I want to begin by again thanking all of you, both locally and nationally, for all of your support. As many of you know, this past week the Chairman of the DCCC, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, joined me for a press conference and fundraiser in Rochester N.Y. The event was a huge success and we are very excited by Chairman Van Hollen's statement that our campaign is now being considered one of the top tier challenger races in the nation. We are working around the clock to bring change to not just the constituents of New York's 29th District, but to the entire nation. I know we will win this seat in 2008, and your continued support will help us sustain the effort to bring real leadership from Upstate and Western New York to Washington D.C.
As I look back on the past year, the tide has turned greatly in our nation. In the last year, we've started to see Tom Delay legacy Republicans being challenged and held accountable for their George Bush rubberstamping, deception of the American public, their failed policies and occasionally their lack of ethics or inappropriate conduct. Just look at the list - since last November we've bid farewell to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Gonzales' Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson, White House Council Harriet Miers, Bush Advisor Karl Rove, Press Secretary Tony Snow, Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and Congressmen Bob Ney has been convicted and sentenced to prison. With the exception of Tony Snow (who is leaving following a battle with cancer and as a survivor of cancer myself, I wish him the best of luck and Godspeed along with a hope that he can gain access to the best medical care possible.), every single one of these members of the Bush team has been forced out due to scandals, incompetence, and/or a lack of ethics. I feel it's only fitting that I spend a little time talking about each of them in the context of their departures as we say goodbye and good riddance.
Rummy
Let me just start with a question? Do you remember the arrogance? Do you remember the school yard talk – the "I’m tougher than you" boasting – the "bring it on" echoes? Do you remember the daily press conferences? ... the "Democracy is messy" sound bites? I do, and the families of the thousands who died because of his inability to execute a vision beyond his nose will always remember.
The day after the 2006 election, the worst President in the history of the United States fired the worst Secretary of Defense in the history of the United States, Donald Rumsfeld. As the face of preemptive war and the pro-torture movement for six years, Secretary Rumsfeld will most likely not be remembered fondly. With Dick Cheney and Karl Rove at his side, Don Rumsfeld repeatedly followed a dark and ugly path - starting wars without just cause, essentially firing those who told him we needed more soldiers and then firing those who disagreed with his ongoing ill-conceived war plans, establishing the illegal prison at Guantanamo Bay, playing a definite role in the Abu Ghraib torture and the subsequent coverup, etc. I don't need to bore all of you with details of Rumsfeld's time in office, but suffice to say that I was not a fan of his.
After dragging us into Iraq with "the army [we've] got" and rejecting the requirements of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Eric Shinseki, Donald Rumsfeld was finally held accountable. His resignation (or firing as most believe) was the result of years of pressure which became too much when eight Generals, including my good friend Major General John Batiste, resigned to tell the American people the truth. It took a long time, but progress isn't always immediate.
Gonzo and his Cronies
Then on Monday, America's favorite visitor in the hospital, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales finally threw in the towel after having all of his credibility shredded by the firings of eight US Attorneys for purely political reasons. The first head to roll was Gonzales' Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson. They hoped they could sacrifice him and just walk away as they had grown accustomed to a Republican Legislature. However with the new Democratic Majority, this was no longer an option. The Senate moved for a vote of no confidence in Gonzales, and the Republicans had the votes to block it, but the damage was done.
The Justice Department had been corrupted by cronyism and partisanship. As the nation's top cop, Gonzales had a duty to the Constitution to uphold the law, and now he's been sent packing for violating that trust. It will take years to repair the damage and restore America's faith in the Justice Department, but I know we will learn from the failures of the past. There's something kind of Al Capone-esque about Gonzales going down for firing federal attorneys, when he himself cleared the path for the torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay before becoming the Attorney General. Regardless, the country will be much better off without him in command at the Justice Department.
Miers and Rove
Also caught up in the attorney firing scandal were White House Council Harriet Miers and Political Advisor Karl Rove. These two shadow characters need absolutely no introduction to those of you in the Kos audience. They have been two of President Bush's closest advisors for more than a decade. Miers was the go-to political hit woman for the President and Rove was the architect of Bush's political successes despite his many flaws as a leader.
Miers got out of the White House in January of this year, and Rove ended his career with Bush just two days ago. With the White House fighting to prevent their testimony on the attorney firing scandal (unless of course said testimony would happen without the witnesses being sworn in under oath, without transcripts or recordings and in a closed door session), their years of covering up Bush's deceptions finally caught up to them. I would still push for on the record testimony from Rove and Miers, but that may not happen until we have an FDR Majority in the Congress and Senate.
Scandals plague Congress
The prospect of an overwhelming Democratic majority in the Legislative Branch becomes more and more likely as the days go on. We've seen former Congressman Bob Ney sentenced to 30 months in the slammer for his corrupt dealings with Jack Abramoff. We've seen Congressman Mark Foley resign for his inappropriate emails and instant messages with teenagers. Just yesterday, we saw a Senator from Idaho resign over a sex scandal in an airport bathroom. The Republican Party is in so much disarray, that it's almost at a level of hysteria. Reality truly is stranger than fiction.
In the meantime, we've heard that a number of at risk Republicans have decided not to seek reelection such as Senator John Warner (VA), Congressman Rick Renzi (AZ-1), Congressman Dennis Hastert (IL-13), Congressman Ray LaHood (IL-18), Congressman Chip Pickering (MS-03) and Congresswoman Debra Pryce (OH-15). Republicans in weak seats know something that we've known for years. Democrats have better ideas and better solutions to the problems that we face as a nation. Voters are smarter than they've ever been, and frankly I think a lot of these government officials want to avoid an inevitable defeat.
And the Next Congressman to retire will be...
My opponent, Congressman Randy Kuhl, has spent the vast majority of his time in the House representing the values of corporate America and George Bush. I believe that as a Congressman, he should represent his constituents above all other things. When I am elected to Congress in 2008, I can promise you that I will never sell out to Corporate interests simply because I will never accept a single penny from them. As far as I know (and please let me know of any others that you might know of), I am the only Candidate for Congress who has taken a pledge to reject Corporate PAC contributions. I believe in Clean Money/Clean Elections legislation, and I will fight hard to make that federal law. Randy Kuhl still will not publicly state whether he will run or not, but I know for certain that his retirement will begin right after the 2008 elections.
I am running for Congress not to complain about the past, I'm running to create change in our nation. I believe that it is time to start bringing our troops home from this war of occupation and attrition, so that we can focus our military on ending al Qaeda. I believe that every American should have the same quality healthcare that every member of Congress has already given themselves. I believe that we need to end our open door free trade deals with China and other nations until they can compete with us on a level playing field.
I know we can do it, but I need your help first.
I regret that today I cannot liveblog as I will be attending a Labor Day picnic with friends and supporters in Penn Yan, NY. I do look forward to reading your comments and responding when I can.
Thank you,
-Eric Massa
Commander US Navy (ret.)
Congressional Candidate, NY-29