The Something Missing

You have doubtless had the experience that something is missing and you don’t know what that something is. You would know instantly if you came across the missing something and I am not referring to Governor Rick Perry’s much discussed television lapse, although I could. Because it was the surplus of televised debates that had been on my mind and something about them was missing. Then it occurred to me out of the thin television air. It was as if someone had snuck up behind me and popped a paper bag full of air. Ohio’s Republican Governor John Kasich used the words “public servant” -- the missing concept revealed.

"My view is when people speak like this in a campaign referendum," Mr. Kasich said, “you have to listen if you're a public servant.” Ohio overwhelmingly rejected a law that restricted the collective-bargaining power of some 350-thousand government workers. Now, that law that Kasich championed will never take effect

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But it is the idea of public service that has been missing in the Republican debates because it is all about them and not about us.

In the last decade US television audiences began their affair with so-called reality TV shows. Suspending the notion that such shows have production requisites -- like cameras, lights, audio, make-up, direction, catering, transportation and lots of folks behind the scenes – reality is just an abstraction. The sponsored GOP debates are also such an abstraction in addition to being a relatively cheap shoot. They are to professional politics what wrestling is to professional sports.

It’s like watching a reality version of Gilligan’s Island as an elimination game show. Just look at the cast. Seven contestants are or have been elected public officials and one has never held an elected public office. Three candidates are from the House of Representatives and one is from the Senate. Two are former governors and one is a sitting governor. There is a white woman, a black man, two white seniors and four middle-aged white men. Republicans call this diversity.

100% divided by 8 equals 12.5%. Polls only make the television event dubious.

Here is what is apparent. Gallup shows that Huntsman, Santorum and Paul do not register among likely Republican voters. What that means is that the money is not there. Gallup also reports that Romney, who has been running for president for five years, is the most likely to make it to the finals of the contest to win the Republican nomination. He is dull. So is the contest. There is no debating. Except for Perry’s lapse, debate moderator John Harwood said on PBS Washington Week, the television show would have only been about people reciting lines. The Perry gaffe made it interesting

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Only interesting.

The Tea Party stains Bachmann and Cain: Bachmann, who thinks US default on its debt is good and Cain, who thinks sexual harassment is an acceptable management style. Age dims Paul and Gingrich: the Libertarian and the former Speaker could be a formidable tag-team for one presidential term, as US comic relief in a troubled world. Texas dung sticks to Perry’s pointed-toe boots, by his admission, and it stinks.

By the way, Romney and Perry may have the campaign money, but their support of US military intervention in Iran lacks money. They have not said how they would have the US pay for yet another war. Neither did George W. Bush, the former Republican president, who paid for two wars by deficit spending.

So, what about public service? There isn’t any. Romney knows what it is but won’t admit it. Huntsman and Santorum know what it is but lack the money to demonstrate it. Bachmann and Cain do not comprehend what it is. Paul and Gingrich are just there for the show. And none of them mention public service – that something missing in their television show.

Originally published as That Something Missing on Blogcritics.

The Tea Party and RICO

Having fulfilled their purpose of dumping the vulnerable US economy back into the toilet of recession, the Tea Party wing of the GOP has a final job: to flush it using the president as a commode handle. However, in bragging about it as some kind of ideological triumph, they admit ownership of creating a lucrative opportunity for profiteers to engage in short-selling the United States. As Republican sympathizers and media pundits attempt to divert public attention almost apologetically for this blatant racketeering, the Republican Tea Party members have breached their Congressional oath of office knowing that they cannot be impeached nor be recalled. But they are not above the law. It is called RICO.

“We're going to make sure Barack Obama is a one-term president!” Michele Bachmann (R-MN) proudly exclaimed in Iowa. Next to an actual default, which she sought to enable by voting against raising the debt ceiling four times, the founder of the Tea Party Caucus and declared presidential candidate tells her audience that Standard & Poor's lowering America's bond rating from AAA to AA+ is a triumph. "What we saw last week is the markets agreed with me," Bachmann proclaimed. "It [US bond rating] was lowered for the first time in American history!"

Put another way, the way to defeat the incumbent president is by manipulating the market and then blaming the administration.

Earlier this year, the new Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) told the 87 freshmen who had given the GOP control of the House, “I’m asking you to look at a potential increase in the debt limit as a leverage moment when the White House and President Obama will have to deal with us.” Having recently received money and support, they listened as their leader told them, “Either we stick together and demonstrate that we’re a team that will fight for and stand by our principles, or we will lose that leverage.” As CNN reported, the message from Cantor to House Republicans was "to stop grumbling and whining and to come together as conservatives and rally behind the speaker and call the president's bluff."

They stuck together and refused to compromise on ending tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. Put another way, the way to gain power is through extortion.

That may all look and sound merely political, but it is not. The behavior has less to do with proclamations about ideology and principal than it does about money. In this regard there is an argument that has not yet been made. That argument is that allegedly these Tea Party Representatives in Congress have deliberately conspired to devalue the US credit for political and/or personal benefit. Whether it has to do with preparation for an election or not, allegedly they have knowingly or otherwise been party to committing the following actions punishable under the RICO Act: securities fraud, obstruction of justice and extortion.

Originally written to go after the Mafia in 1970, Congress passed the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act [Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1961-1968]. However, RICO is almost never applied to the Mafia today. RICO is applied to individuals and businesses. In addition to criminal claims, Section 1964(c) of the RICO Act allows civil claims to be brought by any person injured by reason of a RICO violation. Tea Party members of Congress are not immune.

Their behavior looks like that of racketeers. As such they could be seen as an ongoing criminal organization subject to the federal law (RICO) that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action that focuses specifically on racketeering and allows for the leaders of a syndicate, such as the Tea Party appears to be, to be tried for the alleged crimes which they ordered and assisted. Violations of the RICO laws can be alleged in civil lawsuit cases. It is important to bear in mind that a RICO-related charge focuses on patterns of behavior as opposed to criminal acts. Additionally, a civil RICO action can be filed in state or federal court. Both the federal and civil components allow for the recovery of triple the amount of actual and compensatory damages.

Look at the provision for private parties to sue. For example, stock holders whose stocks lost value can be considered as a "person damaged in his business or property." They can sue one or more "racketeers", Tea Party members. As plaintiffs, the stock holders, including people with 401(k)s must prove the existence of an "enterprise", that they are victims of the racketeers. What needs to be shown is that the defendants conducted or participated in the affairs of the enterprise "through" the pattern of racketeering activity.

The crimes punishable under the RICO Act alleged here are securities fraud, obstruction of justice and extortion.

Tea Party members committed securities fraud in several ways. They made and publicized misstatements on the financial report of United States and the US debt as elected public officials. That resulted in driving down stock prices. As a stock manipulation scheme, that allowed for insider trading. Those fraudulent schemes that have been perpetrated in the securities and commodities markets can ultimately have a devastating impact on the viability and operation of those markets at home and abroad, which is what Tea Party Representative Bachmann bragged about in Iowa.

Tea Party members have obstructed justice by interfering with the work of other government officials, such as the Secretary of the Treasury and members of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Obstruction can include crimes committed by elected officials. In this regard, they were aware that their actions could manipulate markets for the purpose of financial gain of others or themselves. It was obstruction of justice that the House used to impeach President Clinton and brought about President Nixon’s resignation from office.

Tea Party members, as elected government officials, have practiced extortion under color of authority. That includes false pretenses, like Cantor’s charge to stick together and “demonstrate that we’re a team that will fight for and stand by our principles.” Their extortion has included promises and representations as well as the deprivation of the right of citizens to the honest services of their elected officials. While extortion is more commonly practiced by and associated with organized crime groups, it is defined as a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains money, property or services from a person(s), entity, or institution, through coercion.

There is no excuse for the Tea Party members of Congress deliberate effort to drive down the credit worthiness of the United States, let alone to do as elected public officials. There is no defense for participating in actions by which people can make money on the resultant market manipulation which is unfolding. That their pattern of behavior has hurt both investors and consumers in the false claim of principal is calumny. Seeking the political defeat of the president by purposely trashing the US economy is criminal.

The administration may feel its hands tied and not unleash the Justice Department to prosecute the alleged criminal activity, but that does not prevent the private sector from bringing these seeming racketeers to justice severally and jointly. The harm that has been perpetrated by the Tea Party cannot be justified. Both criminal and civil litigation under RICO can at least marginalize the Tea Party’s willful and destructive influence in Congress and defeat its members.

They are not above the law.

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Article first published as The Tea Party and RICO on Technorati.

House Crier: Faking a Shutdown

Hypocrisy is a pretense of having a virtuous character and principles that one does not really possess. Bare that in mind while I offer an observation that the threat of a government shutdown is just a threat. It is a bully’s threat that is about as credible as the tears of Speaker Boehner. The speaker’s tears demonstrate one of two things, that the shut-down threat is a fake or that the man is emotionally unbalanced. In either case, the threat will last until the very last minute, when it will be averted. Deals have already been cut.

Here is a quick example of this hypocrisy. Republicans especially are all about National Defense. They would sooner burn autographed pictures of Ronald Reagan than touch the Defense Budget, as they have demonstrated. However, as ABC News reports, if the government shuts down, US military personnel won’t get paid.

The Speaker is responsible for ensuring that the House passes legislation supported by the majority party, in this case the majority of the majority. Boehner’s freshmen are challenging his ability to do so. Representative Paul D. Ryan (R, WI), recently of Budget Committee fame, had very telling words about the tea party contingent who have propelled the threat of shutdown forward. “The new people did not come here for a political career,” he said. “They came here for a cause.”

Their “cause” is a risky government shutdown that they seem to think is alright. That opinion found voice in a former member of the House Budget Committee, Thad McCotter (R, MI), who says he thinks the “majority of the public would agree” that a partial shutdown of the federal government wouldn’t be that bad in their lives, according to ABC.

For Boehner the worse outcome is a split conference that pits the Republican establishment against the tea party contingency. Of course senior members of the Republican caucus like Mike Pence and Michele Bachmann, who seek to raise their profiles by establishing themselves as rebel leaders, make out but all future Republican progress would be undermined.

Republicans seem to intend to cut benefits and programs for the nation’s retirees and neediest citizens while protecting corporate America and the wealthiest people from paying their share of taxes. The ACLU opposes enacting their FY11 spending bill because it contains amendments that would eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood to legislation that would impose an “abortion tax” on small businesses who want to provide abortion coverage in their employees health plans.

The government did shut down in 1995 and 1996 under Newt Gingrich’s speakership. Two years later, voters sent 20 Republican members packing and the speaker took the blame. The hypocrisy of the tea party ideological “cause” begs the question that if the Republicans cannot govern themselves, how they are supposed to govern the country?

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originally published on Blogcritics, April 6, 2011 as House Crier: Faking a Shutdown

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A couple of notes, April 8, morning of the shutdown threat:

“It’s not realistic to shut down the government on a debate dealing with abortion,” Senator Harry Reid (D, NV) said. “It’s not fair to the American people. We haven’t solved the issue in 40 years. We’re not going to solve it in the next 38 hours. We should not be distracted by ideology. This is a bill that funds the government.” (see ACLU above)

Gallup reports "The American public has clearly and consistently expressed a desire for elected officials in Washington to pass a new fiscal year budget without bringing government operations to a halt."

The New York Times reports that it is “the policy riders that are the real holdup to a deal.” To Republicans it’s all about abortion, environmental protection and health care. The hold up has nothing to do with jobs or the economy. Negotiators at the White House say “the issue of the spending cuts barely even came up. All the talk was about the abortion demands and the other issues.”

The shutdown is a made for TV event. Neither the White House nor the Republican leadership will let it happen and, contrary to Dave’s right intentions, there is already a continuing resolution in the breach ready for the moment of truth.

Aaron Sorkin has written a better teleplay, but it was performed by real actors.

Tommy