if they tried to smear Debra the way they smeared Kevin Shelley, they'd have a fight on their hands.

The days of sitting on our remotes and watching are over.