House Members Give New Meaning to "Chutzpah"

Posted: Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Resident Scholar Norman J. Ornstein

For the past week I have been in Asia, going from China to Mongolia and then to Japan. I am attending an annual Asia Society conference that brings key leaders from across Asia together with a small number of Americans. I have been a regular attendee for several years and along the way have picked up a good deal of information about this part of the world. And much of it is relevant to Congress as it works on Asia-related issues on several fronts.

But it also was a way to step way back from my regular immersion in the day-to-day Congressional jousting and watch the goings-on from afar. My access has been intermittent, but I did get regular e-mail press releases from various Congressional leaders, including a slew from the office of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Let me start with the earmarks. The exemplary definition of chutzpah is the child who murders his parents and then pleads with the court for mercy on the grounds that he is an orphan. Maybe that definition can be supplanted.

We have a chance now to make constructive policy advances in education, immigration, energy, the environment, health, trade and many other areas. The failure to do so would reflect badly on both parties and move the country even further from resolving critical matters.

It has been an absolute hoot to watch the GOP leaders--who on their watch took a minor-league earmark system and deliberately orchestrated its explosion, gleefully presided over the massive expansion of government spending, and gave us examples such as former Speaker Dennis Hastert (Ill.) and California Reps. Gary Miller and Ken Calvert using the earmark route to make or supplement their personal fortunes--suddenly become ardent reformers. It has been an equal hoot to watch President Bush, who never raised a single peep when earmarks exploded and never vetoed an appropriations bill during his first six years, suddenly becoming a born-again fiscal watchdog.

But as one who appreciates politics performed at a high professional level, I have to admire their ability to turn on a dime and get away with it--to go on the offensive, gain the support of editorial boards and run rings around the House Democratic leadership. Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) has a compelling legislative explanation for why he decided to fold earmarks into the conference process. His decision was not a cynical ploy to keep the spotlight off individual earmarks, but an effort to manage a cumbersome process within tight deadlines. But, boy, was it a political gaffe. Give the minority credit for seizing on it and turning it to their own political advantage.

Republicans in the House have performed at a very high political level since this Congress began, showing no signs of depression at the loss of majority and adapting to minority status easily. Meanwhile, Democrats, even those who spent decades in the majority in a previous era, have had much more trouble adapting to being in charge. Some of this is the arrogance that comes with winning a big election victory. Some comes from the cynical reaction of some Democrats, such as Rep. John Murtha (Pa.), who saw the use of themes like the "culture of corruption" as nothing more than a ploy to win seats. But a good part of the reason for Republican artfulness and Democratic disarray is that Democratic leaders have been trying to live up to their promise to create a more open House with minority participation allowed.

In some cases, the willingness to reach out has had real payoffs, including the quite remarkable bipartisan cooperation on the first gun bill in a long time--a bill in which the Democratic leadership also managed to find common ground with the National Rifle Association(!).

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17-month ad blitz begins

By: Josh Kraushaar Jun 18, 2007

An early primary season in several states may also fuel the advertising campaigns. (Screengrab from YouTube)

There may be about 17 months until Election Day, but voters wouldn't know it by watching television or listening to the radio.

Throughout the country, third-party groups have been swarming the airwaves with advertisements attacking vulnerable incumbents while raising awareness of their pet issues.

This week, an environmental group is airing radio ads targeting three ethically challenged Republican incumbents. The National Republican Congressional Committee recently launched an ad blitz against 12 vulnerable freshman Democrats by tying them to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And an anti-tax group labeled a Republican Kansas congressional candidate as a tax-and-spend liberal -- with more than a year before the primary.

"It's just another extension of the permanent campaign," said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato. "The bottomless pit of political money encourages the trend. The interest groups have their usual big donors, and they are being supplemented by small donors culled from the Internet."

The Defenders of Wildlife Fund scored its biggest political success last year when it spent more than $1 million in ads attacking its chief nemesis, House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), over allegations of ethical misconduct. Pombo lost to Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) in one of the election's bigger upsets.

The group is now seeking a sequel. Last week, it launched a series of radio ads against three GOP congressmen that highlighted their alleged ethical improprieties. The ads refer to Reps. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) as three of the "20 most corrupt members of Congress."

Renzi, Doolittle and Calvert each deny any wrongdoing.

"They have obvious ethical issues," said Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen. "They're way too close to the special interests."
In its radio blitz, the NRCC accused 12 Democratic freshmen of voting in lockstep with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. NRCC spokesman Ken Spain said the early advertising was "unprecedented" for the committee, representing a more sustained hit than in past cycles.

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Anti-environmental Congressmen on Global Warming Issue

Defenders of the Wildlife Action Fund just lunched a radio campaign against five "anti-environmental congressmen who have their 'heads in the sand' on global warming." The five targets are all Republicans and include California Representatives Doolittle and Calvert. The ads will air at least until the end of the week, according to the Action Fund's press release. The group is best known for their ads that targeted now former California Congressman Pombo early in the 2006 cycle. The radio spots, tailored for each district, can be found here. The first 30 seconds of the Calvert ad notes that he was named among the 20 most corrupt Members of Congress and hits on the myriad of problems that nearly kept him from a coveted seat on the Appropriations committee -- earmark abuse and being caught with a prostitute, among others. The spot also notes the amount of money he has taken from "Big Oil."

Connection to Lobbyists

Calvert went with businessman Thomas Kontogiannis and now-convicted Congressman Randy Cunningham on a December 2004 trip to Saudi Arabia. They were accompanied by Rancho Santa Fe businessman Ziyad Abduljawad, who paid for the trip. Kontogiannis is currently an unindicted co-conspirator in the Cunningham scandal. The activities of lobbying firm Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton and White (now dissolved) is currently under investigation by a federal grand jury. On May 23, 2006, the FBI obtained Calvert's financial records at the same time it pulled the records of Representative Jerry Lewis, who is at the center of the Copeland Lowery lobbying controversy. Calvert helped pass through at least 13 earmarks sought by Copeland Lowery in 2005, totalling over $91 million.

In 1993 Calvert was Arrested for Soliciting a Prostitute

In 1993 Calvert was arrested for soliciting a prostitute.[8][9] The Riverside Press-Enterprise went to court to force the Corona police to release the police report. In that report, the arresting officer wrote:
"I observed a male subject in the driver seat... As I made my way to the driver door, a female immediately sat up straight in the front passenger seat. It appeared as if her head was originally laying in the driver's lap... Both subjects were extremely nervous. I noticed that the male subject was placing his penis into his unzipped dress slacks, and was trying to hide it with his untucked dress shirt... The male subject started his vehicle and placed it into drive and proceeded to leave. I ordered him three times to turn off the vehicle, and he finally stopped and complied... The male identified himself as Kenneth Stanton Calvert... and stated 'We're just talking that's all, nothing else.' ...I spoke with Linberg separately. I asked her if she had ever been arrested for anything, and she said, 'Yes, for prostitution and under the influence of heroin.' Linberg said she had last 'shot up' approximately one week prior and is currently on methadone."
Also in 1993, Calvert and his former wife, Robin, were divorced after 15 years of marriage. His ex-wife later accused him of not paying the alimony arranged. In addition, his father committed suicide. After these experiences, Calvert said that the experiences "have helped me mature greatly... and become a better person."[10]

Green Group's Ad Likens Five House Republicans To Ostriches

By Greg Giroux, CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY Published: June 15, 2007
The political affiliate of a national conservation group is airing radio advertisements in the districts of five House Republicans from the West, who are described by the group as having their “heads in the sand” on legislative efforts to call attention to and curb global warming. Skip to next paragraph

Three of the GOP members targeted by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund — John T. Doolittle of California, Dean Heller of Nevada and Rick Renzi of Arizona — had highly competitive races in 2006 and are expected to again be targeted by Democrats in 2008. The other two, who had easier House races last year, were Steve Pearce of New Mexico and Ken Calvert of California. Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization, is airing the 60-second ads as part of a “congressional accountability” campaign that also includes a companion Web site. The organization is using both media to criticize the five members’ voting records on climate change issues.

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We Have to Keep it on the Front Page!

From the Philadelphia Inquirer...

Doolittle's committee seat went to Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif. The FBI retrieved copies of Calvert's annual financial disclosure statements following reports last year that Calvert steered millions of federal dollars to projects near his private real estate developments.
Calvert says the FBI has not contacted him and he has no reason to believe he is a target. But that hasn't stopped the widely read conservative blog RedState.com from repeatedly denouncing Calvert's appointment to the Appropriations Committee.
Joining the attack recently was Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. He said Calvert "would seem to fit in more with the party" that keeps Jefferson and Mollohan in office "than with a party that has made great strides in trying to clean up its image."

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