Posted on 07/24/2002 10:51:15 PM PDT by kristinn
The House of Representatives gathered tonight to cast judgment on one of their own for besmirching the reputation of that august body.
James Trafficant, the rogue Democrat from Youngstown, Ohio faced expulsion for being convicted of taking bribes and other assorted felonies involving chump change that wouldn't get Terry McAuliffe's nipples hard. His judges in the House were fellow members who have betrayed their country, gutted the Constitution, looted the treasury, abused their governmental power, obstructed justice, physically assaulted their fellow citizens, and did nothing about a member who impeded what turned into the murder investigation of one of his mistresses.
I arrived in the House gallery around 8 p.m. as a motion to delay the vote to expel Trafficant was being debated. The visitor, staff and press galleries were just about filled, as was the floor of the House chamber.
The condemned, dressed in a black suit and skinny tie, sat just off to the well of the floor on the Republican side listening to his fate being discussed by those he had served with for many years. Most of the members paid attention to the debate over the fairness of voting to expel Trafficant this evening after a juror in his federal trial had expressed doubt about his vote to convict. A freshman from California rose and spoke in favor of postponing the vote until after the August recess. When he was finished he sat next to Trafficant and commiserated with him for a few minutes.
Another Californian, Loretta Sanchez, seemed more interested in her Palm Pilot than the proceedings on the floor. Her fingers were constantly working the buttons on the electronic gizmo throughout the evening.
The motion to postpone the vote on expulsion failed decisively. In the intervening moments before the scheduled one hour debate on the motion to expel, Trafficant wandered the floor engaging members in conversation. He had a pointed talk with former madam Barney Frank who had kept his seat even though he was found to be hosting a house of prostitution and fixing parking tickets for his male 'lover'. Frank did not look very gay when the conversation ended.
When the time came for Trafficant's expulsion to be debated, he stood in the well of the House and faced his condemners. Trafficant was given an extra 15 minutes to make his case and opened with a story that ended with potty humor that had the galleries tittering.
He meandered though the various counts he was found guilty of, explaining them away as witnesses being pressured by the government to lie or evidence that wasn't evidence of guilt. It was hard to follow, especially because he didn't have a good technique with the microphone and was hard to hear at times.
The highlight was when Trafficant called former Clinton Attorney General Janet Reno a traitor for her failure to properly investigate the Chinagate scandal. He scored the Republicans for not pressing the issue because they wanted PNTR with China and he lambasted his fellow Democrats for not wanting to hurt their party by the fully investigating the scandal.
Loretta Sanchez stopped playing with her Palm Pilot while Trafficant addressed her about his vote against her in the dispute about her winning her seat through the votes of illegal immigrants. She resumed fiddling with the Palm Pilot when he was done speaking to her.
I was rotated out of the chamber midway through the proceedings and did not make it back in until the votes were being cast. The thing that stuck out to me as I waited to get back in was the lack of righteous indignation from those who rose to speak in favor of Trafficant's expulsion. Sure I heard some strong talk about the House's reputation being besmirched, but I didn't hear any blistering 'how dare you' kind of language. Maybe I missed that when I was outside, but I doubt it. The mood I sensed on the floor was of a dirty deed that needed to be dispensed with as quickly and cleanly as possible.
And it was. Right after Speaker Hastert announced the passage of the motion to expel Trafficant and that the governor of Ohio would be notified of the action, a motion on the 2003 budget was put forward and the House went back to plundering the wealth of American taxpayers.
There were no cheers or huzzahs for the upholding of the minimal standards of the House of Representatives. Just the red light being turned back on signaling the whores on the Hill were open for business--except the one with the bad hair and cheap suits.
Nam Vet
The thing that stuck out to me as I waited to get back in was the lack of righteous indignation from those who rose to speak in favor of Trafficant's expulsion.
I'm curious. While waiting in lines in and around the Capitol, did you sense any indignation from ordinary Americans that these were/are the same democrats who stood behind the former "First Perp" after walking out of the House some three years ago?
God Bless
To me, the only possible explanation is that the leaderships of both parties made it very clear to their members behind the scenes: "Vote this guy out ... or else."
Click here for 'House Power Rank'. Traficant was last at 440 even though there are only 435 voting members of congress.
There was one - Kenny Hulshof, Missouri (R). He practically spit on the microphone.
I like Trafficant but when I saw Hulshof going off it made me think. Hulshof is a righteous dude.
I hope he does.
Excellent point, Pappy. However, perhaps a book, ala Gary Aldrich?
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