Rep Ney (R-OH) oversees EAC now has ethics problem-related?

[mod mom]

AP - Who Paid For Bob Ney's Trip To Scotland?
Thursday, March 10, 2005

Group says it didn't pay for Ney golfing trip The Associated Press

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON — The conservative policy group that two Republican congressmen from Ohio and Florida reported as the sponsor of their golf outings to Scotland said it didn’t pay for their excursions with a lobbyist.

Members of Congress are required to report trips that are paid for by outside groups. They are prohibited from accepting trips or gifts from lobbyists.

Rep. Bob Ney, R-St.Clairsville, said in an interview Wednesday that he had been misled by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who at the time was a board member for the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank based in Washington. Ney represents Muskingum County in the U.S. House.

***************

Bob Ney (R-OH) is Chairman of the US House Administration Committee that among other things oversees not only the EAC and implementation of HAVA, but also Federal Elections. The other Republican congressman was no other than Tom Feeney. Could this be a way of exerting Neo-con control over these two congressmen?

I discovered this when researching a US House Administration Hearing on the 2004 Election that will be held in Columbus OH this coming Monday March 21 at 10 am at the OH Statehouse, Finan Hearing Room.

Could use some good old fashioned DU investigative power to see if the Repugs might be attempting to keep Rep Ney, who previously had some strong words toward Blackwell in line.

[mod mom]

1. This from Scoop.co.NZ on Blackwell + Ney:

On February 9, Blackwell declined to testify at a Congressional panel chaired by Ohio Republican Bob Ney of St. Clairsville investigating the 2004 election.

Are the thugs trying to direct Ney away from Blackwell?

[Wilms]

5. I passed this thread through the new, improved, LinkGenerator...

...and, Wa-lah!

AP - Who Paid For Bob Ney's Trip To Scotland?:

http://www.ohiodems.org/index.php?display=ArticleDetails&id=245805


"On February 9, Blackwell declined to testify at a Congressional panel chaired by Ohio Republican Bob Ney of St. Clairsville investigating the 2004 election."

Blackwell: Hypocrisy And The Arrogance Of Power:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0502/S00241.htm


Ney/Feeney:

Policy Group Denies Paying for Golf Trips:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050310/ap_on_go_co/lawmakers_trip&e=5

[mod mom]

10. Great stuff, you really should consider a patent. nt

[Wilms]

11. Please!

:eyes:

I already have one. That's enough headaches. :)

[newscott]

2. Don't forget that Tom Feeney has been implicated here too.

You can draw your own conclusions.

[Botany]

3. Rep. Ney could have granted Conyers subpoena power ....

..... last year to look into Ohio but choose not to so as to cover up the
crime.

He is dirty.

[mod mom]

4. but here is another line from Ney (also printed in Scoop NZ):

In a reference to Blackwell and Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, Ney noted, “I think the Secretary of States should be here today. I’m disappointed that they’re not here. …We can have disagreements, but you can’t run, you can’t hide,” according to Copley press service.

Perhaps if the thugs are after Ney, he might want to come over to the good side.

[Botany]

6. I hope that is the case but I live in Ohio and .....

.... saw and heard election fraud first hand. Reps. Nye & Pryce were
part of a "firewall" built around keeping the truth from coming out.

Both of them gave long speeches on 1/6/05 about how wrong it
was to contest the Ohio vote but neither questioned one bit
of Conyers report. They know it was dirty and are in on it big time.

I live in Columbus, Ohio and Rep. Pryce refuses to discuss the
"Texas Strike Force," which the state GOP put up in the Holiday
Inn across the street from the state GOP HQs.

He might be trying to distance himself from Blackwell knowing full
well about "blowback."

[SophieZ]

7. Here are Ney's comments in the US House on 1 6 05

Ney has blocked the paper trail legislation from getting a committee hearing since Rush Holt introduced it way long ago.

His speech on the day of the contest of the Ohio electors was not nearly as bad as Pryce's, which was horrendous. But, I fail to find seeds of redemption in his speech.

A Ney golf trip with Feeney, who is accused by whistleblower Clint Curtis of asking him to come up with a way to fix elections? Wow, that's rich.


NEY

COUNTING ELECTORAL VOTES--JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE HELD PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1 (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES--JANUARY 6, 2005) -- (House of Representatives - January 06, 2005)

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r109:3:./temp/~r109jJ7HNN:e247234:

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask to be recognized for 5 minutes.

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from Ohio is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, this is a sad day. It saddens me that we have to be here today debating this issue. Politics in America can be bitter. Campaigns can divide people and breed resentment. That is a given. It also used to be a given that once a campaign was over the winner claimed victory, the loser accepted defeat, everybody else went on with their lives, and the country moved forward. Now, unfortunately, it seems the bitterness and resentments do not end with the campaign. Instead, the divisions are stoked by individuals who simply do not like the results.

The curious thing about this challenge today is that it is taking place in spite of the fact that the losing candidate has admitted defeat. I have to applaud John Kerry for the gracious and magnanimous speech that he made the day after the election where he acknowledged he had been beaten. He also called for unity. I wish those bringing this challenge had heeded his call.

I know there are some problems obviously with this election. They are not frivolous. These problems were not unique, however, or confined to Ohio. Nor were they limited just to Democratic voters. There is no such thing as a perfect election. There has not been. There never will be a perfect election. The question, then, is not whether or not mistakes were made. Of course they were. The question is did those mistakes affect the outcome of this election? The answer is no. No serious person, no objective observer, could claim that they did today.

Now let us talk a little bit about the so-called evidence that has been presented about what happened in Ohio. Much has been made about the long waits for voters in some precincts. The distribution of voting machines in the State has been criticized, the claim being that minority precincts did not have enough machines while white or suburban precincts had too many. Ken Blackwell, our Secretary of State, has been a frequent target and basically blamed for everything. But, in fact, elections in Ohio are run by and large by the county election boards. If my colleagues are not familiar, these bipartisan boards consist of four members, two Democrats, two Republicans. Decisions about how many machines to have in each precinct are made by those boards, not by the Secretary of State. It is possible they could have miscalculated or underestimated.

In a recent article that appeared in the Columbus Dispatch, and this is important, Franklin County Board of Elections Chairman William A. Anthony, Jr. said long lines were not caused by the allocation of machines, a process controlled by a Democrat supervisor, he added, but by the high voter turnout, the overall lack of voting machines, and a ballot that included more than 100 choices for voters.

For those thinking Mr. Anthony must be a part of this conspiracy, I would point out that in addition to his position on the elections board, Mr. Anthony serves as chairman of the Franklin County Democrat Party. He said that he is offended by accusations from a band of conspiracy theorists. He further added, ``I am a black man. Why would I sit here and disenfranchise voters in my own community? I feel like they're accusing me of suppressing the black vote. I've fought my whole life for people's rights to vote.''

I could go on, Mr. Speaker, but basically what is the point? Those who believe this election was stolen will always believe it. No amount of facts or evidence will convince them otherwise. The bottom line is those bringing this challenge today simply cannot accept the fact that George Bush has been elected President of the United States. It is too painful for them.

We must always be seeking ways to improve the process. We announced weeks ago we are going to have bipartisan hearings to look at these issues, and they are not frivolous. They are important issues. But it would not have changed the outcome of the election.

Mr. Speaker, it does not elevate those who are bringing this challenge. It does not elevate our House. It does not elevate the debate. It debases all of us, and it merits a sad day in the history of this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).

[mod mom]

8. why would a conservative policy group(with lots of $) mislead a fellow

repug, knowing it might lead to scandal. Why not just cover the expense so no improper action occurs? This sounds like a set-up to me.

Believe me I too am from Ohio and I heard the despicable speaks from 1/6, but what I am suggesting is perhaps the Neo-Cons are threatening Ney with a ethics charge because of his comments about Blackwell (see post above). No Republican has dared denounce Blackwell's role. Ney, as Chairman of this committee that oversees the election said when he failed to appear "you can't hide". It sounds to me like he pissed someone off.

[Wilms]

9. Perhaps. But don't overlook hubris

[mod mom]

12. Hubris might explain Ney's comment to Blackwell, but why the possible

ethics charge? Do you believe it was just a case of Ney misunderstanding who was suppose to pay for his golf outing?

[Wilms]

14. He might make believe he didn't know.

And I wouldn't be surprised if he thought he's get away with it.

As far as going after him, they may be trying to limit the damage. :shrug:

[mod mom]

15. Just googled Abramoff, FORMER high powered lobbist sounds

like he has a lot of ethics problems of his own with his buddy Delay. I hope the whole bunch of corrupt thugs go down. The guy made a fortune extorting Native Americans over gaming rights-despicable!

[Wilms]

16. I haven't followed this story closely yet I was aware of that mess.

This could be a big headache for them. Alliances don't stand-up well under such circumstances.

Ship-jumpin' rats don't say, "Pardon me." or, "No you go first."

[SophieZ]

17. Here's one more interpretation.

I don't know about the ethics charge, except that DeLay has made a shambles of what used to be a weak system if that. Now it is virtually nonexistent.

I suppose they could lightly rap Ney's knuckles to prove it still works, and let DeLay walk.

As for the mild comments on Blackwell, Ney "promised" before January 6 to hold bipartisan hearings. Blackwell and others (I forget who all) didn't show.

Ney can pretend he has discharged his obligation -- held the hearings. He mumbles a few things about the people who didn't show, and they all go off into the sunset having served the people. Right.

[ohio_liberal]

13. Ney used to be my rep

..before redistricting. He also took a healthy chunk of change from DeLay's PAC. He used to be a fairly decent guy...WTF happened to him?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

18. Ney held HR 2239 hostage in committee

I have little pity for Ney.

He was the chairman of the committee that would not allow Rush Holt's bill HR 2239 to be held for a vote, although it had much support.

Ney is in Ohio, Diebold's home state.

The fact that the republicans are divided in that state is weird though. I am surprised at Kathryn Blackwell.

However, the statement by Ney that he was misled reminds me of the old saying of child to parent:

That's not my pot, it's someone elses!

[mod mom]

19. Al Franken was just talking about this on AAR. This Abramoff-dude is

the scum of the earth. Bilked Native American tribes out of 82 million, some of which ($100,000) went to pay for Ney's golf trip to Scotland.

We need to email John McCain, Chairman of Indian Affairs, to not only go after these lobbist scum bags but to go after congressional scum bags as well. Seems McCain, who helped expose the dirt bags is reluctant to go after elected officials. DO YOUR JOB MCCAIN! IF NOT STEP DOWN!