PINOKEO: Hypocrisy, TPM Edition
Gov. Sanford takes a personal junket to Argentina on taxpayer expense, and rightfully will refund the money.
A millionaire ex-basketball player uses taxpayer non-profit grant funds to have his car washed and errands run while his foundation has to give back hundreds of thousands of funds he mismanaged. Penalty? He has to loan the foundation $73K and take an ethics course.
A Republican spouse belongs to a nutty Alaskan-independence movement - hilarity, 24x7 ridicule.
The spouse of the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee pleads guilty to taking bribes as a Detroit official in her own right. Reaction? “No connection proven, they only live together”. Crickets.
Sex scandals? Lots of column space. Corruption and nepotism? Not so much. Republican? Scorn and ridicule. Democrat? Excuses. For the folks who’ve replaced IOKIYAR with IOKIYAD, I have a suggestion: It’s Not OK Period, or if I want to make it memorable: Period - It’s Not OK Either One.
(Game points for whoever comes up with the best slogan that fits the acronym)
Update: Of course one of the greatest pieces of hypocrisy over the past weeks is that it was important that the world could rally around the image of Neda from Iran to stir up anger, just as it was important not to release torture pictures of inmates at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere, because knowing we tortured/interrogated more than 100 inmates to death, it just might stir up anger.
A vs. B, us vs them, 2 + 2 = 4 until it doesn’t, sometimes it equals 5, sometimes 3, sometimes what you want it to be.
SC governor goes AWOL. Said Gov tells staffers that he is hiking, later returns from Argentina. SC Governor gives live on camera updates of his straying while married. Governor trying to leave his soul mate and fall back in love with is wife. Media records his words.
President Clinton got impeached because of adultery. NY Gov Eliot Spitzer and NJ Gov McGreevey resigned because of adultery.
Vitter and Ensign continue in Congress. Larry Craig did not resign.
DOJ settles cases against Democratic San Diego Mayor. IG Walpin disagrees with settlement. IG fired. IG situation being investigated. WaPo today gives us a snippet about the trouble between Walpin and the organization that he was reviewing. Walpin approved parody newsletter including references to disabled people and racial minorities. Full story of tension between the IG and the board still in development.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR2009063004018.html?wprss=rss_politics
AWOL SC Governor paying back funds to the state. Grant fund shifting San Diego mayor paying back funds to US government. Both remain in still allowed to handle US government funds. Both may get voted out by the people.
GOP VP candidate gives welcoming address to secessionist group that counted her husband as a former member. Questions raised. Palin remains well respected among GOP voters. 24/7 coverage less than that for Reverend Wright. Having demons expelled by a Kenyan minister in a church in Alaska, not mentioned much at all.
John Conyers wife convicted. John Conyers has no direct connection. More details likely to come.
Torture pictures being withheld. Iraqi government and CIA want pictures held citing possible flare of violence because of the nature of the pictures. A balancing act exists between getting the information about the pictures out so that US citizens can know what was done in our name, versus a risk of more military casualties. Those not in harm's way, like me, can easily argue to release the pictures and let the chips fall where they may.
July 1, 2009 12:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Grant fund *Sacramento* mayor is *not* paying money back. He loaned St. Hope $73K and that is it. Presumably if he doesn't get that money back he can declare it a tax deductible loss.
WaPo article on Walpin was so incomplete as to be laughable, and with all the time I spent on this thread and this thread trying to get people to at least acknowledge Walpin's rather sensible points, it seems rather hopeless at this point. Show us the documents with Walpin's followup statement and I have some way to evaluate. Until then, I just figure they're trying to smear someone they don't like. The basic fact remains - Johnson was caught misusing federal funds.
"John Conyers has no direct connection". Really? Bill & Hillary, joined at the hip, Sarah & Todd, joined at the hip, but John and Monica, just 2 passing ships in the night?
Iran can easily argue that pictures from protesters only enflame violence, such as what killed Neda. Iran is right! Stop the citizen bloggers now! Shut down the internets!!!
Regarding affairs, I don't think anyone should resign unless it directly affected their jobs. In Spitzer's case, I'd have to say it did. In JFK's case, I'd have to say it did. Sanford is close only because he's such an idiot that he can't stop talking, even though I've managed to avoid most news reports. Clinton, Edwards, Vitter, Larry Craig? Rock on. You sort your home life out with your spouse.
July 1, 2009 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
"St. HOPE Academy ended up repaying more than $400,000 in government funds."
FROM THIS ARTICLE:
http://cbs13.com/politics/obama.st.hope.2.1042162.html
July 1, 2009 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obama's dear friend Kevin Johnson steals federal grant money, gets absolutely no punishment for himself... no fine, no nothing... and his "project" which mostly performs personal services for Kevin Johnson gets ten years to repay 50% of the money it misappropriated.
Hurrah?
But for some strange reason, the Sacramento Bee isn't cheering.
July 1, 2009 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
NOT MUCH TRUTH HERE.
July 1, 2009 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
"NOT MUCH TRUTH HERE," says jonnienohand, but he's just too dumb to be specific.
And thanks for your previous link to the local CBS franchise in Sacramento!
It's always surprising how many Obamabots rely on TV for their "insights."
July 1, 2009 3:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whatever, just keep spewing your hate and spreading your lies.
July 1, 2009 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
What?
No links in jonnienohand's typically "thoughtful" comment?
Harharharhar!!!
Meanwhile, chump, Kevin Johnson is a thief who should be in jail for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of services from the federal government.
But by some strange coincidence, Obama "lost confidence" in Inspector General Walpin just when Inspector General Walpin was investigating Obama's friend and supporter Kevin Johnson, and this is one of those cases where "the thing speaks for itself..."
Res ipsa loquitur!
Obama isn't even bothering to pretend to be anything but a con-man any more, and why should he?
Obama's corrupt $14 trillion give-aways to the banks make a little thief like KJ look like nothing, and by the time the next election rolls around, all of us with have bigger crimes to worry about than a free pass for a small-time chiseler like Kevin Johnson.
July 1, 2009 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ridgepole help decide an argument. Is this you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7CCga0nbG8
July 1, 2009 7:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
The guy won the championship in 2008, so maybe it was worth the tirade to get refs back in order.
Ever done anything brave and counter-intuitive?
July 1, 2009 8:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, cut him some slack. It's not easy running the outrage factory all by yourself and constantly having to keep coming up with a new product line.
July 1, 2009 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Correct. It's much easier to obsessively beat a dead horse in front of a crowd that never tires of watching it.
To artappraiser - great post.
The whole thing sometimes looks like a giant game of sports for partisans of both parties, with no end, no breaks and a total "anything goes" attitude. You can't stop for a moment, because you know the other side won't let up. You get caught up in the excitement, us-versus-them mentality, and the sense of belonging outweighs critical thinking.
That's why sex scandals take up air time. They have a more sensational, impulse-related nature than the carefully planned acts of corruption and nepotism. It's easier to generate decibels with sex scandals and decibels are a crucial component of this game.
Like Pepsi vs Coke, a lot of it has to do with lung capacity. In advertising and marketing, repetition of any branded message causes awareness which many proclaimed to be the best predictor of purchase.
My point is about a self-enforcing herd mentality of groups that instinctively go for the loudest noisiest most sensational issue; push for the polar opposite policy solution as a matter of principle and therefore value winning more than anything else. Basketball teams play against each other, not all together.
Against this background, Sanford, like a deer in the headlights, is simply caught in the typical grind that's now being blown out of all proportion - because you can score easier points with that than a complex (boring) corruption case.
July 1, 2009 4:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I meant "to Desi", sorry, but I agree with art's point too.
July 1, 2009 4:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's become ever clearer to me that with Sanford the main problem is continued national focus on the saga as a pop culture salacious fun thing to follow. It's a vicious circle in that it makes him give more press conferences on it and then more people attend the press conferences.
What continues to go on there is basically the business of the people of South Carolina (if it is even that, I question their judgment if they are so interested in it, but who am I to say if they care so much about the sex life of their governors?) The national people like Josh Marshall and MSNBC should have some sense of proportion and stopped the feeding frenzy circus long time ago.
What they are doing, the feeding frenzy thing, is how the country got distracted by a presidential impeachment. It's in their hands what the news and politics junkies in this country spend time on. To me anyone who professes to "journalistic activism" who doesn't just say no to feeding frenzies on infotainment is being an "activist" for continuing what's wrong with the politics in this country. I'll grant you that the salacious celeb politico beat is way juicy fun, there's no doubt about it. But if you want to matter, you're being self-defeating in playing that game.
July 1, 2009 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Historically, it is know that there is danger of a self-discipline problem once one announces one is a "muckraker." There is the problem of starting to take the word "muckraker" nearly literally, all mucky dirt welcome as it were, rather than the more sophisticated metaphor that was originally intended. There is also a hard to discern line somewhere on the continuum between muckraking and yellow journalism, it's tricky.
July 1, 2009 2:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ok, that said, breath taken, rants over (sorry I did not put this all in one comment),
I have never been sure that hypocrisy is an accurate accusation here, ever since I read this post: "What We Do" 01.22.08, By Josh Marshall. Cindy Lauper needs to write a sound track for it, something along the lines of "Boys and U.S. citizens just wanna have fun, and not have to eat their spinach." Maybe it is I that had the wrong impression of what interests this blogger and what his priorities are. And it's his website, and I am grateful for being to interact with others of like interests on the "Cafe" that he set up precisely for discussing issues and ideas. I may have been mistaken thinking that implied an interest in issues and ideas on the whole site, rather than playing in political dirt. The conundrum: at his "issues and ideas" subsite, is it proper to be using it to complain that I think his approach to the rest of the site is detrimental to the country? Wouldn't it be more principled not to use the site? Am I the one who is really being a hypocrite?
July 1, 2009 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
dang, sorry for not closing the tag; the link still works.
July 1, 2009 2:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
So we agree Sanford remains news because Sanford appears before cameras. You began with the affair.
.
Regarding the mayor, the voters have the opportunity to vote him out of office. I do not believe the entire city should be ineligible to receive federal funds because of the mayor's actions. Did not the government get reimbursed?
Palin gave the welcoming speech to a secessionist group. The controversy is based on Palin's own action.
The torture pictures reflect what was done in the name of the US. Will releasing the photos result increased action against the US military, I don't know. But I do realize that there is a possibility. release the photos, but realize US troops may suffer consequences.
July 1, 2009 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, the government (us?) did not get reimbursed. It will be a cold day in hell before we get reimbursed. We'll be lucky to get 10 cents on the full $800K+ dollar.
July 1, 2009 8:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
I never heard Sarah Palin answer one single question about the fact that her husband belongs to a group that wants to have Alaska secede from the United States. Not one. Is that 24/7 coverage? Let's say you did see her get asked. I never saw any clip of her response on any news program. I googled it, and only found the question repeated, but never to her face.
Can you imagine any other candidate of any country getting away with having a spouse that wants your state to secede from the country for which you are running for the second-highest office?
I also never heard her asked a question about the creepy devil-ceremony she was filmed in with the guy who had persecuted a woman in Kenya, saying she was a witch.
I never heard her have to account for the house that she built which skirted codes, and was done at the same time by the same builder at the big ice-skating arena, although there was much evidence about co-mingled funds.
If you are going to go with "who got the roughest road," Sarah Palin most definitely did NOT. She did how many interviews? 1 with abc, and 3 with Couric? (I don't count the Fox love-fests) She was the most unaccountable candidate ever. Her Teflon coat is far thicker than Reagan's, because she has so much more to hide than he ever did.
There is much to disagree about, but by calling people hypocrites who might not realize they are somewhat blinded by their own sensibilities, you tend to shut down the conversation.
July 1, 2009 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Your final sentence summarizes my feelings exactly. Those who disagree with the post are the great unwashed. Only the point of view of the poster is correct.
I was amazed that neither the Alaska Independence Party or the Kenya priest raised many eyebrows with the MSM during Palin's run for VP.
If you want to see sexism in media, let's go to the WaPo's style section coverage of Hillary Clinton's cleavage. Palin was merely asked what she read, and that was interpreted as a hostile press corps.
July 1, 2009 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
I remember a fair amount of coverage of the AIP which subsided when it was revealed he had left it a long time ago.
But i think the reason it never became a big issue was because the media didn't want to resurrect "God Damn America" that was still smoking and would have hurt Obama more than hurting Palin.
July 1, 2009 4:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Again the point was that Sarah Palin gave a welcoming address to the AIP. There was video of her welcoming the group's convention to Alaska.
I think the press loved the Reverend Wright controversy just like they loved the Swiftboaters.
July 1, 2009 4:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, really? Can you give any links that support this?
The media didn't persue Palin because they didn't want to resurrect the Reverent Wright?
The media was chomping at the bit to re-play the Wright tape whenever they could. The wright story just petered out. Palin's totally weird stuff got put under the radar because republicans never have to answer for their crap.
July 1, 2009 6:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
How do I get to this TPM that you read?
July 1, 2009 4:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah Palin is a laughingstock for more reasons than the fact that her husband belonged to a secessionist party and she spoke to them. I mean, she hasn't answered any questions regarding the matter, but that is besides the point. She is a laughingstock because of stuff like this:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-410--13221-1-1x2x3x4.5,00.html
That is just the latest. I find her squid ink approach to the English language a mine of comedy gold. The humor is all the more keen because she could have been VP and possibly the big P. Yet another incurious English-mangling evangelical bag of grade-A NUTS. The parallels between her and Bush are quite striking... and perhaps a lot of the slings and arrows she endures is misfocused rage at the Evil One.
Per Conyers, I am assuming that if the trial transcripts revealed anything untoward about the mister it would have sounded a four-alarm Drudge SPECIAL BREAKING REPORT OF POWER. And your comparison the the Clinton duo isn't appropriate because Conyers and spouse never advertised themselves as a two-for-one deal.
The Larry Johnson story has legs. I do believe it has the potential to transform into a genuine scandal because transforming the IG into Mr. Magoo is bad enough, but the timing stinks... and the perception needs to be cleared.
And yes, the photos still need to be released.
July 1, 2009 4:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
First, thanks for the photos ack (which you have since the beginning, I believe).
Comedy gold doesn't make reality gold. They made comedy gold of Al Gore in 2000, and what do we have to show for it? How many thousand dollars to each American for each of those year 2000 chuckles? Just because you can make fun of it doesn't meant it's true, is really funny or is really relevant.
Waiting for Drudge to give us a heads up seems like a D+ in American Civics class.
I don't care what Conyers advertised, what's the reality of this dynamic duo? A bit of background info please? First I heard she was high up in Detroit was the last few days. My fault?
July 1, 2009 8:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
There is a world of difference between Al and Sarah. The difference in their respective depths is staggering. Al may have been laughed at for being wooden and Lord knows the media had no problem chasing their tails in regards to misattributing quotes... But Palin was a joke candidate. Unvetted, inexperienced, and wilfully ignorant. She came in with that Bush stink and no amount of coaching could take the resemblance away.
I am under the impression that there are a number of right wing guns aimed at Mr. Conyers. If there was a there there (there), the right wing flak would have kicked in and seeped into the mainstream. I mean, I could be wrong. Perhaps the growing clout of the Dem party could be silencing certain avenues of inquiry.
July 1, 2009 8:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is this the level of TPM reporting and concern - "oh, it's one of ours, so wait until Fox finds something dirty"?
Sarah Palin became a joke in a large part because of press follies and frenzy just like Al Gore. Sure, Al Gore had a much much stronger record. But the ability of the press to decide who we lambast and who we don't should be disturbing. Why not ridicule about Mr. Half-a-term from Illinois? It mostly comes down to "I like this one so keep away, I don't like this one so be as unfair as you want". Not a good standard to live by. Really, is whether a candidate winks or sighs too much really important to your future? Or is it that their actually policies suck or are dangerous? The press trades on what the candidates wear, how they look. With Al Gore they refused to do any math when discussing Social Security - "math is tough". Why is left-wing press giving Kevin Johnson an easy time? Why does it assume Conyers has clean hands? Certainly I don't want Conyers to go away, he seemed to try to make the White House nervous over the years, but how come the White House never sent anyone to actually talk to him and how come he was never able to enforce his subpoenas? Is there some dirt there? How come Harry Reid is so weak and caves to Republicans? Any blackmail over his land business keeping him chained up?
Dig, baby, dig. The press, you know. They'll make thousands of calls to find out Michael Jackson's last dinner. I want to know if Conyers has any dirt, if Kevin Johnson has more dirt. Like All the King's Men, I may not like the answers, but I've got to know.
July 2, 2009 1:16 AM | Reply | Permalink
People still seem to be ignoring torture that leads to death. Aren't you horrified about what your government and fellow citizens have done in your name? Is this a joke? Is this only about Sarah Palin to you? Can you explain cognitive dissonence? Do you not care about torture?
July 1, 2009 8:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think that those who commented about torture have stated that the photos should be released. People are discussing Sarah Palin because you mentioned Palin in your post. Most seem to feel that Palin was not raked over the coals about her personal tie to a secessionist group. Sarah Palin welcomed the convention of a secessionist group to the state of Alaska. Palin is a major person in the GOP based on polling of Republicans. Palin did not get the Reverend Wright treatment on the secessionist issue.
Do you believe that President Obama intervened in the Walpin situation to protect Kevin Johnson? Do you believe that John Conyers played an active role in his wife's actions in Detroit? Is there a possibility that releasing the torture photos may lead to a spike in attacks against US military?
July 1, 2009 10:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's take the easy one - do you think releasing the Neda photo risks increased attacks against police and other violence in Iran? If so, shouldn't the Mullahs have the right to suppress it just like Obama is suppressing the release of US torture photos?
Conyers? Don't know. Let Muckraker investigate it - make phone calls, disbelieve the answers, dig deeper, like a journalist should. Conyers likely personally benefited from his wife taking bribes. Did he know? Should he have? Do any journalists have any tough questions, or is it "how's the weather, Congressman, having a nice time?"
Kevin Johnson? Same thing. Once upon a time, Muckraker dug deep into sweat shops in the Marianas, Abramoff, Duke Cunningham, so forth. If they said, "I did it for business purposes", did TPM and readers simply believe them?
July 2, 2009 1:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think the photos should be released, but I also realize that there could be increased attacks against US troops. That does give me pause. I differentiate between attacks on the Mullahs and attacks on US troops.
The DOJ dealt with Abramoff and Cunningham. The DOJ dealt with Kevin Johnson. Walpin was scheduled to meet with Senate committee staffers investigating the firing on the 1st.
Monica Conyers received $6K in bribes and will serve 30-37 months in federal prison.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24261.html
July 2, 2009 1:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
"I differentiate between attacks on the Mullahs and attacks on US troops.". Of course you do. You probably differentiate between attacks on Republicans and Democrats as well. Are there any principles re: free speech and what the government should do to open up or withhold information from the people? Seeing coffins was too dangerous under the last administration, CIA reports on torture seem to still be too dangerous for this administration.
Conyers pled guilty. But how big was her suspected take? Who were her cronies? How deep is this problem? I can go to the AP feed and pull of this level of detail. What's the real skinny?
The head of Detroit's City Council and wife of the head of the House Judiciary Committee risked jail for a measly $6000 to throw a $1.2 billion contract? Is that insane, or what? Follow the money, and $6000 isn't enough. There has to be more.
July 2, 2009 2:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
$6000 isn't enough?
July 2, 2009 2:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, $6000 and a hatpin. I knew there was something missing.
July 2, 2009 3:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oops, the IG report on CIA torture (and killing) just got delayed again. Still too sensitive for us to know what our government is doing in our name.
July 2, 2009 2:25 AM | Reply | Permalink