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Young Opponent Calls for House Ethics Review of Coconut Road
The Democratic candidate running against Rep. Don Young (R-AK) has asked for an official investigation by the House ethics committee into Young's extra-Constitutional Coconut Road earmark.
The earmark was rewritten after Congress voted on the legislation, prompting legal experts and watchdogs to question the ethics and legality of the earmark and call for an investigation into how it happened, as the candidate, Diane Benson, noted in her announcement of the complaint.
She also told Alaska Public Radio Network that despite the many scandals Young faces, including a federal investigation into his Veco ties, she has decided to focus solely on the Coconut Road earmark controversy.
"I don't want to see this be ignored because I think the implications are too great," Benson said on APRN. "This is exactly how we end up where we are now with people getting indicted. We have a responsibility to say: we want you to tell us the truth."
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Comments (5)
bwindrip wrote on September 19, 2007 3:02 PM:Otherwise known as pulling the mink's teeth...
Ed*ard Teller wrote on September 19, 2007 3:57 PM:Young brought up the wounded animal talk, but it looks like before this is over, he may have to chew one of his own legs off to get out of the trap. Diane Benson wounded him last fall, and now he's further ensnared. Young thought nobody would notice, but that turned out to be a false notion. His hunter's instincts have faded to the point that he's probably incapable of even shooting a close friend in the face, let alone defending his dead animal-adorned office:
http://donyoung.house.gov/PhotoGallery.aspx?GalleryID=82
AlaskaVet wrote on September 19, 2007 4:56 PM:It gets Diane a little gratuitous ink, too. Young will pay the price for his bad acting, but Diane's posturing on this issue calls to mind the proverbial rooster who sought to take credit for the dawn.
Ed*ard Teller wrote on September 19, 2007 5:08 PM:AlaskaVet,
"It gets Diane a little gratuitous ink, too. Young will pay the price for his bad acting, but Diane's posturing on this issue calls to mind the proverbial rooster who sought to take credit for the dawn."
My take is that Benson wants action out of an internal congressional committee that has done little in the nine months congress has been in the control of the Democrats. She's running for Young's office, of course, but you could have made the same inquiry, under the rules of the House Committee on Standards and Conduct. Did you? Are you saying that any time a candidate takes an action like Benson has here that it is posturing, or is there something about the way she has done this that is different from when other candidates have made similar choices?
AlaskaVet wrote on September 20, 2007 12:50 AM:I take your point, and I appreciate it. My point was simply that Ms. Benson's studied righteousness is a bit over-the-top. But notwithstanding her motives, her request was not inappropriate. And if it prods the House Committee on Standars and Conduct to do its job, so much the better.
(And I think I was wrong about getting "gratuitous ink," too -- we are suffering through 24/7 OJ, so any ink devoted to Young's squalid performance is welcome).