December, 06 2010, 08:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Garrett Russo 202.408.5565
CREW's Most Embarrassing Re-Elects 2010 (and a New Governor to Watch)
From a senator with an affinity for prostitutes, to the first congressman to face censure by the House of Representatives in 27 years, some rather embarrassing lawmakers skated to re-election, despite deplorable behaviour. Their exploits are highlighted in Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's (CREW) new report, CREW's2010 Most Embarrassing Re-elects (and a Governor to Watch) (
WASHINGTON
From a senator with an affinity for prostitutes, to the first congressman to face censure by the House of Representatives in 27 years, some rather embarrassing lawmakers skated to re-election, despite deplorable behaviour. Their exploits are highlighted in Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's (CREW) new report, CREW's2010 Most Embarrassing Re-elects (and a Governor to Watch) (.pdf).
"Most Americans would be fired if they were caught patronizing a prostitute or abusing their positions for personal gain, but members of Congress aren't most Americans," said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. "Instead, these lawmakers are headed back to Washington where they are expected to police themselves, which is about as likely as the Grinch actually stealing Christmas."
Although the report is focused on Congress, there is a special shout-out for newly elected Georgia governor Nathan Deal, whose corrupt activities while a member of Congress were extensively highlighted by the media but proved no obstacle to victory. Gov.-elect Deal is under federal investigation, making him the most likely 2010 election winner to find himself indicted.
"Mr. Deal is the personification of what's wrong with politics: lawmakers abusing their office for personal financial gain," said Sloan. "It is both astonishing and depressing that someone as blatantly corrupt as Mr. Deal can still run for - and win - higher office. Hopefully, it won't be too long before the law catches up with him."
The most embarrassing re-elections of 2010 are (listed alphabetically)
1) Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN)
2) Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)
3) Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
4) Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
5) Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)
6) Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)
7) Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)
8) Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-IN)
9) Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
10) Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)
11) Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Dishonourable Mention: Governor-elect Nathan Deal (R-GA)
Click here to read the report, CREW's2010 Most Embarrassing Re-elects (and a Governor to Watch).
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials -- regardless of party affiliation -- who sacrifice the common good to special interests. CREW advances its mission using a combination of research, litigation and media outreach.
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Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent a letter Monday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Secretary Debbie-Anne Reese seeking final permission to begin operation on the MVP next month, even while acknowledging that much of the Virginia portion of the pipeline route remains unfinished and developers have yet to fully comply with safety requirements.
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"MVP brazenly asks for this authorization while simultaneously notifying FERC that the company has completed less than two-thirds of the project to final restoration and with the mere promise that it will notify the commission when it fully complies with the requirements of a consent decree it entered into with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration last fall," she continued.
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Russell Chisholm, co-director of the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) Coalition—which called MVP's request "reckless and impossible"—said in a statement that "we are watching our worst nightmare unfold in real-time: The reckless MVP is barreling towards completion."
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POWHR and activists representing frontline communities affected by the pipeline are set to take part in a May 8 demonstration outside project financier Bank of America's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Appalachian Voices noted that MVP's request comes days before pipeline developer Equitrans Midstream is set to release its 2024 first-quarter earnings information on April 30.
MVP is set to traverse much of Virginia and West Virginia, with the Southgate extension running into North Carolina. Outgoing U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other pipeline proponents fought to include expedited construction of the project in the debt ceiling deal negotiated between President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans last year.
On Monday, climate and environmental defenders also petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging FERC's approval of the MVP's planned Southgate extension, contending that the project is so different from original plans that the government's previous assent is now irrelevant.
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As Economic Policy Institute (EPI) president Heidi Shierholz explained, "Noncompete agreements are employment provisions that ban workers at one company from working for, or starting, a competing business within a certain period of time after leaving a job."
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Democracy defenders on Tuesday hailed a ruling from a U.S. federal judge striking down a 19th-century North Carolina law criminalizing people who vote while on parole, probation, or post-release supervision due to a felony conviction.
In Monday's decision, U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs—an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama—sided with the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute and Action NC, who argued that the 1877 law discriminated against Black people.
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"Judge Biggs' decision will help ensure that voters who mistakenly think they are eligible to cast a ballot will not be criminalized for simply trying to re-engage in the political process and perform their civic duty."
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