Tag Archive for 'Larry Craig'

LA Times: Lots of no-shows expected at RNC

by
Aaron Landry
Published on August 31, 2008 at 2:56 am
, filed in MN 2008: Senate
. 4 Comments

The list is getting so long, NRSC spokesperson Rebecca Fisher says ”it’s probably easier to say who is attending.” OUCH. My three favorites that all hit close to home:

Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is awaiting trial on seven federal charges stemming from a corruption scandal.

His staff says he won’t attend because he is too busy campaigning for his eighth term.

…

Idaho Sen. Larry E. Craig also has reasons to avoid the Twin Cities. Craig pleaded guilty in August 2007 to a reduced misdemeanor charge arising from his arrest for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in a restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. His term is ending; he is not seeking reelection.

…and of course, if it was anywhere else, we already know what Coleman would do:

One incumbent Republican senator has no choice but to attend: Norm Coleman of Minnesota pushed to bring the GOP convention to his state and is scheduled to address the delegates.

But facing a stiff reelection battle, he now admits he’d rather be out campaigning.

“If the convention wasn’t in St. Paul, I wouldn’t be at the convention,” Coleman told Minnesota Public Radio.

Read the entire piece at the Los Angeles Times. I was at the RNC media party on Saturday night and there was a lot of buzz amongst local and national media about the no-shows, the protests, the police raids and of course the hurricane that is looking likely to hit hard. In fact, a reason CNN’s Anderson Cooper wasn’t at the party is because he changed his flight plans from Saint Paul to New Orleans.

Update: 14 hours later, more developments: George Bush and Dick Cheney are both no-shows and McCain is calling off most RNC events for day one to monitor the situation with hurricane Gustov. While it is a lose-lose situation any way you look at it, I think they’re making the right choice.

Coleman Keeps Stevens’ Dirty Money

by
Aaron Landry
Published on July 29, 2008 at 8:56 pm
, filed in MN 2008: Senate
. 10 Comments

While Senator Elizabeth Dole, Senator John Sununu, and Senator Gordon Smith are the first to give the money received from the recently indicted Ted Stevens to chairty, Norm Coleman is the first I’ve heard to actually go on the record saying he’s keeping it:

Coleman called the indictment “a very, very serious matter,” but added, “Under our system of justice, people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. I look at that principle before making any decisions about returning any contributions.”

That’s funny. Remember when Larry Craig was toilet tap dancing? From the AP, August 29, 2007:

Two Senate Republican colleagues, including John McCain, called Wednesday for Sen. Larry Craig to resign. The White House, too, expressed disappointment in the case of the Idaho Republican caught in a men’s room undercover police operation.

Arizona Sen. McCain and Norm Coleman of Minnesota, the state where Craig was arrested, became the first senators to join Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., urging Craig’s resignation.

Coleman was also the first member of congress to, well:

Sen. Norm Coleman will be donating a $2,500 contribution he received from Sen. Larry Craig’s political action committee to charity.

Coleman’s campaign manager, Cullen Sheehan, says that the Minnesota Republican senator will donate the contribution he received two months ago from Craig’s “Alliance for the West” PAC.

The other main player here, VECO, already pleaded guilty:

VECO was once the dominant force in Alaska’s oil services industry. Its founder, Allen, and vice president, Rick Smith, have pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers to push legislation to help the company. That initial investigation into VECO spawned the Stevens probe.

Allen agreed to cooperate with the FBI as part of a plea deal for a lesser penalty. That cooperation included letting the FBI tape his phone calls with Stevens, though those calls do not appear as part of the indictment.

Coleman received money from both Allen and Smith as well.

So what makes this situation with Ted Stevens so different? Is it too much to just give away to charity? Why would Dole, Sununu and Smith have a different opinion?

Maybe this has something to do with it.