The only purpose of me posting this post is to say fuck that fucker:
When Harold Ford, Jr. walked onto the Quick Center stage for his OPEN Visions forum he knew whose district he was standing in.
“There is not a better Congressman in Washington than Chris Shays,” said Ford, to a crowd of about 600 Fairfield University students and community members.
And James Carville was ready to foment a coup in order to install this asshat at the DNC. Ford is undermining one of the best Democratic House candidates this cycle, Jim Himes, as well as the party he claims to be a member of. He should be put on indefinite pariah status.
Chris Shays (CT-04) has been in office for two long (too long) decades.
Over that time, he’s had the opportunity to question countless witnesses in Congressional hearings – questionable, criminal, devious, and laughable characters ranging from Brownie to Rummy to Wolfie.
The other day, he gave an interview to a major national website. And guess who he told them had exhibited the “worst behavior” he’s seen in Congress over all those years?
“Let me just say that they were deceitful… They weren’t cooperative. And they were arrogant. And they were like, ‘How dare you question us,’ kind of attitude. And I want you to know I don’t take offense at that. There are certain things as a member of Congress I don’t like. But personally, I was just stunned by it because I haven’t see worse behavior in anyone in my 20 years in public life in Congress.“
No, not war profiteers. Or those responsible for getting us into the war. Or Bush Administration officials who refuse to answer any questions, and refuse to abide by Congressional subpoenas. (Or, say, a Congressman scuffling with a Capitol Hill police officer.)
Christopher Shays describes himself as a casual baseball fan. He’s the kind of guy who tracks the Red Sox and Yankees hardball rivalry from a distance but would never be caught dissecting box scores in the morning’s Washington Post. Actually, after coming face-to-face with some of the leading characters — namely a handful of players, commissioner Bud Selig and union leader Don Fehr — during Congressional steroid hearings in 2005, the Connecticut lawmaker has a somewhat more jaded perspective on the game.
Rep. Shays smiles thinking back on the likes of Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro parading before the House Committee on Government Reform — the sense of entitlement they carried on their broad shoulders, the way they dismissed allegations of widespread steroid use in the game, even though committee members suspected otherwise….
“But personally, I was just stunned by it because I haven’t see worse behavior in anyone in my 20 years in public life in Congress.”
It’s astounding that any rational public official would consider Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro to be more worthy of contempt or criticism than, say, Eric Prince of Blackwater:
But there is actually a long list of Bush Administration officials and despicable characters who have come before Shays who have demonstrably exhibited much worse “behavior”… only to have Shays defend and praise them:
He told Condi Rice that he was “happy” that she “resisted the temptation” to actually answer questions from other committee members. (Dana Milbank described the end of the hearing: “[Shays] hurried to intercept Rice and gave her a hug. The secretary clasped his hand tenderly as she departed.”)
He told Donald Rumsfeld that he was “particularly grateful” that he “called [the Democrats’] bluff” by merely showing up to the hearing, and refused to press him to answer any tough questions.
He told GSA Administrator Lurita Doan, accused of politicizing her office, that he thought she was a “remarkable person” and stated he thought that “when an African American happens to be a Republican… she is treated differently” by his colleagues.
All of the above seemed to have done a perfect job as far as he was concerned. The right-wing/libertarian-leaning blog The Agitator describes Shays’ own behavior thusly:
Pardon my French, but are you fucking kidding me? Shays has served with colleagues who’ve stolen from the public treasury, taken bribes, committed rape and sexual assault, and otherwise made complete asses of themselves. And the worst behavior he’s seen in 20 years was when a bunch of baseball people were (correctly) indignant about Congress shoving its nose in internal baseball matters over which had no legitimate authority or jurisdiction?
Shorter Shays:
“Forget about billions of dollars wasted, the constitution shredded, and an executive out of control. It’s baseball players that we need to really worry about.”
—
So… Want to encourage real oversight, of real issues?
There are only four days left until the Jim Himes Blograiser & Pub Quiz. People are organizing themselves into teams, RSVP's are coming in, and we're getting a lot of love both from the netroots and local Democrats. The support from the netroots community has been overwhelming.
Currently 300 people have given to Jim through Act Blue. I'd like to see that number jump to 350 by Saturday. But to accomplish that we need your help.
Jim Himes can defeat Chris Shays. I've heard him speak, watched him meet with voters and address their concerns. I've seen his dedication to running a people powered campaign firsthand.
The last time I was in a room with Chris Shays he bragged about major beneficiary of Rove's maneuvering in the 2006 election. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has launched an investigation into whether the White House used Federal funds to aid Republicans in the last election cycle. When asked about this by a reporter Shays said: “I milked that for all it was worth.” Only last week Chris Shays threatened not to run again if his Caucus didn't give him the Chairmanship of that same committee. And if voters in the 4th district reelected him and he was denied the Chairmanship? “I will resign.”
Jim Himes can win this election and bring sanity back to Connecticut's 4th district. While Chris Shays is worried about Chris Shays, Jim Himes' priorities are education, affordable housing, and a more responsible approach to national security. We need real leadership in Congress, and Jim Himes is the man for the job.
Taking on a well funded incumbent is a tall order, and it won't happen without your support. If you're in the area sign up for our Blograiser & Pub Quiz. Meet Jim, and compete for the right to call yourself Jim's geekiest supporter. If you can't attend physically, MyLeftNutmeg will have a live video stream of the event and a live blogging thread. You can play along with us virtually. Either way it's going to be a blast!
50 donors in 4 days is also a tall order, but I have no doubt that we can reach that goal. Chris Shays is the last Republican Congressman standing in New England. With your help we can make turn that last red dot on the map blue.
In case you doubted that New England’s sole remaining Republican in the House, Chris Shays of Connecticut, was not a moderate, his recent assault against the 1st Amendment during a speech on the Iraq War to a college audience should erase any of those doubts:
“Abu Ghraib was about a military unit run amuck. With proper oversight the abuses would have been easy to correct, and been corrected, without a lot of fanfare or publicity,” Shays said.
“The press would not have had a story. Our nation’s reputation wouldn’t have been in question, and a primary recruitment cry of Al Qaeda would never have existed.
“As it was, Abu Ghraib happened. The press ran the story with little obligation or inclination to contain it. Al Jazeera and Al Qaeda used it to inflame the Muslim world and hundreds of American soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen and women died as a result,” he said.
So for Chris Shays, because the media shed light on the abuses at Abu Ghraib, they have been complicit in the deaths of hundreds of American servicemen and women. It’s as blunt as that. Shays had a few more unkind words for the media:
“When it comes to Iraq, the former Republican Congress was blatantly partisan. The new Democratic Congress has returned the favor. And the press, rather than encouraging Republicans and Democrats, the White House and Congress to come together, has picked sides and marshaled the facts to fit their arguments,” Shays said. “It is hard, I might add, to know with a press that is accountable to no one, where you can go to get the unadulterated facts.” […]
“In our Constitution there are checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches but the so-called Fourth Estate, the press, is on its own,” Shays said.
Perhaps Shays would feel more comfortable if we removed the media “filter” and got all our breaking news from White House Press Secretary Dana Perino directly.
In a sign that moderate Republicans are failing to rethink their positions on a serious scale, centrist Republican Rep. Christopher Shays (CT), speaking on the C-SPAN call-in show Washington Journal on Wednesday, argued ironically that as bad as it is going, the war in Iraq must go on because leaving would hand the country over to foreign intervention. One result, Shays opined, is that “Iraq … has about 20% of the world’s oil. It’s a huge amount to allow an unfriendly country to control.”
Of all the contradictory justifications for the war that Chris Shays has pulled out of his inner anatomy – first for going in, and then for staying in – this one is either the most honest or the most reprehensible. Or, most likely, both. More at Crooks and Liars.
It’s tough enough to have come back from your eighteenth trip from Iraq only to see the following caricature of yourself on the cover of a weekly local newspaper, with a subtitle asking out loud if you’ve “lost your mind” on the matter:
It’s tougher still to have to look inside the paper and read a quote like this from an Iraq war vet:
“He has more positions on Iraq than Mitt Romney has on abortion,” says Soltz, a veteran of the Iraq and Kosovo wars. “You never know where he sits on Iraq. He can tell you what he wants, but he is lined up with George Bush on this war.”
“He likes to brag about how many times he’s been to Iraq,” Soltz adds, “but he’s never served, and he doesn’t really know how the military works. Shays-all he talks about is tactics, but military people talk about diplomacy; I want to see a policy change, but that is not going to happen by adding more troops.”
But it must really suck to have to read your hometown paper report that the chairman of one of the House committees you sit on is investigating your campaign for possible coordinated impropriety with Karl Rove, while noting that you opposed an investigation into Rove’s political use of government resources even though you had an obvious conflict of interests as one of the officials implicated in the scheme:
A congressional panel is investigating whether the White House misused federal resources to help re-elect Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, in 2006.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Ca., who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent letters Tuesday to the heads of 18 federal agencies seeking documents to determine if that is so….
Shays has been critical of the investigation, and voted April 25 against issuing subpoenas to the Republican National Committee seeking e-mails that White House officials wrote on RNC e-mail accounts about using federal resources to help Republican candidates.
At the April meeting, Shays complained that “I feel like we are straining out gnats and swallowing camels.”
There are “so many huge issues that we should be debating,” he added.
Worse, this is all taking place on the same day that you’re holding a press conference to try to placate the local press by promulgating your latest tortured rhetorical contortion on the war.
Of course, it’ll take a lot more than just giant sacks full of money to topple the slippery Shays, but Himes has shown some savvy at this early stage in the game. Check out his recent liveblog at DailyKos (a great and enjoyable read) for more.
UPDATE: From a Jim Himes press release tonight:
Jim Himes Statement on Chris Shays’ Vote Today Against the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act
Stamford, CT — Affordable housing executive, businessman and Democratic Congressional candidate Jim Himes issued the following statement today in response to Chris Shays’ vote against HR 2956, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act, which requires the Secretary of Defense to begin the redeployment of troops from Iraq within 120 days, limiting our presence in Iraq by April 1, 2008.
“Chris Shays’ vote today is a betrayal of the trust of the people of the 4th Congressional District. Rep. Shays promised voters last year that he would support a timeline for troop withdrawal from Iraq, but since the election, not only has he failed to support timelines for ending the war, he has enthusiastically supported President Bush’s escalation of the war.
“Since the so-called “surge” supported by Shays began earlier this year, nearly 600 more American troops have been killed in Iraq. While Chris Shays continues to support spending $329 million dollars a day in Iraq with no end in sight, he is neglecting the real needs of the people of the 4th Congressional District.
“Today, Rep. Shays called again for a new Iraq Study Group report, while disregarding the most important recommendation of the Iraq Study Group: to end major combat operations in Iraq by spring 2008. Rep. Shays’ vote today not only goes against ISG recommendations, it is in direct violation of his campaign promise to the people of the 4th District. After 5 years of Chris Shays steadfastly supporting Bush’s failed Iraq policy, it’s time for a change.”
Things are heating up quickly for Chris Shays. As the Greenwich Time reports today, challenger Jim Himes is reporting he’s raised $352,000 in merely ten and a half weeks:
Trying to gain the attention of national party leaders with money and resources to spare in a targeted congressional race, Greenwich Democrat Jim Himes said yesterday that he has raised about $352,500 for his 2008 challenge of incumbent Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn.
“When I introduced myself to the voters in the 4th (congressional) District, the question was, ‘Is this guy for real?’ ” Himes said. “I think this shows a lot of enthusiasm. It shows that this campaign is for real and we’ve got a good shot.”…
A spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Himes’ fundraising totals were impressive.
“This is a district that votes Democratic in presidential years, and Democrats are showing at an early stage that they’re active and standing behind Jim Himes,” said Carrie James of the committee. “So I think he’s a very strong candidate.”
Here are the takeaways: There is no chance that there will be a primary for the Democratic nomination. Shays is in serious trouble. Jim Himes can raise money.
And as a press release from the campaign notes, this is a record for any campaign at this point in a race against Shays. More from Jim:
“The people who have contributed — in amounts small and great — and those who have given of their time and energy — have shown that our District is ready for a different voice in Congress,” said Himes. “We want a Congressman who will put the chaos and confusion of an ill-conceived war behind us and move on to address the issues of the day: education, health care, transportation, energy independence and competent national security. Our working families in Bridgeport, our growing businesses in Stamford and our commuters from every corner deserve nothing less.”
“My pride today is mixed. Today a man half my age is shouldering a weapon and climbing aboard a transport that will deliver him to a foreign battlefield. He, more than any of us, has cause to reflect on how we choose those who will send him away or bring him home,” continued Himes. “Would he, or any of the brave men and women in our military, be interested in dollars raised? Or would he instead select a leader based on the caliber of his ideas and judgment? Thank you very much to everyone who has given of their time and resources to demonstrate their trust in me to do the job better. It is time for change.”
In response to David’s request that SSP readers mention some candidates worth supporting before the second quarter ends this weekend, here’s an update on Jim Himes’ campaign in CT-04 – Chris Shays’ district, the last spot of red in the House in all of New England:
There are just under 500 days remaining until Election Day 2008. And I intend to spend every one of those days running a different type of campaign, one that focuses on person-to-person contact and real grassroots participation.
What will you get for being a “Founding Member” of the campaign? You won’t get any special access or treatment. You’ll get something much more meaningful: the opportunity and responsibility of being one of the first people to join our effort to change the direction of our country and address the real priorities of our district.
Himes’ non-political background is diverse (grew up in Latin America, public schools, Rhodes Scholar, Goldman Sachs VP, now works at an affordable housing nonprofit), he’s already impressive as a candidate at this early stage, and he’s looking to run a different type of campaign in a district that is usually dominated by big media buys.
Shays’ time is finally up in 2008, if the netroots and grassroots starts building the foundation for this campaign now. Contribute or sign up to volunteer and help Jim reach the goal of 500 “founding members” of the campaign before this month is over.
You know, I figure that, since David has his hands full doing, um, whatever it is that ambitious attorneys do all day, I should seize the moment and completely overhaul the Swing State Project. Perhaps I’ll start with a name change. How does “RichterBlog” sound to you?
Anyway, in all seriousness, everyone’s favorite former New York Ranger turned prospective Democratic politician has been busy testing the waters in Connecticut for a potential run against lonely Republican Chris Shays. The Associated Press has a great piece up which I suggest you read. The latest scoop: it looks like we’ll know whether or not Richter will run within a few weeks. Here are some key pieces:
Richter, a 40-year-old Democrat who lives in Guilford, said he expects to make a decision in the next few weeks about whether to run for the Fairfield County seat in 2008.
“I’ve considered entering public office in some form for a long time,” Richter told The Associated Press. “I’m getting positive responses.”
[…]
Richter worked last year for U.S. Rep. John Hall, a Democrat and former musician who upset six-term incumbent Republican Sue Kelly in upstate New York. Richter helped Hall, who opposed the Iraq war, win over police officers, fire fighters and other constituents who might not have otherwise voted for him, said Tom Staudter, Hall’s spokesman.
“He was hugely popular,” Staudter said, describing Richter as bright and friendly. “He’ll be great.”
In a sign of his status, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani named his dog “Goalie” after Richter.
[…]
But Richter could pose a big threat given the reverence many Americans hold for sports stars, Rose said.
“That hockey background could actually be an attraction to some voters here,” Rose said. “It would be sort of a blast of fresh air in the 4th District.”
After two unsuccessful kicks at the can by former nominee Diane Farrell, who could not even beat an increasingly and bizarrely erratic Shays in a wave year like 2006, I’m ready for that fresh air. Are you?
And don’t worry: SSP will resume its regularly scheduled programming soon.
There are only four days left until the 
You know, I figure that, since David has his hands full doing, um, whatever it is that ambitious attorneys do all day, I should seize the moment and completely overhaul the Swing State Project. Perhaps I’ll start with a name change. How does “RichterBlog” sound to you?