WP: Delay's "Attempt to Pick Successor Is Foiled"

[highplainsdem]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/28/AR2005092802550.html?nav=hcmodule

Attempt to Pick Successor Is Foiled
Blunt Temporarily Takes Reins as Conservatives Reject Dreier

By Shailagh Murray and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 29, 2005; Page A01

<snip>

What he and Hastert wanted was a timeserver, someone to hold the job but with no ambitions to stay in it. And they had someone in mind. This week, an aide to the speaker approached Rep. David Dreier about his role in a post-DeLay caucus. Dreier, a congenial Californian who has loyally served the GOP leadership as Rules Committee chairman, expressed interest in helping Hastert.

There was one big problem: When DeLay's indictment was unsealed yesterday, conservatives in the GOP caucus immediately erupted in anger over rumors that the selection of Dreier, whom they regard as too moderate, was being presented as a fait accompli .

As the conservatives met to vent frustrations and plot options, Hastert was changing course in a separate meeting on the second floor of the Capitol. Rep. Roy Blunt (Mo.), the majority whip, was making a personal appeal for the promotion. Hastert agreed, forestalling a possible revolt by conservatives, who regard Blunt as one of their own.

The wild day of maneuvering made clear that beneath the image of lockstep discipline in the House -- which DeLay himself enforced for years -- the GOP caucus is rife with ambitious personalities in not-so-subtle competition. ...

<snip>

As everyone here already knows, all the stories that Dreier is gay no doubt were a factor in the conservatives backing Roy Blunt, too. But that wasn't the only factor -- there's much more going on here.

The conservative mag American Spectator also pointed out yesterday (I posted a topic about this at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4920448 ) that this was about both power politics and "bad blood between DeLay and Blunt." According to the Spectator, the bad blood between them was due to DeLay loyalists "airing dirty laundry" about Blunt to reporters at the Washington Post. That brief Spectator story didn't go into details, but this was apparently a reference to DeLay supporters revealing to the Washington Post that Blunt, whose girlfriend was a Philip Morris lobbyist, had attempted to add a provision to the Homeland Security bill that would have helped Philip Morris, telling Congressional aides to add the tobacco provision just hours before the final House vote, without even discussing it with other House leaders. Hastert's chief of staff found out about it and had it pulled, so Blunt's attempt to help the corporation his girlfriend lobbied for was blocked. This didn't become public knowledge at the time, in November 2002, but insiders loyal to DeLay leaked it to reporters at the Post the following summer, and it caused a lot of trouble for Blunt and his family, a "frenzy of negative publicity" according to a Missouri paper I quoted in a reply in that topic. The Spectator said that this "dirty laundry" had been aired by DeLay loyalists because DeLay felt Blunt was "getting too big for his britches as whip and needed to be brought down a few notches." (Today's WP story touches on this "special-interest intervention" in a single paragraph, but doesn't bring up the Post's own role in this becoming public knowledge, or the role of DeLay loyalists in getting the story out.)

With that background, it isn't at all surprising that Blunt would want to take advantage of this opportunity to replace DeLay. DeLay's often-repeated claim yesterday that the Republicans in the House had never been more unified was pure BS.

[barbaraann]

1. Drier a moderate?

It seems to me that Drier is probably only a moderate when it comes to tactics, not ideology. He doesn't seem as thuggy as Blunt.

[seabeyond]

2. well he is gay which goes against the christian coalition

and from what i understand, dont know for sure, he is pro choice, which goes against the religious power and control of the repugs. what repugs are trying to walk from is the religious stranglehold, and what won was the religious stranglehold. so that was the coup, winner in this exercise. the funding the moral hypocrite criminal element of the republican party won.

they are much easier to take down anyway. but really shows the battle of repug party

interesting.

[whatever4]

3. Blunt

His name says it all. Another Missouri lying, cheating, Christian-using traitor to our nation, and for me, my state. Shame Missouri, only shame.

We know what a jerk this guy is. We have OURSELVES to blame for allowing him to be in the position to NOW be majority leader. A guy who doesn't even care about the disabled. Ourselves, personally to thank now for the continued downfall of our nation and all it's ideals.

Now let us pray. And to hell with all of you that don't. Sure. Hell. Thanks.

yeah, I think our Truman legacy went away with Ashcroft and now Blunt. Way to go red, way to go. We won't be remembered as the gateway to the west NOW. We're just a friggin gateway. We mean nothing. We stand for nothing. This man is a crook and a criminal, and WE elected him and NOW he's the majority leader. Us. Us here. WE did this.

Ashamed of it all. I used to be proud to be a Missourian. Don't ask me why. I thought we had pride. I thought we believed in honesty, stubborn as a Missour mule, thought it MEANT something. Turns out, it only means dollar signs. Turns out, you farmers aren't any more interested in justice than anyone else. You're just as greedy as anyone else, just as dishonest, just every bit EVERY BIT as selfish as these liars leading our nation. You're no better than Brown, letting people drown. All you care about is abortion, gay marriage, and gee, we're a Christian nation, right? Sure. My state. My state means "selfish"

I'd rather be from the south. At least they're HONEST about their greed and racism.

Oh dangit, WHY did it have to be another Missouri monster...

[whatever4]

12. To add a link or two

http://www.kmov.com/health/asseenonnews4/stories/kmov_localnews_050127_bluntbellefontaine.4dc1243d.html
Blunt's plan to close center worries relatives, advocates
04:58 PM CST on Thursday, January 27, 2005
St. Louis (AP) -- Gov. Matt Blunt's plan announced in his State of the State address to close a troubled residential center for the disabled left parents shocked and officials searching for answers Thursday.


http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/022805cccakmovbellefontaine.f3a28b80.html
Bellefontaine closure could end up costing state
09:39 PM CST on Monday, February 28, 2005
By HEATHER J. CARLSON / Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Closing St. Louis' Bellefontaine Habilitation Center would not save the state the $13.8 million cited in Gov. Matt Blunt's proposed budget, according to a new state budget estimate. Instead, the closing could end up costing the state money.

State accountants originally failed to include the $23 million in federal funds the state would lose by closing the facility in fiscal year 2006, Mental Health Department spokeswoman Lois Thomas acknowledged Monday.

When taking the federal dollars into account, the best-case scenario would be a $2.5 million savings for the state next fiscal year by closing the center, said budget analyst John Gilbert of the Office of Administration. But he said the state could end up breaking even – or even lose money – depending on how long the facility remains open and the cost to relocate patients to private providers.

The total price tag could be as high as $1.4 million for taxpayers, said Rep. Gina Walsh, D-St. Louis. She said the state currently provides $12 million in funding for the center. But the state cost of subsidizing patients at private facilities could be higher – climbing to nearly $14 million.

Opponents to the center's closure touted the potential state costs as another reason for keeping open the facility that serves 341 mentally retarded and physically disabled residents.

"This current plan the governor is proposing costs the taxpayers more money and at the same time brings devastation to the residents of the habilitation center and to the parents and guardians," said Sen. Tim Green, D-St. Louis.

Blunt spokesman Paul Sloca said it is too early to know how much money the state may save by closing the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center, because it will depend on how long it takes to find the residents new homes. But regardless of the budget numbers, Sloca said the governor supports the center's closure because of abuse allegations.

"The governor and the Department of Mental Health believe the closing of Bellefontaine is the right thing to do from a treatment point of view," Sloca said.

Blunt first announced plans to close the center during his State of the State address last month. He said repeated allegations of abuse at the Bellefontaine facility indicate its clients would be better served by private-run facilities.

The governor has said the cut is necessary to help boost funding for education without a tax increase.

http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/kmov_localnews_050429_bellefontaine.227391479.html
Lawmakers agree to keep Bellefontaine open
04:06 PM CDT on Friday, April 29, 2005
Jefferson City, Mo. (AP) -- Governor Blunt tried to close it. But it looks as though the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center will probably remain open next year.

House and Senate negotiators today agreed to fund the north St. Louis County mental health facility during the fiscal year that starts in July.

Mental Health director Dorn Schuffman says that will allow the facility to continue operating at its current level for the entire next year.

Legislators are expected to vote next week on the budget plan. It must be sent to the governor by May sixth.

Bellefontaine is a residential facility for 340 mentally retarded and physically disabled people.

Blunt had proposed in January to close it.


http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/062705cccakmovbellefontaine.5015f6df.html
Supporters still fighting to keep Bellefontaine open
06:27 PM CDT on Monday, June 27, 2005
By LAURIE WATERS / KMOV-TV
Not even a week has passed since Gov. Matt Blunt gave the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center a one-year reprieve on its planned closure, and its supporters are already calling for a community effort to make the reprieve permanent.

Supporters say they were able to convince Blunt the economic benefits of closure aren't what he'd been led to believe. And when it comes to the allegations of abuse, they say those are the fault of the Legislature for failing to provide adequate services.

The uncertainty at Bellefontaine is taking its toll on employees, with some veterans leaving and morale plunging for the rest. Supporters say the transition teams are pushing clients toward community-based housing.

Bellefontaine is no longer accepting clients.

Since Jan. 22, residents have been moved out. Another 18 are slated to go over the next two months.

Meanwhile, a Philadelphia-based consulting company has been on site assisting the state with its backlog of investigations of alleged abuse as well as overseeing procedures.


http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/071905cccakmovbellefontaine.1272fafd.html
Bellefontaine to undergo federal investigation
10:38 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 19, 2005
KMOV-TV
News 4 has learned that federal investigators are examining the Bellefontaine Habilitation Center in north St. Louis County.

Sources tell News 4 that the "non-criminal" investigation will look into potential violations of civil rights, possibly in the case of George Holmes. Holmes died at Bellefontaine last year.

This is another blow to those hoping to save the home for the developmentally disabled.

Gov. Matt Blunt wants to close Bellefontaine.


http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/072505cccakmovethics.d96f976.html
Ethics Commission sends on Democratic complaints
10:44 PM CDT on Monday, July 25, 2005
By KELLY WIESE / Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Ethics Commission has referred a complaint involving Republican Gov. Matt Blunt's campaign bus to the attorney general for further investigation.

The commission said Monday it also had referred to Attorney General Jay Nixon's office a complaint against Rep. Cynthia Davis, R-O'Fallon.

Both complaints were filed by the Missouri Democratic Party.

The commission's actions mean it found probable cause that violations occurred and wants the attorney general to research and prepare a formal complaint for the commission to consider.


http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/070605cccakmovdirector.7f95320f.html
State business director resigns under pressure
11:43 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 6, 2005
By DAVID A. LIEB / Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri's business recruitment director resigned under pressure Wednesday after acknowledging she had pleaded guilty to stealing money from a college sorority nearly a decade ago.

Randa A. Hayes, 33, submitted her resignation after being asked to do so by the director of Gov. Matt Blunt's Department of Economic Development.

Blunt, a Republican, said he was unaware of Hayes' criminal past until Democrats released court records Tuesday from Cook County, Ill., showing that Randa A. Ismail was charged in 1996 with several felony counts of forgery and theft. She pleaded guilty in December 1998 to a misdemeanor theft charge and was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay $36,649 in restitution.

http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/061605cccakmovfestival.18553e5d.html
More politics than partying expected at St. Louis gay rights festival
10:33 PM CDT on Thursday, June 16, 2005
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — The city's annual gay rights festival, PrideFest, will focus more on politics than partying this year, after Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, organizers say.

Mayor Francis Slay, who has several gay siblings, is serving as grand marshal of the June 26 parade, highlight of the two-day gay rights festival.

Maureen Costello, a lesbian who co-owns MoKaBe's restaurant in St. Louis, said she is among the gays who never strongly advocated for gay marriage, but now care deeply about future measures they view as discriminatory.

"We were all stunned at the numbers, to be quite honest," Costello said.

Such concerns have fueled the revival of at least three St. Louis gay-oriented groups -- Republican, Democrat and nonpartisan -- since the gay marriage vote. All three will participate in the parade.

Costello is a member of Show Me Equality, a new "direct-action" group that plans to call public attention to the efforts by Missouri lawmakers considered opponents of gay rights. The group's parade entry, she added, is expected to include a "hate monster" tagged with the names of some elected officials, including Gov. Matt Blunt.

Blunt says he opposes discrimination against any group but that he sides with social conservatives on the gay lifestyle.

http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/051305cccakmovleg.270c34043.html
Legislature delivers Blunt his agenda
10:49 PM CDT on Friday, May 13, 2005
By DAVID A. LIEB / Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Matt Blunt asked for it.
And he got it -- a bevy of pro-businesses initiatives, a new method for funding public schools, a trimmed-back Medicaid program and a budget that boosts education spending without higher taxes.

When Missouri's Legislature wrapped up its annual session Friday, most of the governor's agenda had been sent to his desk, allowing Blunt to boast before the final gavels even fell.

"I think anybody who's honest would say this has been one of the most successful and productive sessions of the Missouri General Assembly in recent history," Blunt said.

The failure of anti-abortion legislation stood out as the biggest hole in Blunt's program. The governor said he would call lawmakers back for a September special session on the topic. In the meantime, Blunt and the president of Missouri Right to Life each blamed the other for failure.

http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/042105cccakmovbill.1ffb12e72.html
Black lawmakers say bill could lead to racial profiling
11:51 PM CDT on Thursday, April 21, 2005
By DAVID A. LIEB / Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The House passed legislation expanding police arrest powers and criminal sentences on Thursday despite impassioned objections from black lawmakers who feared it would encourage racial profiling by law enforcement officers.

Of particular concern to black lawmakers was a provision in the wide-ranging bill making it a crime not to identify oneself when asked to do so after being lawfully stopped by police.

Refusing to tell the officer or show some form of identification would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to 15 days in jail and a fine of up to $300.

Some lawmakers worried the new provision would give police greater power to harass and intimidate young black men.

"This bill opens up the door for racial profiling," said Rep. Connie Johnson, D-St. Louis.

Other black lawmakers recounted incidents in which they felt their vehicles were pulled over primarily because of their race.

"It's not going to affect you, it's going to affect us," Democratic St. Louis Rep. Rodney Hubbard, who is black, said to bill sponsor Rep. Scott Lipke, who is white. "We're going to feel the blunt of the blow."

Lipke, R-Jackson, said the mandatory self-identification provision would apply only in cases where an officer has reason to suspect that a person has committed a crime, or is about to do so.

"I'm certainly sympathetic with some of the scenarios they spoke about and wouldn't condone that," Lipke said.

The bill passed the House on a 128-28 vote, drawing support from almost all of the majority party Republicans as well as some Democrats. It now goes to the Senate.

[spanone]

4. They will NEVER find anyone as vile and corrupt as DeLay

[ClintonTyree]

7. Blunt is a VERY close second..........

the man's as crooked as a dog's hind leg and one of the biggest rabid -right ideologues on the planet. They're not going to be missing much with Blunt in command.

[gratuitous]

8. They take those kinds of comments as personal challenges, you know

Blunt's saying to himself: "You thought DeLay was vile and corrupt? You ain't seen NOTHIN' yet!"

[gratuitous]

5. Being a closeted gay man isn't an absolute bar

But it IS interesting that Blunt slipped into DeLay's office. Blunt has ambitions, and that's exactly the kind of guy DeLay doesn't want in that position.

That's part of the trouble with playing the high-stakes political power game. One minor opening (and we all know that DeLay has dodged any number of ethical bullets in the past few years), and you're gone. DeLay's career as a power broker in the House is probably over. He will certainly never wield the kind of power he had just last week, and that goes whether he's convicted or not. Blunt has the Majority Leader office now, and he won't give it up.

Until, of course, his own unethical conduct comes under scrutiny. Tick, tick, tick, Roy.

[npincus]

6. reminds me of GOP back-stabbing around the fall of Gingrich

and the asshole who replaced (and consipred against) him-- who then resigned after his multiple infedilties/ hypocrisy was exposed at the time of the Clinton-Blowjob-Witch Hunt.

Forgot the jerk's name. Anyone remember?

[highplainsdem]

9. Bob Livingston. Another shining example of GOP values...

[npincus]

10. thank you. I still have Larry Flynt's "Flynt Report"

which exposed all the GOP hypocrites of Blowjob-gate. It is great.

i wish he would create one for this dark time in our history- but I guess there's not enough sexual titillation in it.

[highplainsdem]

11. You're welcome. And I agree with you that a new Flynt Report on the GOP

would be nice...