Editor’s Note: we’ve received updated information that Inouye is hosting the fundraiser in DC.
So Daniel Inouye is traveling to Alaska to headline a fundraiser for Republican Ted Stevens. Delightful. Who needs a supermajority anyway?
After having backed Slummy Joe before he didn’t, you’d think Inouye would learn. But I guess he has his reasons:
Ignoring party rules, Inouye and Stevens have contributed money to each other’s campaigns. Alaska donors also have given money to Inouye, and a few Hawai’i donors have given money to Stevens, but mostly as tokens acknowledging the friendship, since neither Inouye nor Stevens has faced any serious political challenge.
In the 2004 election cycle, Inouye received $34,700 from Alaska donors, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which follows campaign spending. The donations include $13,000 from executives or family members from VECO Corp., the Alaska energy services company whose executives were caught up in the federal corruption probe. Bill Allen and Richard Smith, former VECO executives who pleaded guilty to bribery, each donated $2,000 to Inouye.
A VECO Corp. assistant told The Associated Press in a 2004 statement about the contributions that they were made because Inouye "is a friend of Ted Stevens and a friend of Alaska."
Another Anchorage businessman who donated money to Inouye, Ed Rasmuson, was more pointed, telling the AP: "You can’t be dumb about it, this is Stevens’ best friend in the Senate."
This ain’t your country club, pal. Elected office is a public trust, and aside from the whole Republican thing, Senator Toobz has a host of corruption scandals on the front burner. Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich is running against Stevens (and Matt Browner-Hamlin, late of the Lamont and Dodd campaigns, is working for him).
Inouye finally had a "come to Jesus" moment on Lieberman. He’s desperately in need of another.
You can contribute to Begich here.
Related posts:
- Is Bill Clinton Raising Money for Mike Ross? UPDATED: Yes
- Sen. Inouye to Join Republicans for Rape?
- FDL Book Salon Welcomes Senator Byron Dorgan, Reckless!: How Debt, Deregulation and Black Money Nearly Bankrupted America
- Bush DOJ Official Daniel Levin “Not Opposed” to Torture Investigations
- Coleman Concedes, Congratulates Senator Franken
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Byrd’s up on the Senate floor, speaking about “Mission Accomplished”!
it’s worth a watch! he’s all over bu$hie!
Buh Bye Ted.
Say hi to Cunningham and Abramoff.
So? My friend who lives in Hawaii has never referred to Inouye as anything other than Hawaii’s one armed bandit.
sorry Jane. I’ve been unhappy with Inouye for some time now. I’d LOVE to know the inside deals he has struck with Stevens.
Thanx for the heads up!
like they traded vacation homes, something like that. i can smell it!
Is he actually wearing a Constitution pin?
I think so!
standing ovation for Senator Byrd!
Alaska & Hawaii have traditionally stuck together as the youngest States, but this is really just too much! It’s Ted “Teh Incredible Hulk” Stevens, Master of the Tubez, for dog’s sake!
What’s Chuck Schumer gonna do about this? What’s the enforcement mechanism? Cut Inouye off from DSCC fundage?
Be nice if some VECO slime rubbed off on Inouye — serve him right for cozying up to Toobz Ted all these years.
Thanks for the shout-out Jane and thanks for the call for donations. Mark Begich is a great candidate. We have a really good shot at beating Ted Stevens and anything you guys can do to help would be greatly appreciated. This isn’t a shot in the dark challenge – this is a competitive race: we’re already running even with Stevens.
Check out more about Mark Begich at our campaign website, Begich.com and if you want to make a donation, you can do it through Act Blue or our site.
Thanks!
Matt
Donations: I’m in.
Well, I guess I could have a worse Senator, and I should probably count my blessings. We need to write some letters over here. Thanks for letting us know, Jane.
Bob in HI
A bit OT, but… Nancy Nord, AKA Ms Danger, also laughingly known as the Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman, the person whose resignation was angrily demanded after she last testified, is up now on C-span3 in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Willfully incompetent, her bio from wiki tells us: “Before joining CPSC, Nord was the Director of Federal Government Relations for the Eastman Kodak Company. In her career, she also has been general counsel to the Council on Environmental Quality at the White House, an attorney at the Federal Communications Commission, and Republican Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Commerce Committee, specializing in product liability and consumer protection legislation. She has also been the Director of Federal Affairs for the Eastman Kodak Company, a lawyer with the Washington, DC law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, the executive director of the American Corporate Counsel Association and the Director of Consumer Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.[1]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Nord
The thing that sickens me about this most, and about most in Congress these days is their sense of entitlement about being there. They no longer feel as though they should listen to their constituents and couldn’t care less about the little people.
Veco’s Mission Statement / Tip of the Iceberg
“HONESTY We maintain integrity by always matching our actions with our words. We don’t lie. We don’t cheat. We don’t steal.”
http://www.veco.com/values.html Funny this link was available when the Steven’s story broke!!!
Absolutely! My sig ot is an Alaskan Native American making this and Stevens a very hot topic around here~
I do not f***ing believe it.
I was born in Hawai’i, I met (then) Congressman Inouye when I was in grade school. I had the impression that he was a dyed-in-the-wool yellow-dog Democrat. And now he’s raising money for Stevens…
Dayamn. I think it’s time for the voters of my state of birth to bring Danny home to the beaches. Permanently.
BC
Jane, where you been? The Senate is THE Country Club! Supporting your fellow member is highly regarded.
Looks like Jane has been in touch with Matt Browner Hamlin, Mark Begich’s web guru. Boy, has Matt been busy!
I brought him a loaf of La Aroma Bakery sourdough bread yesterday. It’s a way of welcoming Matt to Alaska as an insider – you’re a “Cheechako” up here until you deserve to be called a “Sourdough.” Might be pushing it a bit, but after he mountain bikes past his first grizzly bear, he’ll know what it is like to be an Alaskan.
I can see it now – Matt out biking with a friend on a mountain trail. Up pops the grizzly bear. Matt starts pedaling furiously.
His friend yells, “You can’t pedal faster than a grizzly can run, Matt!!!”
Matt turns, and replies, “I only have to pedal faster than you….”
You can also donate to the other candidate who is looking out for Alaska’s Veterans 100% of the time, Diane Benson – HERE.
I’ve blogged Jane’s post here.
Thanks again, Jane.
Bob in HI
Benson for Congress!
Hey ET
Jane !
this dfh had a come to jeebus moment too – your post last week with Lynn Woolsey –
go ahead hippies, read it, re-read it and then come forth with any rationale and excuses for their employing the Devil’s Arithmetic with US Military and Iraqi lives
they are Aristocrats – all about preserving power/status of their class
the film buffs here may appreciate how I can’t get Ken Russell’s at-court scenes from ‘The Devils’ out of my head when I think of Dem Leadership or the media fluffers
ps – will the fundraiser be held in a candy store ?
Hi, egregious! We’re going to get some Progressive Alaska Democrats to give Sen. Inouye a challenging time when he’s here. This is going to be interesting, to say the least.
It is all about power, money and the favors that are exchanged.
Good times. Are we having fun yet?
Oops – Inouye is doing this in DC? Figures….
He was here, slumming around with Ted last summer, and saw some of the reponses. No wonder he’s doing it in DC.
….no smiling J.J. Walkers in Alaska yet… Giving them hell in Alaska! YES!
Here are even better pictures of Sen. Toobz being greeted last year by the citizens of Kodiak.
Inouye votes for his people on some issues. Hawaii does not feel a part of this country, same to a different degree with Alaska. Let’s hope his replacement is a democrat that believes in the principle.
Nice piece, Jane. Glad to see this getting some attention. The path to 60 seats shouldn’t have to go through the blocking bodies of senior Democratic Party leaders.
Inouye isn’t the only Democrat in the National legislature to not get it. Has Debbie Wasserman-Schultz come to her senses yet?
Great meeting you yesterday and thanks for the bread!
I’ll keep a look out for bears when I’m biking, though I can’t say I’m looking forward to any high speed chases…
zackly
Why is a Democratic Senator standing in the way of the supermajority we are working so hard to earn? Brave candidates like Andrew Rice and Rick Noriega are running in deep red states like Oklahoma and Texas against far-right loons like Inhofe and Cornyn — and this is how Inouye honors their service? By supporting Ted Stevens?
It’s shocking. Let’s get Lizard Man Schumer to put a stop to this.
She gets it about as well as Senator Chuck “Lizard Brain” Schumer gets it.
Which is pretty much not at all.
Hi Matt!
His colleague, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), referred to Stevens as ‘The Strom Thurmond of the Arctic Circle’- wiki/Stevens
you can bet it was said in tribute -
Contact info for Inouye:
DC office 202-224-3934
Honolulu office 808-541-2542
Web contact form
heh…
I suspect that many, if not most, of these “Representatives” have far more in common with their peers across the aisle than they do with the people they allegedly represent.
Inouye’s running for re-election in 2010.
From Wikipedia:
Hirono, Abercrombie, and Case. Hawaiians, which of these would make a good primary challenger?
Whoa, Marion he lost it in Italy during WWII, as a member of 442nd…
I’m disgusted with Inouye’s current votes and I’ve been writing and called his office often to persuade him, but, often times I get only a cursory ‘Mahalo for your concern…’
I like Abercrombie.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army, was an Asian American unit composed of mostly Japanese Americans who fought in Europe during the Second World War. The families of many of its soldiers were subject to internment. The 442nd was a self-sufficient fighting force, and fought with uncommon distinction in Italy, southern France, and Germany. The unit became the most highly decorated military unit in the history of the United States Armed Forces, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients, earning the nickname “The Purple Heart Battalion
Abercrombie is the ‘heir apparent’ PW, Case tried to jump the line by running for Akaka’s seat, and, was rebuked sharply…
Go For Broke
Economy grew at .6% rate last quarter..President blames dems and says that what is needed is to make his tax cuts permanent…Makes sense- pass legislation to continue the medicine that’s killing the patient for life.
The prez also mentioned that the bad spot in the economy is the fault of the dems.
The Prez accepted ZERO responsibility for ANYTHING as far as I can see…
Great guy the president…sure would like ta have a beer with him.
They were awesome!
when my son was about seven years old, he watched Go For Broke again and again and….
They were the one’s that rescued the ‘Lost Battalion’ in France…!
Right before I asked him ta step out back…
Is there such a thing as “Beerboarding”?
Yea, in Burn’s “The War” they talked about the chickenshit Bn CO and how, years later, the Company Commander encountered him and said “I’ll salute you but I’ll never shake your hand” (I could have the order of march wrong here.
It’s one of those Good/Bad movies from Hollywood.
Over acted and not historically accurate but still a fun watch.
Mazie Hirono is the most progressive of the three, and IIRC she has the backing of the Patsy Mink family (former senator). I think it would be wonderful if Inouye would step aside and let her run for his seat, but he probably won’t, and she wouldn’t challenge him.
Abercrombie has lost his luster as a progressive in my eyes– he’s doing very little to defend the Constitution, but he did, apparently, sign on to support Wexler. I don’t think he’d run against Inouye.
Case is the Bluest Dog of the lot, and challenged Akaka for Senate 2 years ago. He is the most likely of the three to challenge a sitting Senator, and the least preferable, IMHO.
Bob in HI
When Bush is finished “serving”, they’ll have to tie a pork chop around his neck to get the dog to play with him.
The 442nd RCT became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service, with its component 100th Infantry Battalion earning the nickname “The Purple Heart Battalion.” The 442nd RCT received 7 Presidential Unit Citations (5 earned in one month), and its members received around 18,000 awards, including:
21 Medals of Honor (the first awarded posthumously to PFC Sadao Munemori, Company A, 100th Battalion, for action near Seravezza, Italy, on April 5, 1945; the others upgraded from other awards in June 2000). Recipients include:
Barney F. Hajiro
Mikio Hasemoto
Joe Hayashi
Shizuya Hayashi
Daniel K. Inouye
Yeiki Kobashigawa
Robert T. Kuroda
Kaoru Moto
Sadao Munemori
Kiyoshi K. Muranaga
Masato Nakae
Shinyei Nakamine
William K. Nakamura
Joe M. Nishimoto
Allan M. Ohata
James K. Okubo
Yukio Okutsu
Frank H. Ono
Kazuo Otani
George T. Sakato
Ted T. Tanouye
Yeah- might try the pork chop in a slightly lower position.
sure, ask many college kids (incl you know who)… aptly called shotgunning, iirc.
bet it hurts when the foam flies out the nose, though.
InNoWay presents a good argument for term limits.
After taking a bow for his economic performance (”WATCH THIS HERE TAX CUT”), The president takes some more credit- this time for the success of his wars and his follow up “surge” move that has the world so jealous….The president killed 49 troops so far this month—after not exceeding 40 dead for six months…Trouble is- these are OUR troops he killed.
“I like Abercrombie.”
I have become somewhat exasperated with Abercrombie. Defending the Constitution does not seem to be his strong suit. He’s not quite a blue dog, but he’s lost some of his progressive zeal, but he’s still a member of the Progressive caucus, and he’s still capable of delivering a loud and passionate speech. Lately he’s been developing his skills for making excuses for not doing what he should be doing. IMHO.
Bob in HI
No—I don’t know who. Who?
the dubya!
he never ever got past those halcyon days in his own mind.
I remember when he was a rabble rouser in the Hawaii state House of Reps. Too bad that he seems to have become a member of the incumbent protection racket.
“Is there such a thing as “Beerboarding”?”
I think it’s been tried by a few fraternities, who manage to convince some neophytes to do it to themselves. Some deaths have been a result. After all, alcohol does kill brain cells.
Bob in HI
The VNL48C strikes again….
(Vast Non-Lower 48 Conspiracy)
Brain cells? Ah well then- the prez is safe!
Hmmm. I’m going to guess that the big issue here is that the Hawai’i machine is just as corrupt as the Alaska machine, and Inouye is worried than if Stevens gets busted for corruption, he could be next.
OT-Blitzer is about to do story on N. Caro. robo-calls. Be interesting to see how accurate he is.
On CNN, John Kerry is asked by Alex Half-Witt, about the “Demonizing Obama’s Pastor Problem”. Kerry’s answer, “You guys need to focus on the things that really matter.”
But they are Senator, they focus on Miley, Paula Abdul, Britney, Grand Theft Auto Video Game, Flag Decals and other things that really matter. And make Amurika great.
That’s a keeper, punaise!
A Medal of Honor says a hell of a lot to me. I’ll denigrate him no further.
1,828 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
The problem of “the club” and the lack of accountability to constituents and party on the part of elected officials is the single reason we have had minority government since 1981. But we don’t hafta look at Wasserman-Schultz or Inouye or even Joe Lik*derman to identify the biggest biggest current symptom of the problem. One of the the most visible Democratic members of the Senate and a serious candidate for the party’s nomination for President is sittin’ down with Bill O’Reilly on Fox News two fuckin’ nights in a row. Now it ain’t like she hasn’t undermined Democratic efforts to neuter Fox and limit their profits from Democratic celebrities before…for Christ’s sake, she and Mr. Bill pimped Rupert Murdock outta $4million for the McClinton Library, Mrs. McClinton gave Richard Scaife a kiss on the cheek in return for an endorsement from his right-wing shit slingers in Pennsylvania and she kept ‘er name on the Michigan ballot in order to freeze out progressive opposition to the old Democratic pols in the primary and set up a situation in which the old Democratic leadership in Michigan could participate in the stealing of the nomination for President and take out the insurgent national party leadership of Howard Dean.
The fish rots from the head and the rot in the Democratic Party begins with Mrs. McClinton and the corporate dependant machine for which is a hood ornament. And I don’t wanna hear anymore sighin’ and wailin’ and see any beating of the breasts over those awful, larcenous elected Democrats who cross pollinate the corporate largesse with their fascist colleagues, not from good “liberals” and socially acceptable “progressives” after watchin’ those same folks bail out on Barak Obama, Rev. Wright and the truth.
The corporate corruption of the Democratic Party and the inability of the national party to impose some good old discipline through the purse strings will not change until Mrs. McClinton is defeated and her political muscle is emasculated makin’ her toxic to be seen with for other Democrats in polite society.
I think that we’re gunna look back on this last week and see how the latte-drinkin’, “liberal” establishment in the Democratic Party killed the new progressive Democratic Party and got McClinton nominated and McCrazy elected!!
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, IF THEY GOT THE MONEY THEY AIN’T ON YER SIDE!!
I’ve missed the last fifty five press conferences the prez has given- I have a weak stomach and other things to do- like breathing.
Did the press ask him if he thought that any portion of shitty economy was his responsibility?
I mean Alex Half-Witt of General Electric’s MSNBC.
maybe there was something in the water in 1959…..
wasn’t what shotgunning was when I was in college!
The frustration we are feeling with most of “our” congress criminals? Gee, a “Contract with America” might be a solution…bwahahahahaha
Contract On America is what that turned out to be. The only mechanism we have for getting these recalcitrant fucks to heel is $$ on the scale of Obama with a focus on state races. Every one of them should start paying attention to the money Obama is raising from small donors and not PACs… if they were not so busy screwing around they’d have broken that code by now…
Inouyue included.
Shotgun 1st Air Cav
Warning, if you are a pain in the ass don’t watch this!
We’ve got an asshole in the White House.
The Dickhead’s been there for seven years. For most of the time he’s had total control of congress. The policies driving the economy are his—the economy is fucked up- he blames someone else..
What a dick!!
If Inouye can call Stevens “The Strom Thurmond of the Arctic Circle,” what does that make Inouye? Joe Lieberman with a lei…?
***applause***
Norske,
Just for curiosity sake a couple of questions:
Do you think that Obama can win the presidency without Senator Clinton’s supporters?
How do you propose to bring Senator Clinton’s supporters to Obama without insulting their intelligence or questioning their good faith support for Senator Clinton?
hey Norske, is that you in the sunglasses? :)
perhaps Inouye is a couple of carbs short of a plate lunch.
Or since it’s Alaska, a couple of crabs short of a seafood plate.
eg. watch the video I posted above
Rice and potato salad with that?
Anyone who can’t get fat in Hawaii just can’t get fat…
You can bring in Clinton supporters by appealing to the entire idea that was/ should be America.
A dream that has been so tarnished that it has turned into a nightmare complete with night terrors for many of us.
You bring Clinton supporters in because if they are Democrats and you offer an alternative to the thugs and the thuggery, they will come.
Rice and potato salad with that?
Poi-tney’s Complaint.
You bring Clinton supporters in because if they are Democrats and you offer an alternative to the thugs and the thuggery, they will come.
Not this one
digg it!
Very educational
that was shellfish of you.
:~)
Orange you being kinda Roughy on me?
Ha! I remember when they first showed it on the CBS evening news. I’d been home about 2 months and all these people were going nooooo, it can’t be!
that’s kind of disheartening.
ah, well.
I’ll stop now: fin
I think raven is stating that he will not support Senator Clinton, not how he would bring Clinton supporters to Obama.
my mistake or misinterpretation or misreading then.
ah.
…potato salad with that?
it comes back to the tuberz.
Ha! We thought you were fin. Snark attack!
nahh, I was just “fin”ished with fish!
Growing up in Honolulu and Hilo I never had the feeling that we were anything but Americans. Statehood was a big deal to us. And we were even taught a relatively accurate version of Hawaiian history. Some of the nastier elements of the coup d’etat were glossed (the looting of I’olani Palace, some of the Kiplingesque attitudes of the planters weren’t given much play, for example), but all-in-all we got a more accurate version of our State’s history than California or Texas students get of their State’s histories.
But perhaps attitudes have changed since I left. I attended HS in California and have only been back for vacations. It’s not a great way to get a feel for the attitudes of the citizenry. ‘tho it is fun to understand what the locals are saying when they speak pidgin and think the haole’s going to be clueless.
BC
It’s simply a fluke…
eat’s eel-advised.
don’t flounder now.
“gilling me softly with your song”
heh!
good to sea you, friend.