Mullings An American Cyber Column By Rich Galen

US & Int'l Papers

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Democrats Acting Badly

Friday May 5, 2006

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You know? I'm beginning to feel bad for the Congressional Democrats. Every time it looks like they might be making some headway in their push to take back control of the US House, something bad happens to set them back.

Or two somethings.

Thursdays papers were chock full of a report that a guy named Vernon L. Jackson had plead guilty to bribing Democratic Congressman William J. Jefferson of Louisiana on some Nigerian Internet deal he wanted to sell to the US government.

Jefferson denied any involvement, saying he was "surprised and disappointed to learn of Vernon Jackson's guilty plea."

We have a guy who has plead guilty to bribing Jefferson. Not guilty of ATTEMPTED bribery. Bribery.

Bribery requires a briber and a bribee. To believe that Vernon Jackson could bribe William Jefferson without William Jefferson actually taking a bribe from Vernon Jackson requires a suspension of disbelieve amounting to a religious adherence to the concept of an immaculate deception.

This is a pretty complicated case, bribe-wise, but the shorthand appears to be that Congressman Jefferson demanded that money be paid to a phony company set up by his wife and son. If Jefferson is going to claim that the money went to his family and not to him and so he was never bribed, he is going to be laughed right out of court and right into the federal slammer.

You have to read the whole thing to get a sense of the scale of this thing. According to the LA Times, the Vice President of Nigeria is involved. The Vice President of Nigeria is not exactly living in Nigeria.

No. According to the LAT federal agents, "obtained a search warrant against the vice president of Nigeria, who owns a mansion in Potomac, Md., where he lives with a wife who holds U.S. citizenship."

Talk about a Vice President in a secret undisclosed location.

Where do you want to live, honey? Lagos or Potomac?
Oooh. Tough choice. Let me think. Does Lagos have a Nordstroms?

Another minor incident pointing to a potential legal dilemma for the Louisiana Democrat is the fact that, "Federal agents raided Jefferson's home and office in August, reportedly seizing a large amount of cash kept in the freezer."

Don't these people ever watch Law & Order?

Second Democrat Acting Badly

Democratic Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island was aggressively not arrested the other night when he narrowly missed hitting a police cruiser on Capitol Hill but successfully ran his car into a security barricade, staggered out of the car, announced he was a Member of Congress, and said he "was late for a vote."

At a quarter to three in the morning. Three hours after the House had adjourned for the night.

According to the Capitol Police union, two Capitol Police sergeants arrived and "ordered the patrol officers away from the scene" before a field sobriety test could be administered and DROVE HIM HOME.

I think we can safely assume that the Capitol cops made the connection that Patrick Kennedy is the son of Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Kennedy said he had consumed no alcohol prior to the incident, but several hours later his staff issued a statement saying he had "taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness."

I noted on Hannity & Colmes last night that if this were an isolated event, there was be some finger wagging and chest thumping but that would be it.

However, about six weeks ago Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was accused to slugging another member of the crack Capitol Hill police force.

She was not driven home. In fact, a federal grand jury has been looking into the matter.

So we have a Black Congresswoman from Georgia facing a federal rap for rapping a cop. And we have a White Congressman from Rhode Island having his hair ruffled and tucked in.

I further said that if the White Congressman from the Northeast had been a Republican, "Al Sharpton would have been here all day."

That's why I'm feeling badly for the Congressional Democrats this morning.

On a the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A link to the LA Times coverage of the Jefferson bribery case; and another to the Kennedy Driving-into-Barricades case; a very pleasant Mullfoto; and a Catchy Caption of the Day featuring the Asian Bun Festival.

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