[BJungNan]

All I can say about Big Jim T. is that as an Ohioan, he's always been good for a laugh, he's given the Democrats fits by being uncontrollable, and he went to prison as a Democrat. I just can't see a dowside to this, except for Jim T, of course.

Wow, I see this as a big loss. Not so much in terms of what Traficant may or may not have done for the district he represented but that it is so clearly a case of political opposition being run out of office.

In other countries this type of political activity led to very terrible and troubled times. I hope we don't experience that kind of a loss.

I suppose you have to accept my premise that he was run out of office to accept my position. Maybe you don't see it that way.

If that is the case, may I ask, why is it that others whose crimes were much worse still sit in the "honorable" house?

[Kenton]

I suppose you have to accept my premise that he was run out of office to accept my position. Maybe you don't see it that way.

Well, if I can be honest, although I'm an Ohian, he wasn't my congresscritter so I didn't pay enough attention to what was going on in his life to have an informed opinion on the subject. To me he was always just a colorful, amusing dweeb that embarrassed the Democrats and gave the rest of us an occasional laugh. The only other thing I know about him was that he was convicted of serious public corruption and that tends to speak for itself.

If that is the case, may I ask, why is it that others whose crimes were much worse still sit in the "honorable" house?

Honor among thieves perhaps? God knows, there are certainly enough scoundrels in that bunch, I grant you.

I watched the hearings on TV the day it all went down for Big Jim, and I found the voting dynamics very ummmm... interesting. The final House vote to expel him was almost unanimous with Gary Condit being the sole dissenting vote.

However, there was a vote taken before the final one. It was to resolve the issue of postponement of the vote. Some argued that it was a "rush to judgement", and it would have been prudent and otherwise harmless to delay the vote until after the summer recess, during which time further facts might come forward that had bearing on the case.

I don't remember the exact vote count, but the Democrats voted against delay almost to the last representative, they obviously wanted him out of there RIGHT NOW, whereas at least a significant minority of Republicans were willing to give Trafficant this one last possible benefit fit of a doubt.

Politics, go figger...