I'm of the firm belief that corruption in government should be opposed, regardless of the party affiliation of the person or persons which are corrupt. I don't want to say I know for certain that Representative Visclosky is such a corrupt politician, but questions are being raised. I think it's important to point this out on a pro-Democratic site to maintain our integrity.
Computer Analysis Shows 12 of 16 House Defense Subcommittee Members in Controversial Circles of Lobbyists, Earmarks, and Campaign Cash
Murtha and fellow panel members Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.) steered a host of earmarks to PMA clients, and those clients and PMA staffers gave campaign contributions to the lawmakers. Aspects of those relationships are the subject of a Justice Department probe, which is thought to be looking at whether there were explicit quid pro quo exchanges of favors for cash, which would make crimes out of relationships that are otherwise legal. The House ethics committee is also looking at the situation, and the PMA Group closed following an FBI raid late last year.
Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat in his 13th term in the House, is a former appropriations committee staff member himself. He is tied to the PMA Group through his former appropriations committee assistant, legislative director, and chief of staff Richard M. Kaelin.
After leaving his position with Visclosky in 2003, Kaelin joined PMA. Among his dozens of lobbying clients were at least ten defense contractors for whom his old boss secured a total of $14 million in earmarks. The companies, whose earmarks ranged from $800,000 to $2,000,000 apiece, were: 21st Century Systems Inc., BriarTek Inc., General Atomics, General Dynamics Corp., NuVant Systems Inc., Optimal Solutions & Technology, Parametric Technology Corp., ProLogic Inc., RaySat Antenna Systems LLC, and Sierra Nevada Corp. The earmarks were for such items as methanol fuel cell battery rechargers and a man-overboard identification system. Visclosky's generosity was well rewarded: he and his Calumet leadership PAC received $124,100 from these contractors' corporate PACs; $170,350 from individuals in the firms' leadership, $14,000 from PMA's company political action committee, and $13,000 from Kaelin himself. All told, Visclosky's political committees received more than $321,000. On August 27, the Federal Election Commission approved a request from his re-election committee to allow him to use campaign funds to pay the legal bills for his current and former staffers as they deal with the PMA investigation. Visclosky's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Of course, I want as many Democrats as possible in Congress. However, I think corrupt Democrats do more harm to the party than good. If Congressman Visclosky is guilty of quid pro quo, he needs to go and we need to start thinking about possible Democrats to replace him.
Thoughts, opinions and additional information are appreciated in the comments section.
It's never too early to start pontificating on the next election cycle, especially if you make your money, uh, pontificating on the next election cycle. And thus, with little fanfare, the Cook Political Report released their initial race ratings for the 2010 cycle. Indiana is, at least at the moment, a real snoozer.
IN-1 -- Solid D IN-2 -- Likely D IN-3 -- Likely R IN-4 -- Solid R IN-5 -- Solid R IN-6 -- Solid R IN-7 -- Solid D IN-8 -- Solid D IN-9 -- Likely D
The only real things of note here are that Brad Ellsworth is now recognized as beyond mere mortals in an Eighth District that he has quickly made his own, and Baron Hill has effectively consolidated his political strength in the historically tight Ninth District. Oh, and Mark Souder is a really, really lazy campaigner, but somehow keeps winning.
Back by popular demand, I bring you this quarter's congressional fundraising totals from across the state.
Incumbent
Total Q3 Fundraising
Cash on Hand
Challenger
Total Q3 Fundraising
Cash on Hand
IN-1
Rep. Pete Visclosky
$63,335.00
$1,123,798.49
---
---
---
IN-2
Rep. Joe Donnelly
$142,887.86
$559,233.97
Luke Puckett
$53,708.39
$17,509.71
IN-3
Rep. Mark Souder
$216,987.38
$451,756.49
Mike Montagano
$152,485.49
$31,255.90
IN-4
Rep. Steve Buyer
$270,674.86
$806,324.83
Nels Ackerson
$128,782.53
$100,632.78
IN-5
Rep. Dan Burton
$199,774.70
$359,866.96
Mary Etta Ruley
TBA
TBA
IN-6
Rep. Mike Pence
$142,557.48
$417,601.56
Barry Welsh
$3,233.21
$9,380.03
IN-7
Rep. Andre Carson
$245,415.79
$186,951.99
Gabrielle Campo
$20,720
$11,836
IN-8
Rep. Brad Ellsworth
$267,651.31
$735,413.07
Greg Goode
$48,802.93
$43,860.25
IN-9
Rep. Baron Hill
$206,928.26
$684,909.30
Mike Sodrel
$177,387.86
$263,642.79
There's really nothing but good news for us in these numbers. Here are a few things of note:
The first thing you should notice is the absolutely piss-poor job the formerly-celebrated GOP challengers have done this cycle. Greg Goode and Luke Puckett (when he bothers to file reports) can't raise a dime to save their political lives, which were likely dead before those contests even started.
Congressman Baron Hill continues to kick ass in the 9th District, and Mike Sodrel posts another lackluster set of figures that will undoubtedly dishearten Republicans who were depending on Millionaire Mike to sustain his own effort. Keep fighting until the finish on this one, folks, but things are looking great right now.
Mike Montagano gave us another impressive effort in the 3rd District, and keep in mind when looking at his CoH number that he was able to spend out a lot more due to the dedicated funds he'll be receiving from the DCCC. We're right where we need to be in this contest.
Although the CoH figure will be a huge hurdle in the final weeks, kudos to Nels Ackerson in the 4th for outperforming any and all expectations for a Democrat in this decidedly difficult district. Great stuff.
U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky is endorsing Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president.
The Merrillville Democrat becomes the seventh Indiana superdelegate to endorse Obama.
In a statement Wednesday, Visclosky says Obama "promises to bring Americans together."
Visclosky represents much of northwestern Indiana, just over the border from Chicago, where Obama lives.
This isn't surprising, except for the fact that it took this damn long. Visclosky is cautious to the extreme, but with over one million in the bank and no credible challenger on the horizon, this decision was only a matter of time.
This just leaves Rep. Brad Ellsworth as the lone undecided, but smart money has him playing coy until the landscape simplifies. He's in a tough district that went heavily for Clinton, so it isn't out of the realm of possibility that he stays on the sidelines for another few weeks.
Hillary Clinton is scheduled to make an appearance in Hammond, Indiana today, but she's late, and they can't fill the place:
Officials at the Hammond Civic Center said Clinton was still in Mishawaka just before 12:30 p.m. Seats for the event were still available and campaign staffers were urging those interested in hearing the senator's speech to come down for the event.
The Hammond Civic Center is an anciently-old, smelly, almost decrepit place with poor ventilation, poor seating, just downright nasty. It's really like an old gymnasium -- the name doesn't fit. I'm not surprised people aren't showing.
Hammond mayor Tom McDermott, who is said to have statewide office hopes, and who supports Hillary Clinton, says the campaign's goal is to split Lake County's vote 50/50 with Obama.
Here's a full rundown of this quarter's fundraising numbers. I have included candidates that have announced since the filing deadline in parenthesis, and will update this table as soon as Barry Welsh's numbers become available.
Here are some stories relating to next year's Congressional races:
IN-1 -- Rep. Visclosky receives a challenger who will run as an Independent. Visclosky not only raises a good amount of campaign cash, but brings home the goods for his district in the form of money and projects. Don't expect to see Rep. Visclosky sweating bullets over this, but perhaps he may take something from the criticisms that his environmentally-minded opponent has, and offer some firm leadership on the BP dumping controversy.
IN-3 -- This morning's Star brings word that Democrat Michael Montagano is turning heads with his campaign to unseat Rep. Mark Souder.
On the Democratic side, the national party now views the congressional race in northeastern Indiana as a "potential sleeper," according to a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Michael Montagano, the Democrat challenging Rep. Mark Souder in his heavily GOP district, met Thursday with the head of the committee.
The party hasn't put the seat in its top tier of races. But Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the committee chair, was "very impressed," said spokesman Ryan Rudominer.
"Obviously, it's still very early in the cycle," he added.
Montagano has raised $112,207, including a $25,000 donation and a $6,500 loan from his own pocket. That gave him slightly more money in the bank at the end of June than Souder had.
IN-6 -- Barry Welsh announces his candidacy as he seeks to once again take on right-wing wanker Rep. Mike Pence. More to come on this later today, as the announcement deserves its own post.
IN-7 -- Still no word on Rep. Julia Carson's plans for next year, but her health and lack of fundraising are starting to receive notice.
IN-8 -- The GOP finally find someone to run against Rep. Brad Ellsworth, and lobbyist Greg Goode announces his candidacy to polite applause and talk of a return to "common sense conservatism." Based on what Goode has said so far, this means staying the course in Iraq to get done what he calls a "dirty job," and unleashing an army of some kind to take over America. That may be a vague paraphrasing of his thoughts, but there was an army involved. Oh, and a shining city on a hill. Oh, and tired, recycled Republican talking points. You know, the kind that Brad Ellsworth beat with over 60% of the vote last year?
IN-9 -- Word on the street is that Mike Sodrel has been making the rounds at county fairs throughout the ninth, and all signs continue to point toward another fight with Rep. Baron Hill.
Did I miss something in your area? Let's hear it.
Update: Thanks to Doug for reminding me that Nels Ackerson is still gearing up for his run against Steve Buyer in the IN-4. His website appears to be under construction, so I would expect to see some progress on that front within the next few weeks.
While gas prices climb into the $4.00 range, and local lawmakers argue over the virtue of a statewide suspension of the gas sales tax, Congress is working to make certain that the horrific price gouging that has been seen across this country in times of crisis is not repeated again. From The Times:
The House voted 284-141 Wednesday for the Federal Price Gouging Protection Act, co-sponsored by Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind. [It was actually co-sponsored by every Democrat in Indiana's Congressional delegation.] The legislation bans sellers from charging "unconscionably excessive" prices.
The bill would allow the FTC to go after profiteering companies -- but only after the president has declared an energy emergency.
The fast-tracked bill, which the Bush administration threatened to veto, needed a two-thirds majority in the House and passed that threshold by a one-vote margin. The bill must still pass the Senate, where Democrats hold a narrow majority.
Under the legislation, companies could face criminal penalties up to $150 million, while individuals could be fined up to $2 million and imprisoned for up to 10 years.
The fines would be funneled to a federal fund that helps low-income families pay their energy bills.
Critics argue, and I think rightfully so, that it is difficult to define just what exactly is "gouging," and what is simply being expensive. I would point out, though, that this bill is targeting not just the oil companies, (who certainly could use a bit more oversight), but also individual providers of gas, who have been notorious in their capitalization on such disasters as Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. I remember distinctly the price of gas rising sharply on the westside of Indianapolis in 2001, and there was really no reason for it. To me, it is more than fine to target gas station owners who try to charge five bucks a gallon after a natural disaster, all in the name of cashing in on a national crisis.
The vote, in case you were wondering:
Voting For: Julia Carson, Joe Donnelly, Brad Ellsworth, Baron Hill, Peter Visclosky
Voting Against: Dan Burton, Steve Buyer, Mike Pence, Mark Souder
The House version of the proposed national budget has passed, with only two of Indiana's Congressional representatives voting for the bill. From the AP:
House Democrats pushed their budget blueprint to passage Thursday, promising a big surplus in five years by allowing tax cuts passed in President Bush's first term to expire.
The plan would award spending increases next year to the Pentagon and domestic programs but defers difficult decisions about unsustainable growth in federal benefit programs such as Medicare.
The 216-210 vote sets up negotiations with the Senate, which last week passed a budget blueprint with spending increases similar to the House plan. The Senate plan would not generate surpluses since it assumes lawmakers will renew the most popular of the tax cuts due to expire at the end of 2010.
Reps. Julia Carson, D-Ind., and Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., were the only Indiana congressional delegation members who voted to pass the bill.
Twelve Democrats, mostly from GOP-leaning states such as Indiana, opposed the budget plan.
I am happy that the budget passed, and at the same time happy that every Democrat in the state of Indiana was able to vote for the wishes of their constituents. I'm sure the RNCC-funded "Ellsworth Watch" fools will find something negative to say out of all this anyway, but consider the vote an unmistakable victory.
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