Comments (58)

john d'oh wrote on February 7, 2007 12:48 PM:

If there is one person I could focus on for impeachment within the administration, it would be Gonzalez. He has no regard for the law and it wouldn't be difficult to make a case against him.

vome minnesota wrote on February 7, 2007 12:51 PM:

wonder if they'd go back and look at relative numbers during the previous administration, before politicization (presumptive). I suppose even farther back would be much harder to do, but were it possible, the pattern would be clearer. Just like how Bush's requests for Iraq money drops off precipitously in September 2008. Just in time for the next election.

POed Lib wrote on February 7, 2007 12:52 PM:

It's time to impeach this scumbag partisan incompetent.

marcia wrote on February 7, 2007 1:00 PM:

Is there any information on how many of these investigations ended in indictments and/or convictions for what was being investigated? Dems and Repubs?

chicagoan wrote on February 7, 2007 1:09 PM:

I do wonder how many of the officials are from Chicago. The U.S. Atty here is all over Daley's administration. Thus, they are Fitzgerald targets and I don't think anyone can say he's partisan.

Capt. Jean-Luc Pikachu wrote on February 7, 2007 1:21 PM:

I would like to second marcia's request.

svs wrote on February 7, 2007 1:26 PM:

I'm curious about convictions, too. Also about length of incumbency. I mean, it is *possible* that Democrats were just that much more corrupt. But given how congress has been these last six years, I'm pretty f'ing skeptical.

Crust wrote on February 7, 2007 1:26 PM:

I agree with john d'oh and others re impeaching Gonzales. He should be target number one in this adminstration. The warrantless wiretapping in violation of FISA alone should more than do it, but there is so much more grist to go on.

davis¹³ wrote on February 7, 2007 1:27 PM:

Remember the Republicans used to say politics was local? Now they'll twist that around and nail Democrats while protecting their own. Any doubt that this is another grand scheme by Rove?

patience wrote on February 7, 2007 1:31 PM:

Where's the link to the study?

Supdog wrote on February 7, 2007 1:34 PM:

marcia et al,

Enjoy.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002075.php

Tom wrote on February 7, 2007 1:37 PM:

An interesting follow-up would be to identify USAs who investigated only Democrats.

chicagoantoo wrote on February 7, 2007 1:38 PM:

I agree with chicagoan above. There's enough entrenched monkey business in the city/county/state in Illinois alone on the Dems side to skew this study and make it look more nefarious than it might be.

On the other hand, I'm willing to entertain the administration overreach argument gladly.

gjdodger wrote on February 7, 2007 1:38 PM:

Cragan and Shields seem to be partisan themselves, so their study probably needs to be put into perspective. However, this is pretty funny. http://www.sanctioningagent.com/blog/CraganandShieldsCultofCorruptCardDeck3.pdf

Richard L. Adlof wrote on February 7, 2007 1:40 PM:

Well . . . At least we know what the short-bus folk in the White House needed the warrantless wire-tapping for . . .

Plus this serves as a testimonial to Democrats . . . The resources were directed directed at them . . . But the axe kept and keeps falling on the Republicans.

I am thinking that the next budget NEEDS a large line item for blindfolds, bullets and brick wall repair.

Jan wrote on February 7, 2007 1:57 PM:

Brilliant idea regarding impeaching Gonzales.

For obvious reasons, the idea of Bush being impeach before Cheney gags me, and Cheney -- as a vetran of Nixon's adminisration -- knows how to keep himself from being impeached.
Yes, perfect choice -- Alberto Gonzales.

Pompano Pete wrote on February 7, 2007 2:07 PM:

It will take decades to clean up the disgusting mess created during these six years. Perhaps the only benefit will be that America will never allow the GOP to control both the WH and both branches of Congress ever again. One can hope.

Capt. Jean-Luc Pikachu wrote on February 7, 2007 2:48 PM:

Supdog, thanks, but I was actually curious about the total breakdown of the 379 who were investigated by the Feds, not just the ones who are and/or were in the administration.

jimmy wrote on February 7, 2007 2:57 PM:

I dont know. Urban centers are more corrupt and they are Democratic. New Orleans, Chicago, Boston, New York. God knows they are all very corrupt.

Phlip wrote on February 7, 2007 2:57 PM:

In all fairness, without having seen the study I would guess this has a lot more to do with Democrats dominating population centers governements, while the republicans dominate the rural scene.

The government officials of largely populated cities and counties are certain to come under more scrutiny than those of various Mayberrys around the country, and while it is true that there are a hell of a lot more Mayberrys, their scrutiny is more likely to come from an entity such as a state AG office.

Without seeing the study though, or studies of previous administrations, it's pretty hard to tell.

acallidryas wrote on February 7, 2007 3:12 PM:

Wow. Given how much more investigative power was directed towards the Democrats, the overwhelming amount of GOP scandals and makes them seem even more impressively corrupt.

Karim wrote on February 7, 2007 3:32 PM:

John D'Oh makes a point. If we can impeach Gonzalez, then we can work our way up.

Catch22 wrote on February 7, 2007 3:39 PM:

Is the study on the tendency to prosecute Democrats over Republicans over the last 5 years published anywhere?

zk0sm0 wrote on February 7, 2007 3:40 PM:

it would be nice to actually see the 'latest summary' as well as the earlier study presented in 2005.

GIRv2.0 wrote on February 7, 2007 3:54 PM:

Everytime I listen to Gonzales speak, I am struck by how anti-American he sounds. He espouses the value and rightness of torture, profiling and basically stripping the Constitution of every fundamential civil right.

One thing that is crystal clear is that when one says "neo-conservative" what they really mean is "fascist". It will take decades to wipe out the stain and shame that Bush and company has brought to our once-great country.

MNPundit wrote on February 7, 2007 4:03 PM:

Oh! I'm excited that I get to say this:

Gonzales is a traitor to his race!

Damn, always wanted to say that and it happens to be true... now just what do I mean by "race?"

DM wrote on February 7, 2007 4:09 PM:

If most investigations are of local officials, it's no surprise that Democrats are in the lead. Shady machine politics, mainly Democratic, lives on in most of the classic venues. Republicans lately have revived a more profitable machine at the national level, which had been pretty well tamped down since the days of Teddy Roosevelt. Thus the Dems have the edge in number of incidents, but the GOP deals in billions, not millions.

don de drain wrote on February 7, 2007 4:40 PM:

FYI, you cannot "impeach" the Attorney General. He serves at the pleasure of the President. He can, however, be indicted if he engaged in criminal activities. Given what has come out in the Libby trial, I would like to see a Special Prosecutor review the conduct of the Attorney General's Office.

Bert wrote on February 7, 2007 4:58 PM:

I think that the Attorney General can indeed be impeached and removed by Congress. Check out the constitution:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleii.html#section2

In addition I think the President cannot remove the AG except possibly by replacing her/him.

agjobs wrote on February 7, 2007 5:29 PM:

chicagoantoo, said:
I agree with chicagoan above. There's enough entrenched monkey business in the city/county/state in Illinois alone on the Dems side to skew this study and make it look more nefarious than it might be.

Yes political corruption in Illinois is a spectator sport, however don't forget that our last GOP governor is now doing time. Of course our present Dem gov. probably will too. In Illinois corruption is pretty much bipartisan.
BTW what happened to the investigation into Bob Kjellander who is now treasurer of the National Republican Party. Something about skimming state investment funds?

tony wrote on February 7, 2007 7:28 PM:

Of course they were investigated more. The Bush War Machine is without a doubt the most corrupt group to ever sit in judgement of others. The only thing they want is to stay in power. The facts show that by almost 2 to 1 the R'cons are more corrupt. But that won't stop Bush from being an asshole. Every R'con in power now should be removed and replaced with a pet rock. The intelligence level won't drop one bit.

tony wrote on February 7, 2007 7:29 PM:

Of course they were investigated more. The Bush War Machine is without a doubt the most corrupt group to ever sit in judgement of others. The only thing they want is to stay in power. The facts show that by almost 2 to 1 the R'cons are more corrupt. But that won't stop Bush from being an asshole. Every R'con in power now should be removed and replaced with a pet rock. The intelligence level won't drop one bit.

Phil wrote on February 7, 2007 9:38 PM:

Take a good, long look at NJ. Where the US Attorney, Chris Christie (a former Republican fundraiser) has done virtually nothing except go after Democrats in the state. How convenient that Republicans in NJ last fall constantly ran talking points about 'corruption'. The irony is that Christie missed the huge Republican corruption scandal in Monmouth County where the entire county establishment was taken down by the NJ State Attorney General. The same AG that Christie's office smeared as being incompetent for allegedly not making timely referrals to the USIA as the reason Christie couldn't bring indictments against other Democrats.

L.G. wrote on February 7, 2007 9:57 PM:

Fascism will come to America wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross. - Cecil Lewis

Paul Harder wrote on February 7, 2007 10:34 PM:

Hmmm... I don't know how the study's authors came up with a probability of 1 in 10,000. When I build a Chi-Square table, I get a total Chi-Square value which my copy of Excel says has a probability of 3 time 10 to the minus 28th power -- effectively zero.

Observe Expect χ2
Democrat 299 189.5 63.3
Republican 68 155.4 49.1
Other 12 34.1 14.3
Total 379 379 126.8
Probability 2.99316E-28

If I computed this incorrectly, somebody please set me straight.

SFer wrote on February 8, 2007 12:29 AM:

Maybe because dems are more crooked?

"On the other hand, I'm willing to entertain the administration overreach argument gladly.

Posted by: chicagoantoo"

This is exactly why dems are losers. You would rather see a republican get it than a islamic terrorist. You are a total loser.

FTD wrote on February 8, 2007 7:26 AM:

Hmmm......wonder if that study included Harry Reid's land deal, or William Jefferson's $90,000. cash in the freezer. Brings new meaning to cold cash. Maybe Gonzales has something here....Hmmmm

Truth Seeker wrote on February 8, 2007 9:03 AM:

Well if the Dems would stop their corruption they wouldn't be investigated...seams logical to me...why would a cop investigate a law abididng citizen who has done nothing wrong when he can go after the ones who have done something wrong...nothing political about that.

Tim wrote on February 8, 2007 11:25 AM:

you are so mistaken! The liberal get away with murder. Just look at Sandy Burgerler, Stretch Pelosi, Teddy "hic up" Kennedy,

dab wrote on February 8, 2007 12:18 PM:

Just anecdotal evidence, but here in western PA, the US attys' office seems to indict a democratic official each week.

The biggest scammer, a republican state rep, was tried by the county DA, apparently because the USA had no interest. He was convicted and imprisoned, by the way.

I am betting a study of non-politician democratic vs. republican supporters would yield similar evidence.

dasher wrote on February 8, 2007 12:53 PM:

Dear SFer: I believe that, according to the evidence presented, you have it exactly inverted. Apparently, Republican U.S. Attorneys would rather see a Democrat get it than an "islamic terrorist", since they seem to spending all their time on the former rather than the latter!

Richard L. Adlof wrote on February 8, 2007 2:16 PM:

Yo Tim,

Liberals get away with murder? Okay . . .

So Laura Bush running over her college boyfriend makes her a liberal.

So George Bush's murder of over three thousand troops and several thousand New Orleans’s folk makes him a liberal.

AND Cheney is the only real Conservative left in Washington cuz he shot a lawyer in the face but did not kill him.

I hate that sarcasms is the last refuse of idiocy . . . It hurts that you have driven my educated liberal ass to committing the idiotic sin of sarcasm.

A pox upon you, your house and George’s house.

tomg wrote on February 8, 2007 2:42 PM:

and who said profiling was dead?

TPMPaul wrote on February 8, 2007 2:50 PM:

A response to commenter Paul Harder from Dr. Shields:

"Dr. Cragan and I don't want Paul Harder's comments to confuse people. His Chi-square was a little smaller than ours because he didn't figure the expected sample correctly based on 50%, 41%, and 9% of the 379 sample and that we also know that the probability of the data being mistaken is greater than .0001 (one in 10,000) but that was the maximum confidence level allowed by the Chi-Square calculator that we used and that as some would say, the chances of our observed data being from the same sample as our expected data is zero, another way of saying highly significant."

Bush Lover wrote on February 8, 2007 4:28 PM:

You people that want Gonzales impeached over the FISA stuff have fallen off your rockers. Do you not keep up with the real news? The FISA court ruled the current administration did not thing wrong. They had every right to do the surveillance. And you if you American hating libs are not doing anything wrong you don't have to worry about the FISA stuff. It is real simple stupid don't talk to terrorist. I know this is hard for you libs to understand but Bush is not running for anything. You need to figure out how you are going to make this country safer in 2009 when he is back in god's country (that’s right I said GOD). You wont be able to run on the platform of Bush is an idiot any longer. You have tried and Bush handed Kerry his back side on a platter in 2004. Get over Bush. He is gone in 2 years.

jesus jones wrote on February 8, 2007 5:49 PM:

In San Diego, 3 city council members were investigated for receiving bribes from a strip club owner who wanted to change the 'no-touch' rule. A non-scandal if there ever was one.

Mike Friedman wrote on February 9, 2007 6:11 AM:

I suspect that a big part of the reason for this is that Democrats have more local governments that they totally control than Republicans.

There are virtually no local governmental units in which 90% of the voters are Republican. There are plenty in which 90% of the voters are Democrat. That's because of racial segregation and the overwhelming support Democrats have from black people.

Well, when you and your political soulmates totally control a local government why not put your hand in the till? It's not as if you have any local political opponents keeping an eye on you, right?

joemoe wrote on February 9, 2007 9:42 PM:

Bush lover,

i hope you feel the same way when a democratic
administration listens in on your phone calls.
'cause you would notbe talkin to a terrist
right? and you would TRUST your democratic
president NOT to listen in on Republicans and
other political enemies right dufus?

Rob LA Ca. wrote on March 14, 2007 8:30 AM:

"Remember the Republicans used to say politics was local? Now they'll twist that around and nail Democrats while protecting their own. Any doubt that this is another grand scheme by Rove?
Posted by: davis¹³
Date: February 7, 2007 01:27 PM"

I am taking you at your word and your post was not meant to be satire. That said , you now serve as a perfect example of how Democrats talk out their ass and have no compulsion to say things that aren't true , are outright lies or the most common tactic , lies by omission.

The phrase "All Politics Is Local" is attributed to Tip O'Neill.

Book: All Politics Is Local: And Other Rules of the Game (Paperback) by Tip O'Neill, Gary Hymel - ISBN 1-55850-470-2

He's a democrat and his underling is non other than that political hack , "Spittle Face" aka Criss Matthews of Hard Ball. (DEMOCRAT MEDIA)

Shaun R wrote on March 14, 2007 8:01 PM:

The guy who said Democratic-led urban centers are more corrupt- using major cities like New York and Boston- has to understand that these places are more socially complex. Most areas of our country are comprised of similar racial/socioeconomic groups. In the large cities, however, every strata of society is represented. The more people there are competing for resources, the more corruption you get.

I think it's this social complexity that lends itself to corruption, not Democrats. I also feel that it's this complexity that moves the people to VOTE Democratic. They need leaders who are sensitive to their diverse needs and viewpoints(Democrats) rather than a group of people only interested in promoting a certain way of life for a particular group of people (Republicans).

I really have no problem believing that Democrats were unfairly targeted in the last six years by a Republican-drenched government (duh!). When you have a group of people who treat politics as a "culture war"- turning leadership and representation into something that has WINNERS and LOSERS rather than focusing on the ENTIRE American people- then this is the kind of behavior you have to expect.

We all have to live here, so we should expect our leaders (whom we elected) to focus on us rather than one another.

ShaunR

John Morykwas wrote on May 28, 2007 11:41 PM:

The actions of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales reminds me of the actions of a distant relative who also is a Rebublician, Ex-Federal Judge Walter Nixon from Mississippi. The only difference is, Nixon lost his position, and Gonzales will keep his.
There are still Federal Judges practicing the Walter Nixon style of justice, Judge Coody of Alabama is a good example.

John Morykwas wrote on May 28, 2007 11:41 PM:

The actions of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales reminds me of the actions of a distant relative who also is a Rebublician, Ex-Federal Judge Walter Nixon from Mississippi. The only difference is, Nixon lost his position, and Gonzales will keep his.
There are still Federal Judges practicing the Walter Nixon style of justice, Judge Coody of Alabama is a good example.

John Morykwas wrote on May 28, 2007 11:41 PM:

The actions of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales reminds me of the actions of a distant relative who also is a Rebublician, Ex-Federal Judge Walter Nixon from Mississippi. The only difference is, Nixon lost his position, and Gonzales will keep his.
There are still Federal Judges practicing the Walter Nixon style of justice, Judge Coody of Alabama is a good example.

John Morykwas wrote on May 28, 2007 11:41 PM:

The actions of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales reminds me of the actions of a distant relative who also is a Rebublician, Ex-Federal Judge Walter Nixon from Mississippi. The only difference is, Nixon lost his position, and Gonzales will keep his.
There are still Federal Judges practicing the Walter Nixon style of justice, Judge Coody of Alabama is a good example.

John Morykwas wrote on May 28, 2007 11:41 PM:

The actions of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales reminds me of the actions of a distant relative who also is a Rebublician, Ex-Federal Judge Walter Nixon from Mississippi. The only difference is, Nixon lost his position, and Gonzales will keep his.
There are still Federal Judges practicing the Walter Nixon style of justice, Judge Coody of Alabama is a good example.

John Morykwas wrote on May 28, 2007 11:46 PM:

The actions of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales reminds me of the actions of a distant relative, who also is a Republician, Ex-Federal Judge Walter Nixon from Mississippi. The only difference is, Nixon lost his position, and Gonzales will keep his.
There are still Federal Judges practicing Walter Nixon style of justice, Judge Coody of Alabama is a good example.

Eagles wrote on December 12, 2007 4:39 PM:

sale@mp3.com

Eagles wrote on December 12, 2007 7:01 PM:

sale@mp3.com