DEMS Culture of Corruption- List of Democrats mired in scandal in the past year

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A BRITISHER’S VIEW - Crooked Clarence Should Have Known Better
By Shavana Abruzzo


One would think the son of a pastor would know the difference between right and wrong.

Yet, a jury of his peers discovered the opposite to be true when they found former Brooklyn-lawyer-turned-political-powerhouse Clarence Norman guilty of corruption charges, making the February 23 conviction his third of four trials on hubris-linked lawlessness in the past 17 months – with one acquittal.

Norman’s cronies – the ones he had helped boost up the political ladder during his 23 years as member of the New York State Assembly and 15-year tenure as top banana of the privileged Kings County Democratic Party – appeared to abandon ship as charges of grand larceny, tampering with business records, illegal solicitation of funds for his 2000 and 2002 campaigns and plain old extortion began to surface against him, courtesy of a sting operation by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

The convictions forced Norman to be disbarred from practicing law and surrender – in disgrace – the prominent positions he had enjoyed and abused within the city, state and national Democratic Party as the first African American, and youngest Democrat, to serve as chairman of the Executive Committee of the Kings County Democratic County Committee.

So much so, that a Brooklyn civil court candidate testified in the last trial that Norman threatened to “dump her” if she did not use a specific, party-favored firm to print her campaign leaflets.

Out on bail throughout his quartet of trials, and vowing to stand tall and proud in the face of his discredit and scandal, Clarence Norman exemplifies the type of politician, who has stopped serving his voters because he has bigger – illegal – fish to fry.

In a typical turn of events, the crooked politician has seen his power, wealth and influence transformed into the probable likelihood of a long prison sentence – up to six years – for defrauding and shaming his party and his voters.

Infected by his greed and drunken by his thirst for ill-gotten spoils, Norman has plummeted from a perk-laden pedestal, which included such succulent stints as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2000 and 2004, presidential elector from New York in 2000, member of the Democratic National Committee from New York in 2004 and assistant majority leader of the New York State Assembly.

Apparently, all that was not enough for this offender, who entered the world of politics after serving as a general counsel to the New York State Assembly Subcommittee on Probation and Parole, and later worked in the felony bureau of the very district attorney’s office which, more than 20 years later, would haul him off to court for criminal conduct.

Someone in Clarence Norman’s former wide-ranging, esteemed and highly-paid position should have known better than to even think about breaking the law he had once sworn to uphold.

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since democrats 06 election's gains congressional democrats approval ratings and actual effectiveness are weak.

they've done a bang up job with coming up with a plan for iraq...that will hurt in 08 elections...can't tell me it won't.

[Julie Fern]

let's see...republican plan = more wasteful slaughter of american lives, resources, and reputation.

democratic plan:  stop doing that.

yes, easy see that democrats in trouble, you electoral feminine hygiene product..

[! B L U E WAR R I O R..!]

let's see...republican plan = more wasteful slaughter of american lives, resources, and reputation.

democratic plan:  stop doing that.

yes, easy see that democrats in trouble, you electoral feminine hygiene product..

hey...can't argue with the trends...think what you will.

[Julie Fern]

that right, you not argue--although your kind not known being reality-based.  your base now so small, you qualify as third party.

[! B L U E WAR R I O R..!]

that right, you not argue--although your kind not known being reality-based.  your base now so small, you qualify as third party.

cute...but aye don't think you understand indigo agenda...however...we get things done.

[Julie Fern]

"indigo agenda?"  yet more race-baiting, you alien sack putrescent gop alimentary canal evacuation.

[! B L U E WAR R I O R..!]

"indigo agenda?"  yet more race-baiting, you alien sack putrescent gop alimentary canal evacuation.

...aye'm not even bringing race up and your mentioning it...

...guilty conscience? mel? kramer? blusty?

[! B L U E WAR R I O R..!]

« FEC Audit: Kerry Broke Spending Limit in 2004 Campaign

Taking Tierney To Task On Democrat Corruption


Earlier this afternoon I attended a community meeting hosted by my Congressman, John Tierney (D-Salem).

Lots of issues were discussed. Many people present, obviously other Democrats, expressed their frustration with the Democrats’ impotence when it comes to ending the Iraq War. Others were spewing ridiculous allegations of war crimes by the Bush administration, debunked claims about manipulated intelligence, and demands for the impeachment of President Bush. The latter was opposed by Tierney, and the others were neither supported or refuted.

I came primarily to make issue with the lousy ethics record of the Democratic Party. Shortly before I got to ask my question, some people alluded to the corruption in Congress and lack of accountability. Tierney naturally was able to list off about 4 to 6 names of Republicans who had either been accused of or convicted of wrongdoing. (The standard list, Ney, Cunningham, Renzi, Doolittle, even Tom DeLay. The first two left Congress and are serving time. The next two have been accused and are under investigation. Tom DeLay, as we all know was indicted after a Democrat district attorney went grand jury shopping, finally getting the indictment he was after with the sixth grand jury.)

This was my cue to ask my question.

I recalled the earlier statement about accountability, and noted how Tierney had a list of Republicans who had done wrong, but didn’t include Rep. William Jefferson, who was just indicted this past week. I explained to Tierney that a) Democrats ignored the Jefferson scandal for two years, b) that Democrats rewarded Jefferson after the election by nearly placing him on the Homeland Security Committee, and c) that Nancy Pelosi stalled an ongoing ethics investigation of Jefferson.

Tierney went immediately on defense.

As I expected, he mentioned that Democrats stripped Jefferson of his powerful committee assignment last year. I explained further that Democrats didn’t vote to strip him of his committee assignment until after it was reported that there was videotape evidence against him. He was also ignorant of how Nancy Pelosi had blocked the ethics investigation of Jefferson, which I explained how Speaker Pelosi refused to appoint 10 Democrats to the 20 member bipartisan ethics “pool.”

After a lot of back and forth of Tierney trying to claim that Democrats are taking the lead on ethics reform, and I pointing out how they’ve done nothing, Tierney made the ridiculous claim Jefferson is the only “one” Democrat under investigation. I attempted to explain to him that he wrong, that in fact, there are other Democrats under investigation (and plenty more who should be) including Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). When I told him about Mollohan, Tierney said, “that’s news to me,” and said he had no idea about Menendez (but considering that he’s now a Senator I suppose I’ll let that one slide).

Now, I’d like to believe that my own Congressman isn’t so oblivious that he is unaware that Rep. Alan Mollohan had to step down from the House Ethics Committee because of the investigation against him.

I also specifically pointed out that when Republicans have been accused of wrongdoing, they’ve more often than not, done the right thing and stepped down… This drew a chuckle from Tierney, and plenty of his liberal friends in the attendance. But, let’s look at the facts. Bob Ney stepped down from his committee assignment and eventually left Congress. Duke Cunningham left Congress. Renzi and Doolittle, even though they’re only being investigated, stepped down from their committees. Tom DeLay, obviously the victim of a partisan campaign to oust him, resigned from the House Leadership after he was indicted due to a rule of House Republicans to step down from any leadership positions they hold if they are indicted. This is a rule House Democrats do not have. Liberals can laugh at my statements, but they cannot ignore the facts.

After the meeting officially ended, I went up to Tierney to press him more about this issue. I told him I was surprised that he was ignorant of the ongoing investigation into Mollohan. He said he’d look into it. I told him about my book, Caucus of Corruption, (which Tierney is mentioned in) and explained how it details corruption in his party. He was ironically amused by this, and obviously tried to write off my book as a partisan hit job. I explained to him that party is irrelevant, and that Democrats have done nothing to hold their own accountable. I gave him my business card and told him he should look at the book. He said he most likely wouldn’t read it (naturally) but might “skim it.” I attempted to explain to him about how Republicans have higher ethical standards, and he just kinda laughed, but I kept pressing him. At this point he was clearly trying to get out of talking to me by turning the other way, but I wasn’t about to let him off so easy. Eventually, he just said, “Look, I get it, you’re a Republican…” and I was quick to point out that this issue has nothing to do with what party I am, and that my book is trying to bring balance to the debate about corruption and Democrats need to recognize that there is corruption in their party, etc. etc.

It was an interesting experience. Rep. Tierney is clearly a partisan liberal who was quick to accuse anyone who disagreed with him as being wrong and uninformed, or my favorite: “having their own view of the facts.” What Tierney doesn’t understand is that people have their own opinions, but facts are not malleable.

Is Mollohan under investigation? Yes.

Are other Democrats corrupt? Yes.

Was Jefferson nearly put on the Homeland Security despite the ongoing bribery investigation? Yes.

But he refused to recognize these things, amongst several other facts I presented to him.

It was interesting to get in a heated debate with my own Congressman, especially since I mention him a number of times in my book on corruption in the Democratic Party. There’s no excuse for his ignorance on the corruption in his own party.

[Julie Fern]

"indigo agenda?" yet more race-baiting, you alien sack putrescent gop alimentary canal evacuation.

...aye'm not even bringing race up and your mentioning it...

...guilty conscience? mel? kramer? blusty?

you not lie any better than gump, cheney, or gonzales.