Betsy Devine

Betsy Devine https://www.dailykos.com/user/Betsy Devine/rss/index.xml News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 01:15:22 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 01:15:22 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) GOP hopes to collect on Pelosi investment https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/11/7/918595/-GOP-hopes-to-collect-on-Pelosi-investment <a href="http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-3634-attack-ads-find-favorite-target-in-pelosi.html">400 attack ads against Nancy Pelosi, aired 130,000 times, coast to coast</a> in this election season. Eric Cantor (R-VA), future House Speaker, urges House Democrats to pick a minority leader who is ... <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/11/eric-cantor-nancy-pelosi-house-leadership-2010-elections-/1?csp=hf">anybody but Nancy Pelosi</a>. Is Cantor merely echoing NRCC chair <a href="http://www.redstate.com/petesessions/2010/05/11/two-steps-closer-to-retiring-nancy-pelosi/">Pete Sessions (R, TX)</a> who told RedState.com back in May, 2010, "Since becoming Chairman of the NRCC, I have had one goal – a goal I share with you: to retire Nancy Pelosi." Both Sessions and Cantor have two big reasons to push Pelosi offstage -- 1) she is an effective leader and 2) the GOP has invested for years in an effort to bring her down. Scurrilous quotes etc. below the fold. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) Congress GOP House Nancy Pelosi NancyPelosi _918595 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 02:43:18 +0000 They want us to give up and let them win https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/11/2/916061/-They-want-us-to-give-up-and-let-them-win My beautiful home state NH is voting today. Millions of right-wing dollars have poured instate from the Chamber of Commerce and others. The tidal wave of robocalls they sent in yesterday overwhelmed NH's telephone system. Want to see how Republicans may take the Congress? Both NH House seats are now held by Democrats, both may fall today to Republicans. Carol Shea-Porter, who has been a voice for "the rest of us" for four years may lose to a slogan-spouting right winger who hopes his small kids never find out what Social Security is. Even the right-wing Manchester Union Leader could not bring itself to endorse Frank Guinta. But big right-wing money and drumbeat attack ads have done their work--he's in the lead. Annie Kuster is in a close race against Charlie Bass, who got into office on Contract with America, and richly deserves some term limiting. Annie is progressive and smart and hard-working and has been working in politics at the state level for years. That race is a squeaker. Go Annie, go Annie, go Annie! I'm voting today, are you? I'm making phone calls to family and friends, are you? I'm driving people to the polls, are you? Republicans would like us to give up and let them win. Phooey on that, I say. It isn't over until it's over. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AnnMcLaneKuster CarolShea-Porter GOTV NH _916061 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 14:32:16 +0000 PAC dirty money secrets revealed by indictment (Profanity warning) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/10/23/912907/-PAC-dirty-money-secrets-revealed-by-indictment-Profanity-warning A fascinating <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/documents/mcgregor.pdf">recent Federal indictment</a> tears the lid off money laundering and bribery funneled through PACs -- the Feds caught a lot of the action on tape including some pretty hilarious profanities. (See below the fold but don't say I didn't warn you.) Alabama state legislators willing to cast a pro-gambling vote (21 votes were needed) raked in campaign dollars, free help with marketing, even a promise of fundraisers with country music stars -- with the help of lobbyists whose multiple PACs let the lawmakers hide the real source of those goodies. <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/04/national/main6925736.shtml">Pleading guilty, one employee of lobbyist Jarrod Massey</a> "admitted that at Massey's direction, she offered Preuitt $2 million for his vote and that Massey authorized her to offer $100,000 to Means for his vote." But it's the PAC action that makes this story worth reading.   rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AlabamaPACcorruptionmoney _912907 Sat, 23 Oct 2010 18:21:53 +0000  "Not one dime! Not until Democrats pass healthcare." https://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/2/7/834705/--160-Not-one-dime-Not-until-Democrats-pass-healthcare "Not one dime! Not until Democrats pass healthcare." That is what DNC fundraisers who call our house are going to hear from now on. The hacks and jackasses in Washington who took over the Democratic National Committee from Howard Dean have taken us right back to their old election-losing "centrist" techniques. Under Dean's leadership, we witnessed the landslide election of Barack Obama and  Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate. All that advantage has been nearly frittered away. Obama has spent the past year trying to engage Republicans in bipartisan governance. It's been like a year of watching Charlie Brown trying to kick a football with Lucy's "assistance." And when Massachusetts voters, one year after Obama's landslide victory,  re-fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat with a Republican? Surely something is very, very wrong. What is that something? See below the fold. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) DemocraticStrategy Democrats HealthCare HowardDean _834705 Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:30:01 +0000 Obama sweeps first NH towns, ex-Bush strongholds!!! https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/4/652099/-Obama-sweeps-first-NH-towns-ex-Bush-strongholds Go, Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, NH! Those tiny NH towns have a tradition that everyone votes early, early, early so that their results can be posted first in the nation on Election Day. They voted at midnight. <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NEW_HAMPSHIRE_FIRST_VOTES_NHOL-?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">Obama won by a mile</a>. In Dixville Notch, ("where a loud whoop accompanied the announcement" of the results) 15 Obama votes and 6 McCain. In Hart's Location, 17 O, 10 McC, and two write-in votes for Ron Paul. No votes for Nader, who was on the ballot. <blockquote> President Bush won the town [Dixville Notch] in a landslide in the past two elections. He captured 73 percent of the vote in 2004 (19 residents picked Bush while six chose Sen. John Kerry), and secured 80 percent of the vote in 2000 (21 votes for Bush, five for Al Gore). </blockquote> The <a href="http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Dixville+Notch%2c+Hart%27s+Location+voters+go+for+Obama&articleId=26a8b9e7-94bc-45f6-8c92-49647ebb013b">Manchester Union Leader</a> has the same story but leaves out the "loud whoop". Their pro-McCain editorial is pretty hilarious, see after the fold... rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) Barack Obama BarackObama Election John McCain JohnMcCain New Hampshire NewHampshire _652099 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:27:19 +0000 McCain's PUMA ad blitz: Who is "Debra"? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/27/576792/-McCain-s-PUMA-ad-blitz-Who-is-Debra   <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QJm-56iKMAo"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QJm-56iKMAo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>  Who is she? Who is the carefully groomed and scripted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debra_Bartoshevich">Debra Bartoshevich</a> in McCain's new ad "Debra"? Is she a lifelong Democrat, a Hillary backer who switched to McCain because Obama lacks "experience"? That is what she and her <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/07/hillaryclinton.barackobama">PUMA</a> admirers claim. But the YouTube video at the top of this post, an unscripted interview with a local reporter, tells a far different story. What lifelong Democrat says, as she does repeatedly,  "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democrat_Party_(phrase)">Democrat party</a>"?  And why was the McCain team already so poised to recruit her that she got a phone call from them "approximately three minutes" after Hillary Clinton's  June 5 concession speech? Her strange journey to center stage of McCain's Democrat-switcher campaign began long before that campaign gleefully leaked to reporters their coup in persuading one of Wisconsin's Hillary Clinton delegates to pledge publicly she would vote for John McCain. Read on below the fold! rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) 2008 elections 2008elections Barack Obama BarackObama Democratic National Convention DemocraticNationalConvention Democrats John McCain JohnMcCain PUMA Tags-HillaryClinton _576792 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:40:25 +0000 What if John McCain is Torricelli? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/2/507579/-What-if-John-McCain-is-Torricelli A few months ago, the GOP gurus were upset, but now they are happy. How can they be happy? All their most Rovian candidates were shot down in the primaries by John McCain, who's never been in their pockets. The GOP leaders are happy because they feel confident that McCain can be pushed into a graceful exit before the convention. Having taken the (minimal) heat and (even less) scrutiny from press for a year of primary season, he will step aside for a candidate who will look clean, exciting, and new, swapping <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/01/elec02.nj.s.torricelli.race/">loser for winner</a>. <a href="http://bushcheney2004.blogspot.com/2004_09_01_bushcheney2004_archive.html#109503513611050204%23109503513611050204">Republicans have been thinking about how they could profit from the Torricelli model since 2004</a>.  Now they know how. Who is the secret candidate we will be handed? Condoleezza Rice? Maybe, but more likely <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Petraeus">General Petraeus</a>. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) 2008 elections 2008elections John McCain JohnMcCain Republicans _507579 Fri, 02 May 2008 08:22:25 +0000 Watch in real time: dirty tricks to kill tell-all book https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/3/429741/-Watch-in-real-time-dirty-tricks-to-kill-tell-all-book It won't be in bookstores for another week but that didn't stop Amazon "reviewers" last week from posting low-ball reviews. The book is phone-jammer Allen Raymond's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Rig-Election-Confessions-Republican/dp/1416552227/">How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative</a>, a colorful, profane, and surprisingly frank memoir of sleazy politics. It would be quite a job to track <a href="http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2007/12/21/its-on-ex-sixer-spars-rnc-over-book">GOP lowballers</a> around the two-way web but you may find it an interesting hobby. (On <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781416552222&tabname=custreview&itm=1">Barnes and Noble</a>: "Pitiful and poorly written," some reviewer with future-vision claimed on Christmas Day.) <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&scoring=n&q=allen-raymond+book&btnG=Search">Media mentions of Allen Raymond's book</a> have mostly talked up his phone-jamming, for which his RNC pals threw him under the bus, but .... rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AllenRaymond Book Review BookReview ElectionIntegrity New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Republicans _429741 Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:38:21 +0000 Phone-jamming rats pour out of the woodwork this morning https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/20/424653/-Phone-jamming-rats-pour-out-of-the-woodwork-this-morning The first advance reviews of the <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/11/15/1279/5348/1018/410877">juicy tell-all book</a> on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_Hampshire_Senate_election_phone_jamming_scandal">NH phone-jamming scandal</a> hit newspapers this morning. Former GOP rising star <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Raymond">Allen Raymond</a> doesn't hold back on the inner details of Republican telephone trickery--for example, "angering union households with calls in which people with Latin-sounding voices talked favorably about a rival candidate's support for the North American Free Trade Agreement" or using "the voice of an angry black man, posing as a Democrat, to stir up 'fear, racism, bigotry' in white neighborhoods." <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation/story/411098.html">A second story, also new, may embarrass Republicans even more</a>:  McClatchy Newspapers say an unnamed Administration source told them that the <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/11/0835/06745/678/310526">slow-walk of prosecuting top phone-jammers</a> was orchestrated within the Department of Justice. More links and quotes below the fold. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) 2002elections AllenRaymond New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Recommended Scandal VoterSuppression _424653 Thu, 20 Dec 2007 10:54:13 +0000 Breaking: Phone-jammer writes book on rigging elections https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/15/410877/-Breaking-Phone-jammer-writes-book-on-rigging-elections Sounds like a page-turner, out soon from Simon and Schuster--<a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781416552222&itm=5">How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Law Breaker</a>. Allen Raymond was a Republican rising star in 2002, until "pushing the envelope" for his GOP clients landed him in a three-month sentence in jail. He has not been making his former colleagues happy since he got out--<a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/06/10/fallen_star_blames_self_gop_tactics?mode=PF">for example telling the Boston Globe</a> that Republicans have turned so "ultra-aggressive"  and "ruthless" that he feared saying no to James Tobin about jamming phones would shut him out of future business with the RNC. The RNC, which paid millions in legal bills for Tobin, but nothing for Raymond, is no doubt regretting that decision as they wait for Raymond to publish a much longer version of his bitter memories... rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AllenRaymond Corruption New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Republicans Scandal _410877 Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:05:27 +0000 Latest phone-jamming funny biz from Justice Department https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/22/401018/-Latest-phone-jamming-funny-biz-from-Justice-Department Amazingly, even under the <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/4/7027/71368">threat of Congressional oversight</a> and the (occasional) spotlight of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/opinion/17mon3.html?ex=1347681600&en=3d06243a2695fb14&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss">national press</a>, the Justice Department continues its <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/22/17319/1010">pattern of slow-walking</a>  their <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/17/opinion/17mon4.html">phone-jamming</a> "investigation." Their latest trick seems to be keeping <del>Andrew Levchuk, the federal prosecutor</del>  the federal prosecutors overseeing the case of James Tobin occupied elsewhere with nearly full-time demands. Recent court documents (quotes below the fold) make this clear. This is of course the same Justice Department that <a href="http://betsydevine.com/phonejamdoc/Senator%20Leahyltr.pdf">assigned exactly one FBI agent to work part-time investigating the phone-jamming and then prevented said agent from following any leads that led to Washington, DC</a>. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) DepartmentofJustice JamesTobin New Hampshire NewHampshire PaulKrugman phonejamming Scandal U.SAttorneys usagate _401018 Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:44:37 +0000 Breaking: Pulling the DC end of NH phone-jamming string https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/4/393852/-Breaking-Pulling-the-DC-end-of-NH-phone-jamming-string The House Judiciary Committee has a new,  better way to unravel the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_Hampshire_Senate_election_phone_jamming_scandal">phone-jamming</a> coverup. Thats the real news in <a href="http://betsydevine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/judiciary-committee-letter-to-the-attorney-general-on-phone-jamming.pdf" title="071003PhoneJamming">this letter from Conyers to Attorney General (pdf)</a>--something <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/04/house_committee_to_investigate_02_gop_phone_jamming/">reporters seem to have missed</a>, so far. No, Associated Press, the House Judiciary Committee is not headed back to NH in 2002. It will not be re-asking old questions of the old suspects, all of whom seem to have <a href="http://betsydevine.com/phonejamdoc/20061013Darrell%20HenryDepositionTranscript.pdf">lawyered up</a> and/or <a href="http://betsydevine.com/blog/2006/04/16/the-slooww-pace-of-the-phone-jamming-investigation-plus-alicia-davis/">lost their memories</a>. "What did the White House know and when did they know it?"   That's what we want to know--and it's why Conyers will start from the Washington, DC end of the phone-jamming tangle. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) Corruption Cover-up DepartmentofJustice FBI JohnConyers New Hampshire NewHampshire PaulHodes phonejamming Republican Scandal U.SAttorneys _393852 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:15:47 +0000 Breaking: NYT hits NH voter fraud! Plus Tobin trial news https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/17/386375/-Breaking-NYT-hits-NH-voter-fraud-Plus-Tobin-trial-news "The Bush administration has spent a lot of time talking about mythical cases of voter fraud and election improprieties," says <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/opinion/17mon3.html?ex=1347681600&en=3d06243a2695fb14&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss">the editorial in today's NY Times</a>, "but the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/17/opinion/17mon4.html?ex=1302926400&en=95d7f18eb564ed89&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss">New Hampshire phone jamming case</a> was the real thing." Amen!! The Times is endorsing the recent <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/9/6110/56882">request by Representative Paul Hodes</a> for a Congressional investigation, citing multiple actions by the now-disgraced Department of Justice that left many avenues unexplored or even blocked. In other phone-jamming news, James Tobin's lawyers filed a motion (on September 14) for a<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/betsythedevine/1396895797/">Judgment of Acquittal</a> on grounds that seem to me completely outrageous...more below the fold. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) Corruption New Hampshire New York Times NewHampshire NewYorkTimes PaulHodes phonejamming Scandal _386375 Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:32:49 +0000 Breaking: US House to target NH phone jamming? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/9/382575/-Breaking-US-House-to-target-NH-phone-jamming What did the White House know and when did they know it? Several million Republican dollars and lots of Department of Justice  <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/22/17319/1010">slow-walking</a> went into an effort to wall off investigation of any higher-ups in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/17/opinion/17mon4.html?ex=1302926400&en=95d7f18eb564ed89&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss">NH phone-jamming scandal</a>. What's new is that <a href="http://hodes.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1411">Representative Paul Hodes (D-NH)</a>--a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee--is asking his own committee to investigate. And with an overwhelming Democratic majority in the House (233 of 435 members), this request from Hodes is likely to get more traction than <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/21/11153/1708">a request to the Senate Judiciary Committee</a>, which never went forward. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) Corruption George W. Bush GeorgeWBush JamesTobin New Hampshire NewHampshire PaulHodes PaulKrugman phonejamming Recommended Scandal U.SAttorneys _382575 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 11:05:22 +0000 Breaking: NH phone-jammer Tobin to face new trial https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/23/361291/-Breaking-NH-phone-jammer-Tobin-to-face-new-trial <a href="http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Granite+Status%3a+Primary+remains+wide+open&articleId=a9c2ec83-d877-41ae-bb53-d93bda1dedef">Thursday's Union Leader has the only news so far</a>: <blockquote> A new trial for accused 2002 GOP phone jamming conspirator James Tobin is expected in either December or January. Tobin's conviction on phone harassment and conspiracy charges was reversed by a federal appeals court in March and remanded to the trial court... Briefs will begin to be filed in September. </blockquote> This could be a lot more interesting than Tobin's first trial, for a number of reasons. If you're wondering how a crime in 2002 leads to a trial in 2007 or 2008, here's why Paul Krugman sees the NH phone-jamming prosecution as a "<a href="http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=1&oref=login&pagewanted=print">slow-walk</a>" with links to US Attorney-gate. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) Corruption George W. Bush GeorgeWBush JamesTobin New Hampshire NewHampshire PaulKrugman phonejamming U.SAttorneys _361291 Mon, 23 Jul 2007 16:37:36 +0000 GOP playbook plays out in Smithsonian scandal https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/19/348169/-GOP-playbook-plays-out-in-Smithsonian-scandal "I accept full responsibility," says the rich wrongdoer hoping to get zero punishment. "Your honor, hasn't my client suffered enough?" asks the expensive lawyer. This morning's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/arts/design/19smit.html?ex=1339905600&en=a89a855d78806c36&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss">NY Times</a> showcases so pure a gem of PR-speak that Kossites should take note of its themes--we will hear them again as the corrupt regime that's been running our country slowly self-destructs in a firework show of indictments. The Smithsonian's now ex-director <a href="http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showPerson.php?id=3814&name=Lawrence-Small">Lawrence Small</a> made substantial contributions to George W Bush's 1999 war chest, Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, Rick Santorum, and similar folks. But Small's regal lifestyle, paid for at least in part by Smithsonian funds, finally proved his downfall. The Board of Regents, pledged to keep tabs on him, is now the subject of a new scathing report. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) CultureofCorruption PublicRelations Science Smithsonian Washington DC WashingtonDC _348169 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 13:57:50 +0000 Breaking: DOJ urged to re-try phone-jamming as civil rights case https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/5/319949/-Breaking-DOJ-urged-to-re-try-phone-jamming-as-civil-rights-case <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_Hampshire_Senate_election_phone_jamming_scandal">Trying to shut down NH Democrats on Election Day, with non-stop hangup phone calls</a>--was that or wasn't it "telephone harassment"? Maybe not, says the <a href="http://news.bostonherald.com/national/northeast/view.bg?articleid=190133">US Court of Appeals</a>, overturning <a href="http://betsydevine.com/blog/2005/12/20/james-tobin-trial-in-chronological-order/">James Tobin's December, 2005, conviction</a> for his role in the 2002 phone-jamming of get-out-the-vote lines run by NH Democrats and by the Manchester Firefighters. They remanded the case to NH for further action. But what action? NH's US Attorney Thomas Colantuono is now <a href="http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=1&oref=login&pagewanted=print">under national scrutiny for his slow-walk</a> of the phone-jamming prosecutions. <a href="http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Granite+Status%3a+Bodi%27s+past+will+be+issue+for+liquor+commission+nomination&articleId=1c6528bc-0d0b-4235-b9ff-f7d2a33c0f7a">John DiStaso in today Union Leader</a> reports some news. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) DepartmentofJustice JamesTobin New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming ShaunHansen ThomasColantuono U.SAttorneys _319949 Thu, 05 Apr 2007 22:38:01 +0000 Scandal of DOJ slow-walk of GOP scandal (NH phone-jamming) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/3/318925/-Scandal-of-DOJ-slow-walk-of-GOP-scandal-NH-phone-jamming Many new voices are now asking why the Federal investigation of the  NH's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_Hampshire_Senate_election_phone_jamming_scandal">2002 phone-jamming scandal</a> moved so slowly. (<a href="http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=1&oref=login&pagewanted=print">Paul Krugman</a> called it a "slow-walk.") How long should it take the US Department of Justice--and NH's Bush-appointed US Attorney Thomas Colantuono--to investigate phone-jamming? Just for comparison, in <a href="http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/113189594.html?dids=113189594:113189594&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=APR+10%2C+2002&author=R.H.+Melton&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Va.+GOP+Official+Is+Indicted%2C+Quits%3B+Director+Charged+With+Eavesdropping&pqatl=google">Virginia in 2002</a>, a GOP official was indicted in April of 2002 for a phone-crime committed in March of 2002. If you're new to this angle, or wondering where to dig further, this post would be a very good place to start. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AlbertoGonzales Corruption DirtyTricks JohnAshcroft New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Republicans Rescued ThomasColantuono U.SAttorneys _318925 Tue, 03 Apr 2007 08:18:02 +0000 Needle in haystack (or not)  set phone-jammer free? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/22/315003/-Needle-in-haystack-or-not-160-set-phone-jammer-free On March 21, 2007 the <a href="http://news.bostonherald.com/national/northeast/view.bg?articleid=190133">US Appeals Court overturned</a> phone-jamming conspirator <a href="http://betsydevine.com/blog/2005/12/20/james-tobin-trial-in-chronological-order/">James Tobin's conviction</a> for his role in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_Hampshire_Senate_election_phone_jamming_scandal">2002 Election Day GOP scandal</a>. <a href="http://betsydevine.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/20070321opinion.rtf">The court's 20-page opinion</a> turns on narrow legalism, clearly rejecting the idea that Tobin was innocent: <blockquote> That Tobin assisted in the substantive crime is patent; his call to Raymond was integral to the accomplishment of the scheme. ...We think it fair to add that despite the unattractive conduct, this statute is not a close fit for what Tobin did. </blockquote> One tiny claim hidden <a href="http://betsydevine.com/blog/?p=2551">by RNC lawyers inside a "haystack" of other claims.</a> bought this surprise ending... rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) Corruption DirtyTricks New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Republicans Rescued ThomasColantuono U.SAttorneys _315003 Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:46:10 +0000 Breaking: USAgate takes phone-jamming to US Senate https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/21/314498/-Breaking-USAgate-takes-phone-jamming-to-US-Senate Breaking--In a damning 10-page letter to Senator Patrick Leahy, Chair of the Senate Juciciary Committee, NH Democrats spell out step by step the evidence against what Paul Krugman called the <a href="http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=1&oref=login&pagewanted=print">"slow-walk investigations"</a> of the NH phone-jamming. Thanks to Josh Marshall <a href="http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002839.php">breaking this story</a> and for posting <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/nh-dems/?resultpage=1&">the 10-page letter (pdf)</a>. Well, I had my own small breakthrough on this written up--so, after pointing you toward Marshall's big news, let me just also post my latest piece of the puzzle. *********** As 2003 rolled slowly onward, the GOPMarketplace website vanished and memories had lots of time to get cloudy. By the time the FBI got a statement in Dec. 2003 from their chief suspect Chuck McGee, more than a year had gone by since the crime itself. Today, I stumbled on an new piece of that puzzle, evidence that NH's<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/11/0835/06745">US Attorney Thomas Colantuono didn't swing into gear</a> until a green light came from Washington. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AlbertoGonzales Corruption DirtyTricks New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Recommended Republicans ThomasColantuono U.SAttorneys _314498 Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:00:44 +0000 RNC phone-jamming lawyer spills disturbing beans https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/17/313084/-RNC-phone-jamming-lawyer-spills-disturbing-beans How do our new Democratic Senate and Congress look to the many who have so much to hide? Scarily revealing is the <a href="http://www.cov.com/files/Publication/72182424-2fe2-4626-af94-7f3e94d5ff28/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/417d318f-eeeb-40b4-88c3-85089046bd1e/704.pdf">oh-so-subtle promo (pdf)</a> for DC white-shoe lawfirm Covington and Burling co-authored by one of the many high-priced DC lawyers who worked for the RNC on the NH phone-jamming, one <a href="http://www.cov.com/biographies/detail.aspx?attorney=11446&morepubs=true">Robert Kelner</a>. (Quotes etc. below the fold.) Phone-jamming fans may recall that Kelner let slip <a href="http://betsydevine.com/blog/2006/04/13/damn-good-question/">some embarassing info to a TV station in NH</a>--making it clear that the RNC's defense lawyers were fully informed about DOJ investigations into the phone-jamming's White House connection, although said investigations were kept a deep secret from Democrats. Kelner's remark inspired <a href="http://www.senatemajority.com/node/221">a Freedom of Information Request</a> to the DOJ (<a href="http://www.senatemajority.com/files/DOJFOIA.pdf">pdf here</a>), filed on April 18, 2006 but not yet answered by the DOJ. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AlbertoGonzales Corruption DirtyTricks New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Recommended Republicans RobertKelner ThomasColantuono U.SAttorneys _313084 Sun, 18 Mar 2007 04:26:30 +0000 NH US Attorney ignores GOP crime https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/11/310803/-NH-US-Attorney-ignores-GOP-crime Trying to board a plane with a loaded gun--think that might get you in trouble? Not if you are a NH Republican state legislator--at least, not when NH's <a href="http://betsydevine.weblogger.com/2006/05/03">US Attorney Tom Colantuono</a> is on the job. When the x-ray machine found a loaded revolver in the carry-on bag of NH Republican state legislator Howard Dickinson, TSA and airport officials asked Colantuono to file federal charges. He refused. Gun-toting Howard Dickinson--veteran GOP strategist Dave Carney -- former NH House Speaker Gene Chandler -- NH racetrack owner Richard Hart--what do these NH people have in common? All have ties to Colantuono or to Republicans, all showed up in my search of NH newspaper archives for various kinds of publicized wrong-doing, and none faced any charges from Tom Colantuono. I've complained before that the <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/17/20834/122">NH phone-jamming was pursued incredibly sloowwwwly by Colantuono</a>--but that may be just part of the story of <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/11/0835/06745">how Colantuono made Krugman's list of shame</a>, the list of US Attorneys who didn't get fired. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AlbertoGonzales Corruption DirtyTricks IOKIYAR New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Recommended Republicans ThomasColantuono U.SAttorneys _310803 Mon, 12 Mar 2007 05:35:59 +0000 US attorney scandal and NH phone-jamming https://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/10/310526/-US-attorney-scandal-and-NH-phone-jamming Hey--what about the US Attorneys who didn't get fired? <a href="http://select.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/opinion/09krugman.html?pagewanted=print">Paul Krugman is asking</a> (<a href="http://bocaguy.blogspot.com/2007/03/department-of-injustice.html">free link here</a>)--and it's a good question. Check out the US Attorney in charge of the NH phone-jamming, <a href="http://betsydevine.weblogger.com/2006/05/03">Thomas Colantuono</a>. Does Gonzales give prizes for slow response to Republican dirty tricks? It took Colantuono's people more than a year before the FBI questioned their top/only suspect in the NH phone-jamming, a crime by Republicans. But in other matters, Colantuono could move fast.  Just before the 2004 elections, he moved fast to block Democrats from questioning phone-jamming suspects--and fast again to file corruption charges against a NH Democrat. In 2006, right after the Democrats' landmark electoral victory, Colantuono also moved fast to shut down his phone-jamming enquiries, making a <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/17/20834/122">guilty plea deal with the last defendant</a> that gave the Feds nothing and the Republicans everything. Let me back this sordid story up with more detail. rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AlbertoGonzales Corruption DirtyTricks New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming Recommended Republicans ThomasColantuono U.SAttorneys _310526 Sun, 11 Mar 2007 05:08:35 +0000 Phony guilty plea in phone-jamming case, November 16, 2006 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/17/272355/-Phony-guilty-plea-in-phone-jamming-case-November-16-2006 Ten days after the Democrats' national landslide victory, Bush-appointed US Attorneys in both NH and Idaho pledged not to question Shaun Hansen any further about his role in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_Hampshire_Senate_election_phone_jamming_scandal">jamming NH phones on Election Day 2002</a>. I was there (and "real reporters" were not) in NH Federal District Court on November 16, when 34 year-old <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2006/11/15/former_telemarketer_pleads_guilty_in_gop_phone_jamming/">Shaun Hansen pled guilty</a> to two felony counts arising from the 2002 NH phone-jamming scandal. Hansen's deal with the feds, and his vague and evasive "factual plea" warrant scrutiny which the press has not given it, so .... rss@dailykos.com (Betsy Devine) AlbertoGonzales New Hampshire NewHampshire phonejamming RepublicanDirtyTricks _272355 Sat, 18 Nov 2006 01:08:34 +0000