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Posted on Aug 17, 2007

McClatchy Washington Bureau:

WASHINGTON—Top Commerce and Treasury Departments officials appeared with Republican candidates and doled out millions in federal money in battleground congressional districts and states after receiving White House political briefings detailing GOP election strategy.

Political appointees in the Treasury Department received at least 10 political briefings from July 2001 to August 2006, officials familiar with the meetings said. Their counterparts at the Commerce Department received at least four briefings—all in the election years of 2002, 2004 and 2006.

The House Oversight Committee is investigating whether the White House’s political briefings to at least 15 agencies, including to the Justice Department, the General Services Administration and the State Department, violated a ban on the use of government resources for campaign activities.

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By James Hovland, August 18, 2007 at 6:21 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

The information that people base their votes on is what governs our country. Without taking the flow of information into our own hands, we our governed by the media. As long as the media is the dominant source of public perception, our choices will be limited to the candidates the media likes best.

Dennis Kucinch is a for the people candidate that the MSM is not going to tell you about. But… Kucinich is who the people are talking about. America is waking up, and not just to the corruption, but to how and why our Democracy has failed us.

Change is here. We are going to have a for the people President, because we have a by the people campaign to do it. People are done siding with the media, and voting for the lesser of two evils. This election the people are taking media into their own hands, and electing the candidate they actually want.

Of the People, For the People, and…
By the People. Dennis Kucinich in 2008

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By vet240, August 18, 2007 at 4:51 pm Link to this comment

What would bu$h/chainey/rover/Speedy Gonzales have to do to get Impeached?

Maybe if they were to murder a few Democrats and serve them as Demo-on-a stick, on the White House lawn after inviting a few thousand of their biggest financial supporters for the entertainment.

Then perhaps (not for sure), the Democrats and maybe even some REpublicans would get back to their oaths to protect the Constitution by Impeaching these scum.

Otherwise, we’re not going to like living in America in the not too distant future.

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By THOMAS BILLIS, August 18, 2007 at 3:35 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I usually do not comment twice and in my previous comment I said they probably did it.The reason I jumped over innocent until proven guilty is that it was underneath a McClatchy by line, the only news organization to have it right in the run up to the war.I would reccommend everybody add a McClatchy newspaper to their reading.If we do not support the news organizations who tell us the truth we will deserve what we get.

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By Outraged, August 18, 2007 at 12:37 pm Link to this comment

“Bush’s first treasury secretary, Paul O’Neill, stuck mainly to giving speeches praising President Bush’s economic policies rather than appearing with candidates. O’Neill was unceremoniously dumped after disagreeing repeatedly with the White House.”

This seems to be a chronic habit of this administration.  At least when their not “stepping down” (which is funny, because you couldn’t get much LOWER than these guys) to be with family.

It must be an awfully good feeling to be “unceremoniously dumped” by this administration.  What does that mean…..?  You’re just TOO RESPECTABLE to work for us!!!

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By farmertx, August 18, 2007 at 11:48 am Link to this comment

In one weird sense, we ought to thank the Shrub and Der Karl.
For exposing all that can be wrong with our currrent system of politics and Government.
I have to admit that while I knew that the Shrub would be a bad President, I had no idea just how bad in so many different ways.
Doling out the political pork has been done for a long time. Usually, it isn’t quite so blatant.
Although LBJ did a blatant reversal of pork spending when he ordered the closure of Brookley AFB, Mobile, AL after AL voted 2-1 for Goldwater in ‘64.

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By mark jensen, August 18, 2007 at 9:26 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

our ignorance and their’s breeds these people.  karl rove wouldn’t seem so intelligent if he had had to ply his trade on an educated society.  right wring religion breeds more sheeple and then the next generation of sheeple breeds even more right wring politicians, who are further to the right.  after all noone stopped the previous group of traitors.  no one sent them to jail, let alone put a bullet through their heads.

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By vet240, August 17, 2007 at 10:52 pm Link to this comment

Have you ever seen a more blatant disregard for the laws of the land?

Did you ever in your worst nightmares contemplate what would happen if people like these treasonous bastards ever got in control?

We can thank our power hungry professional politicians for betraying us and allowing this.

How can any American, Democrat, Republican or Independent not see where this may be leading this country?!

I first noticed this propensity of disloyalty toward the flag when Nixon demonstrated a willingness to subvert the Constitution to try to save himself. I said then, God help us if this is the norm in Washington DC, and not an abberation.

Benedict Arnold wasn’t this dastardly. At least he simply betrayed a cause, not a Country as the United State didn’t exist yet.

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By vet240, August 17, 2007 at 10:43 pm Link to this comment

Please people! I’m sure that Rove/bu$h ran this all by Att. Gen Gonzales before they took these steps.

Now, if you have trouble getting the “Genereals” position remember, he’s a busy man and he might have trouble “recalling” the meetings.

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By purplewolf, August 17, 2007 at 9:56 pm Link to this comment

Another “SNOWJOB” from the bush bunch. John Snow = Tony Snow.Somebody quick get a shovel.

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By purplewolf, August 17, 2007 at 9:51 pm Link to this comment

Are you sure it was Barney the dog and not Barney the dinosaur? The dog would be to smart to talk to the Bush,maybe take a wiz on him,talk to him? I don’t think so.The dinosaur on the other hand is stupid and since he converses mostly with children and G.W. acts like a spoiled child anyway and since one of two books G.W. says has read? that is his favorite is a (childrens) book, which he read or else someone read it to him was only a few years ago. Wonder if he understood it?

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By THOMAS BILLIS, August 17, 2007 at 7:28 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Of course it happened the way it is being initially reported.Karl Rove knows no bounds to try and insure that permanent Republican majority that he dreamed about.The Democrats will start an investigation for the newspapers and the President will assert executive privilege which now extends to conversations the President has had with Barney the dog who is one of his principal advisers and Democrats will say forget about it.

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By chris, August 17, 2007 at 6:56 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

when a group of people truly believe it’s ok to trample the constitution (justifying their ends) can their minds actually be deprogrammed?

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