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Writing to Candidates. Why didn't Congress investigate GC?

 
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
Posts: 2136
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: Mon Jun 09, 2003 11:41 am    Post subject: Writing to Candidates. Why didn't Congress investigate GC? Reply with quote

I haven't any idea of whom I will be voting for to be President, but a lot of these politicians, Congressmen, and Senators, are going to have their eye on the office.

What I am thinking is that this might be a good time to start writing to some of them, telling them what our ideas are, and asking them why Congress did not investigate Gary Condit.

If we can get enough members of Congress to worrying why Condit did not get investigated enough, maybe they will be worried enough to start asking some questions. Of course if they think it is not politically profitable to investigate Condit more, they will ignore anyone who suggests that Condit should be investigated more.

Anyway I am going to test the wind, or the breeze, or waters, to see if I get any reaction. This article is about Gephardt, who was supporting Condit for a long time, but the newspapers also have profiles of a lot of other members of Congress interested in becoming President.

"Congressman, or Senator, why didn't Congress investigate Congressman Gary Condit when Chandra Levy disappeared?"

cheers
benn

http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/nation/profiles/story/6821020p-7771310c.html

Dick Gephardt
The Missouri congressman casts himself as a candidate of experience who is open to innovative ideas.

Bold health care plan is core of Gephardt bid
By John Wagner -- Bee Washington correspondent
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Monday, June 9, 2003
Fifth in a series on the 2004 Democratic presidential candidates.

WASHINGTON -- The room was filled with hundreds of burly, balding union members who whooped and hollered in response to jabs at President Bush's handling of the economy.

But they fell dead silent as Rep. Dick Gephardt explained why expanding access to health insurance is at the heart of his 2004 White House bid.

Gephardt's son, Matt, was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer at age 2, the Missouri congressman told his rapt audience. He endured years of radiation, chemotherapy and operations -- but is now 32 years old, married and "a gift of God."

"We were lucky," Gephardt said. "We had insurance. ... If you want to see terror in somebody's eyes, you find somebody that has a loved one that's in trouble, and they don't have insurance."

The scene, which unfolded last month at a national conference of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, captured both the promise and challenges confronting Gephardt as he angles for the presidency a second time.

The former House Democratic leader starts the 2004 race with two distinct advantages: He has the deepest connections among the nine-member field to labor unions, an important Democratic constituency; and he demonstrated during his 1988 race that he can win in the Iowa caucuses, the nation's first presidential contest.

A poll released last week by Research 2000 of Rockville, Md., showed that Gephardt remains well-liked there: He had the support of 27 percent of likely caucus-goers, nearly double that of the next most popular contender, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts.

Some, however, argue that Gephardt's longevity is actually his greatest liability -- that he has had his chance, that the party would be better led by someone who has not weathered 27 years of congressional battles over trade, taxes, abortion and countless other issues.

On the campaign trail, Gephardt, 62, tries to turn that argument on its head. He casts himself as a candidate of experience -- "If you're looking for a fresh face, I'm not your guy," he often says -- but one capable of "bold new ideas."

None is bolder than his health-care proposal.

Gephardt would require every employer in the country to offer health insurance to their employees. The federal government in turn would give all employers a tax credit worth 60 percent of their costs.

Gephardt would do the same with government employees, and his plan would also cover retirees.

Moreover, much to the delight of those at the machinist union gathering, Gephardt's plan would cover part-time employees as well as full-time employees.

"If you don't cover the part-time, the Wal-Marts of the world will make everyone part-time," Gephardt said, drawing thunderous applause and calls of "That's right!" from the machinists gathered in a downtown hotel conference room.

His rivals have seized upon the vast cost of Gephardt's plan, which he says he would pay for by rescinding all of the Bush tax cuts. The strategy would still leave the government reliant upon deficit spending, his rivals point out.

"This is a big problem, and you have to have a solution of the size to fit the problem," Gephardt said in interview. "When you just try to deal with parts of this problem, you fail."

The conventional wisdom in Washington last fall was that Gephardt would have an uphill climb to convince Democrats he should lead the country in the wake of his party's loss of seats in the U.S. House.

But both time and Gephardt's impassioned addresses on the stump seem to have erased much of that concern.

His typical speech is strewn with stories about his humble upbringing, about his parents -- a milk-truck driver and legal secretary, neither of whom got through high school -- and about his own children.

He points to his daughter, Kate, as someone who got into the teaching profession despite grave concerns over the low pay. When he's president, Gephardt says, he'll create a program to pay off the college loans of teachers who agree to teach in areas where they're most needed for five years.

"We don't need to lose any Kates," he says.

Many of Gephardt's colleagues in Congress are publicly supporting his bid, including Nancy Pelosi, the Californian who replaced him as Democratic leader after last fall's elections. At a recent press conference where 30 endorsements from fellow House members were announced, Pelosi said she hadn't publicly backed a presidential candidate since 1976. She said she decided to back Gephardt this time because "the stakes were so high."

Gephardt has also drawn the most early union support, having already garnered the endorsements of three groups. He said he expects the backing of many more, claiming their issues are "in my bones."

But leaders of the AFL-CIO, labor's umbrella organization, have been more cautious, saying they want to see how the nine-member field wears before deciding whether to rally around a single contender.

Gephardt has trailed both Kerry and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina in the money chase, an important early indicator of candidates' viability. During the first quarter of the year, Gephardt took in $3.5 million, about half of what Edwards and Kerry collected.

Gephardt said he has a goal of raising $5 million in each of the remaining quarters of the year, which may not catapult him in front of his rivals. "But as long as we're in the same neighborhood, we can run a strong campaign," he said.

Campaigns have been a constant in Gephardt's life since 1971, when he was elected as an alderman in St. Louis. He came to Congress six years later. If his White House bid fails, Gephardt has no plans to seek re-election to the House, and, in fact, he has missed roughly 85 percent of recorded votes this year as he campaigns for president.

In an interview, he seemed taken aback by a question about what he will do with his life if the nomination is won by another Democrat.

"I think I'm going to get the nomination and beat George Bush," Gephardt finally said. "I haven't spent anytime thinking about that."

About the Writer
---------------------------

The Bee's John Wagner can be reached at (202) 662-4380 or jwagner@mcclatchydc.com.

Rep. Dick Gephardt
Age: 62.

Political career: St. Louis city alderman, 1971-76; member of Congress, 1977-present; Democratic presidential candidate, 1988.

Family: Married, three children.

Notable positions: Supported war with Iraq; opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement; has called for rescinding all of President Bush's tax cuts to pay for increased health coverage; started his career opposed to abortion but now supports abortion rights.

Campaign initiative: Called for requiring employers to provide health insurance to all their employees. The federal government would provide a tax credit to the employers worth 60 percent of the cost. State and local government workers would be included in the program, which would cover full-time and part-time employees, as well as retirees.

Campaign web site: www.dickgephardt2004.com
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EmmaPeel



Joined: 20 Sep 2002
Posts: 472
Location: Texas

PostPosted: Mon Jun 09, 2003 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Answers you'll get: The police were in charge of the case. At no time was Condit named as a suspect. Out of our jurisdiction. The "I stood up and said Condit should come clean" defense. The "voters have spoken and Condit is out." Etcetera, etcetera.

And truthfully I don't know if they COULD legally investigate him for a murder. They could have investigated him regarding his affair with an intern IF it had been illegal, which it wasn't (and even after the change, still is legal as long as the intern isn't working for you!) Any guesses as to why they didn't just make it illegal? They could have put pressure on the FBI to some extent. But if they brought too much pressure to bear on Condit (who didn't admit to even having an affair publically) questions would start arising as to why Condit and not Clinton. Also I imagine some interesting "leaks" about other congressmen/women's lives might have been coming out in the press.

And that is the real reason behind the general silence beyond a few comments--these Congresmen know the skeletons in each other's closet. How many of THEM are fooling around on their wives or husbands with the intern staff? I think most of the public would be shocked to find out. To put it bluntly, interns are obviously viewed as fresh meat to these leches. The parents think they're sending their child go to Washington to further their education and future career. Somehow, I'm betting that's NOT the education they expected.
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
Posts: 2136
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: Mon Jun 09, 2003 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Emma,

Well, I sent one email to Gephardt's campaign committee. It will probably never get read, but politicians can get shook up- at election time.

Liz Michael is also running for Senator in Arizona again in 2004. She is the one who told Condit's attorney, Lin Wood, to make her day, or words to that effect.

She has a small discussion group at Yahoo. I am not on it, but I may think about joining it.

benn
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