Look, this is the way business and government get done. Why are you so shocked?

In fact, practices like these make government run better. Why are you all so interested in hobbling our nation's ability to function? Wealthy people got that way for a reason -- if they wish to use that money to lavish gifts on legislators in order to influence their votes on things that will make the donors even wealthier, all of America gets richer, and everyone benefits!

Win-win!

So foreigners influencing US Government policy via monetary gifts is okay with you? The US should just be for sale to the highest bidder?

Remember the good old days when conservatives would complain that our UN membership was an unacceptable limitation on US sovereignty? I miss those days; now they'll just let the Russians make our decisions for us.

This is amazing. The Russian scumbags are bribing US scumbag repukeliscum politicians to prop up their government with US tax dollars?

This is the limit, folks. It's time to call for the dissolution of the Republican Party. It is a nest of traitors.

Fascists like tbrosz and al see nothing wrong with taking bribes from Russian mobsters to pervert and alter US energy policy. That's because, for fascists like tbrosz and al, there is no limit to the actions of the Repukeliscum party.

Nothing wrong with destroying the American democrasy, as long as fascists like these can profit from the change in our government.

Two former associates of Edwin A. Buckham, the congressman's former chief of staff and the organizer of the U.S. Family Network, said Buckham told them the funds came from Russian oil and gas executives. Abramoff had been working closely with two such Russian energy executives on their Washington agenda, and the lobbyist and Buckham had helped organize a 1997 Moscow visit by DeLay (R-Tex.).

Remember the energy task force meetings that Cheney and the repukeliscum have controlled and for which they will not release the membership?

I now see why - Russian oil and gas executives participated in this conference, and participated in the restructuring and modification of the American energy market to bring more money to Russia.

This is economic treason.

"Economic" treason? What about sartorial treason? Have you seen what fat old Michael Moore is wearing?

I'm the fashion police, and YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!

The Republican talking points always include the notion that both Republicans AND Democrats are involved in the Abramoff corruption.

Of course, this runs directly counter to the whole goal of the Tom Delay K Street project, namely to cut Democrats out of every possible lobbying deal or angle.

I think when the true scope of the scandal breaks, namely when it comes to people being indicted, we will see just how perfectly Delay was able to keep Democrats out of the entire business here. I'd be pretty astounded if we see a single Democratic name turning up on the list of law breakers.

Sometimes karmic justice is simply a beautiful thing to sit back and behold.

I believe Tbrosz is practicing what we call irony.

I believe Tbrosz is practicing what we call irony.

Actually, I think it's called fakery.

Busted!

Remember when Republicans were outraged that Clinton actually met with someone from China for a campaign donation. Not because of some quid pro quo just because they were in the same room? Ahh the good old days....

The story about the mills has been around for a while, and it is widely known the US Family Network was DeLay's slush fund. Hopefully these new revelations about Russian mob/oil money and Abramoff's plea deal will take DeLay out of national politics for good.

always, always check to see if we're dealing with the real tbrosz or the fake. you can never tell just by reading the post, since he is sometimes as outrageous as his imitators. on the other hand, if it's al, it's always a fake. the real al was kidnapped by aliens years ago and is living on the planet zorcon, where everything is backwards and the worship bill bennett as a god.

The Republican talking points always include the notion that both Republicans AND Democrats are involved in the Abramoff corruption.

Personally, it wouldn't make any difference to me if they were - and it shouldn't make any difference to the Democrats either. Gingrich bet that voters wouldn't care that GOP members (including him) were caught up in the House Banking scandal, as long as he pressed the corruption issue and the Democrats looked worse. He won big in the 1994 elections, despite being personally fined. Democrats should be hammering DeLay and Abramoff, and if some crooked Dems lose their jobs as a result, good for the party and the country.

That said, the talking points are still bullshit; plenty of Democrats may be corrupt, but I haven't read about anything as shameless as what DeLay has engineered. If the GOP disagrees, I welcome any details - the more politicians that go to jail, the happier I'll be.

And that's fake tbrosz, by the way. Not very convincing, but apparently convincing enough for this crowd.

And DeLay's wife was paid $3,200 a month for over three years to collect data banks for the slush fund org.

everything is backwards and the worship bill bennett as a god.

Although I think tbrosz is usually far too charitable to the Republican Party, you're not being fair here. I haven't seen anything in his posts to suggest that he's a sanctimonious reactionary like Bennett - or a shameless hypocrite, either.

Personally, I welcome a break from the hyperpartisan Democratic blather that dominates the comment section, and tbrosz is one of the only non-hysterical conservatives who posts here. Since he types in complete sentences and doesn't use all-caps or accuse the rest of us as being traitors, I'd give him the courtesy of polite responses.

Yes Tbrosz, my infintile minion, continue the attack of the young and easily swayed. Yes my tiny child, scream at the heavens.

I think Bennet has been given the short end of the stick. We all knoe he's right about the abortions and you are all too afraid to admit it.

I am against abortion. I can't risk aborting the next Hitler or tbrosz.

You know, I wouldn't mind seeing the end of fake tbrosz posts. I personally think they're funny, but too many posters are apparently a bit too thick to see through it, and I get blamed for a lot of crap I didn't write. That, and all that is going to end up on Google under my name. How about just a fake "Mad Magazine" name? "Tbores" has been used more than once, and "TBozo" would bring back fond memories of my high school nickname.

"Poorly named"? Inaccurately named, perhaps, but the U.S. Family Network was just as well-named as the "Clear Skies Initiative" and "Operation Iraqi Freedom". Sure, the one thing the GOP is good at is PR, but you'd think people (especially in the media) would get a clue that the supposedly "conservative" American public doesn't support the GOP agenda when they have to constantly lie about what they're actually doing to get support. USFN was very well-named for its purpose, which was to pretend to be doing socially conservative charity work while actually laundering money for partisan power grabs.

Personally, I welcome a break from the hyperpartisan Democratic blather that dominates the comment section, and tbrosz is one of the only non-hysterical conservatives who posts here. Since he types in complete sentences and doesn't use all-caps or accuse the rest of us as being traitors, I'd give him the courtesy of polite responses.
Posted by: neoliberal on December 31, 2005 at 1:47 PM | PERMALINK

Hear, hear. While the real tbrosz comes from an angle that I think is being used and abused by his own republican slime machine, he does not resort to the sophomoric name calling that so many other so-called conservatives resort to. In his own way, he is part of the honest discussion that most of us want on these blogs. I too would be more interested in the parsing of facts from both sides than the injection of right (and left) talking points, or worse -

Now, back to the thread:

Not only is this a slush fund, but once again, oil barons are major players. (Saudi, American, or Russian -- they are not out to destroy one another. Rather, they are together to ensure the need for demand of their product, and more importantly the need to regulate supply between themselves.)

To me this is a red flag that there are probably fewer than six degrees of separation between the USFN funding operation and the WH.

It is a sad state of affairs when the long term behaviors of an administration so easily spark suspicion like this WH does.

The time is clearly overdue to register users, so that only comments from the actual tbrosz appear under his name (and likewise for others).

I don't have a problem with this fake guy.
Thanks for at least cutting me the slack of not duplicating my own fake e-mail address. It makes it easier to distinguish the real McCoy from the fraudster when I vanity-Google.

I've also started up my new blog, "Best of Tbrosz", at "tbrosz.blogspot.com." Come on by!

The Great Leader's defenders see only the upside of graft and corruption.

I am particularly interested in the USFN's attempt "to mobilize the grassroots". Is that some sort of hemp distribution network for the Abramafia? Justice needs no more delays.

tbrosz is one of the only non-hysterical conservatives who posts here. Since he types in complete sentences and doesn't use all-caps or accuse the rest of us as being traitors

Apparently you missed tbrosz accusing the Bush foes here, several times, of rooting for America to lose in Iraq, neoliberal. A slur that, when challenged to demonstrate one example, he simply huffed that it was "obvious."

he does not resort to the sophomoric name calling that so many other so-called conservatives resort to. In his own way, he is part of the honest discussion that most of us want on these blogs.

I'm sorry, I've seen far too many straw man arguments and just general bullshit from tbrosz to credit him with "honest discussion." True, tbrosz has demonstrated that he can engage in honest debate, which only makes his frequent use of straw men and steadfast water carrying for the GOP all the more shameful.

So, when someone gets a presidential pardon, does it just say "so and so is pardoned", or does it have to list each and every thing for which they are pardoned? Because if it's the latter, Shrub had better block out several hours for Delay's pardon at the end of his term.

Just when you think you've seen them all, during this Bush administration, another wild assed story comes around the bend and knocks you back on your heels.

I thought the "death house" the DOJ maintained in Mexico would attract a lot of attention. But, Russian oil money being passed into the DeLay pot and through the entire Republican party is amazing.

Amazing.

I think fake tbrosz's serve the noble purpose of elucidating the real one's actual opinions, showing them to be what they really are, thereby stripping them of their fake aura of reasonableness just because they are written in complete sentences without capital letters.

No need to institute a registration system.

Well, I think Tom DeLay is innocent, and I hope he comes back to Congress, 'cause I like him. And that Abramoff guy, it seems like to me that he was an equal money dispenser, that he was giving money to people in both political parties. That's what I think, and I'm sticking with it, 'cause you gotta stay the course.

About all that's left is to prove these guys are getting extra-marital hummers... and that, thank God at last, would be an impeachable offense!!!

What's it gonna take already?

The former president of the U.S. Family Network said Buckham told him that Russians contributed $1 million to the group in 1998 specifically to influence DeLay's vote on legislation the International Monetary Fund needed to finance a bailout of the collapsing Russian economy.

Wasn't that alleged already some time ago?

I hardly agree with virtually anything that tbrosz believes in, but no one's identity should be stolen, regardless of ideology.

Gregory wrote: Apparently you missed tbrosz accusing the Bush foes here, several times, of rooting for America to lose in Iraq, neoliberal.

So tell us Gregory, whom are the liberals rooting for? Isn't it true that most of the liberals here believe that victory is either undefined, impossible in principle, or impossible because Bush is incompetent? And that they therefore would be most discomfitted should anything emerge that is less a disaster than, for instance, Indonesia and the Philipines?

The Congress recently voted to persevere unto victory in Iraq before withdrawing all troops (actually, they voted twice, first against a caricature of one of Murtha's positions), and only half the Democrats voted in favor. This means that a substantial fraction of all Democrats in Congress, maybe 1/3, voted FOR war, FOR paying for war, but AGAINST winning. Of those who voted against winning, whom are they rooting for?

It all depends on what the meaning of 'victory' is, doesn't it? It would be nice if someone in the administration told us just what victory in Iraq will look like so we can have parades and celebrate and get loopy. I still remember the parades and things that happened on VJ day: that was a victory everyone recognized.

Thank you, contentious, for an example of the sort of dishonest argument tbrosz is famous for.

'Wealthy people got that way for a reason -- '
--tbrosz

Because they inherited it??? You need to suck in a does of reality and get over the "noble rich man" myth. Look at the list of the 400 wealthiest individuals in the U.S. that Fortune magazine puts together. A significant percentage of the people on that list inherited their wealth and did absolutely nothing to earn it, just like George W. Bush. If you really believed in a meritocracy and the virtues of the free market, you would be advocating an estate tax of 100%, instead of repealing it altogether. Let's see if Steve Forbes can compete against a black child in the ghetto head to head. I have my doubts....

I also don't know why the Democrats don't use the RICO statutes against these buffoons. It is very apparent that the Republican Party has replaced the Mafia as the largest organized crime operation in this country.

Gregory wrote this: Thank you, contentious, for an example of the sort of dishonest argument tbrosz is famous for.

I deny the charge of dishonesty.

But still, you are rooting for someone in this combat, are you not? Or are you completely indifferent?