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October 5, 2006
WB: It’s About the Power, Stupid

Billmon:

He may be right: With the reptiles spread out all over God’s country, and about a dozen guys thinking this is their main chance — maybe their only chance — to play the alpha chimp (or at least move up a couple of rungs on the monkey house ladder) the whole thing could easily turn into a simian free for all. The Capitol Hill cops might have to send in Jane Goodall with a tranquilizer gun.

But the pretense that this is about anything other than power — personal and collective — has pretty much been sandblasted away, …

It’s About the Power, Stupid

Posted by b on October 5, 2006 at 05:17 UTC | Permalink
Comments

It’s too late – whatever Hastert does, the damage to the party is done and will get worse. So it is only about his personal power and there is no reason for others, except for taking bribes, to uphold that.
NYT: Bush’s Megaphone Unable to Reach Above the Din

“We’re not the keepers of the facts,” said a senior official, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal deliberations on the Foley scandal.
Referring to the president’s decision to express dismay at the reports about Mr. Foley, and calibrated support for Mr. Hastert as a father, teacher and coach, this official said, “We felt that it was important that the president speak out on this issue — it’s a shocking revelation and warrants his comments.”
But, the official added, “That can help mitigate an aspect of the story, but the story itself still has legs, because the story itself hasn’t been fully reported yet.”

Posted by: b | Oct 5 2006 5:35 utc | 1

I dont get it. Paul Weyrich is pretty much the fundy pope, why he would be willing to give Cardinal Hastert a pass is beyond me.

Posted by: anna missed | Oct 5 2006 5:39 utc | 2

Billmon is suggesting that Whyrich got paid off as Foley paid off Reynolds. I don’t know what sewer system Weyrich sits in, whether the cover name includes “think tank” or “save our children/family/morality”, but the check was sent.
Whoever called the Bush/Cheney administration the mayberry mafia got one thing right, with the republicans it’s always about passing around the money. You score you gotta share. You in trouble, you gotta share to show your gratitude for protection.
This type of governing doesn’t win any wars, look at Afghanistan and Iraq, but it does help spread the loot. Keep in mind the origin of the loot is the right-wingers death grip on the national tax power.
You give a no-bid contract to some loyal flunky, the flunky’s company makes a contribution, the flunky makes a contribution, the flunky is pressured to hire some cronies who are then expected to make a contribution to some worthy as Hastert. Based on this kick-back multiplier power, Hastert our flunky on the national stage now has some blow-hard pontificate on tv on something that will scare the people into voting/contributing to start the cycle again. And again. Until the nation collapses. Perhaps this time nuking 7 yr old Iranians.

Posted by: christofay | Oct 5 2006 7:20 utc | 3

christofay,
Hmm. That’s familiar, that’s the way governance works in Japan … a nation that did not win … the last military conflict in which it was engaged. Hmm.

Posted by: Jassalasca Jape | Oct 5 2006 8:28 utc | 4

Guilt by association. Guilt by being caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. It worked for Guantanamo detainees, let it apply to the Republican Party.
If the Democrats had any sense, they would keep their mouths shut and let the Republicans hang themselves. Any attempt to make political capital out of it will only backfire on them.

Posted by: ralphieboy | Oct 5 2006 10:42 utc | 5

Justa side thought. Now that all of these trough guzzlers, mainchancers and Tom Cruise-like hypocritical closet cases are madly putting the boot into Mark Foley lest the heated gaze of fundamentalist zealotry be turned in their direction, the next time one of them ‘tells’ Foley (tho somehow I doubt he’s listening) that being abused as an altar boy is a powerful reason not to abuse children, not an excuse for doing so; is anyone gonna say “Go tell it to the zionists”?
Yeah I know – – rhetorical question.

Posted by: Debs is dead | Oct 5 2006 10:54 utc | 6

Hastert sounds a bit over the top – it’s Clinton’s fall of course …
Hastert vows to hold on

In an interview with the Tribune on Wednesday night, Hastert said he had no thoughts of resigning and he blamed ABC News and Democratic operatives for the mushrooming scandal that threatens his tenure as speaker and Republicans’ hold on power in the House.
“No. Look, I’ve talked to our members,” Hastert said. “Our members are supportive. I think that [resignation] is exactly what our opponents would like to have happen–that I’d fold my tent and others would fold our tent and they would sweep the House.”
When asked about a groundswell of discontent among the GOP’s conservative base over his handling of the issue, Hastert said in the phone interview: “I think the base has to realize after a while, who knew about it? Who knew what, when? When the base finds out who’s feeding this monster, they’re not going to be happy. The people who want to see this thing blow up are ABC News and a lot of Democratic operatives, people funded by [liberal activist] George Soros.”
He went on to suggest that operatives aligned with former President Bill Clinton knew about the allegations and were perhaps behind the disclosures in the closing weeks before the Nov. 7 midterm elections, but he offered no hard proof.
“All I know is what I hear and what I see,” the speaker said. “I saw Bill Clinton’s adviser, Richard Morris, was saying these guys knew about this all along. If somebody had this info, when they had it, we could have dealt with it then.”

Posted by: b | Oct 5 2006 11:18 utc | 7

b,
sounds like Hilllary’s “vast conservative conspiracy” theory turned on its head.

Posted by: ralphieboy | Oct 5 2006 11:26 utc | 8

@Debsisdead;
“Go tell it to the zionists”?
that kind of clear thinking will get you kicked our of the Kultur Klub but quick.
Here in America, 2 + 2 = 3 for extremely precise values of two.
Have some Kool Aid, and try it yourself. See? Comes up the same every time.
And my — doesn’t the world look rosy now . . . ?
–

Posted by: Antifa | Oct 5 2006 12:03 utc | 9

what a spectacle !
i’m not feeling well. but hell, the gop is a lot sicker than i am & there is surely therapautic benefit in watching how these jackalls go for each others throats
& i must say – being a bugger for narratives – the unending little stories of the little congressmen that become other little stories – has it’s own sense of pleasure
rarefied versions of the dog ate my homework – it wasn’t me it was curley, or larry
in these times you take pleasure wherever you can get it

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Oct 5 2006 12:11 utc | 10

[Hastert] believes it would prompt “a feeding frenzy” that ultimately would lead to the downfall of other GOP leaders as well. (billmon)
WH official: “… the story itself still has legs, because the story itself hasn’t been fully reported yet.” (b)
Kinda makes you wonder exactly what is waiting in the wings AND why they are telling us it’s still out there, doesn’t it?

Posted by: small coke | Oct 5 2006 12:57 utc | 11

All I can say is, thank fuck he didn’t stop posting.

Posted by: waldo | Oct 5 2006 13:10 utc | 12

Whoever called the Bush/Cheney administration the mayberry mafia got one thing right, with the republicans it’s always about passing around the money.
Nicky Santoro: “Finally, my guys got out on bail, and the bosses wanted me to send my brother Dominick out to Vegas. With them it’s always the dollars. Always the fuckin’ dollars.”
Casino
1995
LOL. So I guess it really is

Posted by: Billmon | Oct 5 2006 13:27 utc | 13

It appears the GOP will do anything to keep Billmon blogging. (Don’t think of repeating your ‘hasta la vista’ for a while, Billmon. They’ll nuke something to keep you at the keyboard.)

Posted by: SteinL | Oct 5 2006 14:44 utc | 14

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