Tuesday, 17 July 2012

Re: [WardFive] Re: [ward5] Mayor Vincent Gray: In denial about his fate/ Washington Post

Again, it is amazing to see how these reporters are attacking Mayor Gray, yet when Mayor Williams had the problems of his re-election campaign with the vast number of illegal signatures on his petitions due to the illegal activities of those that were paid to collect the names of valid voters, no one associated Mayor Williams with the illegal activity, but called for the heads of those who particated in this fraud.
 
Now we have Mayor Gray, also considered a person of integrity and high standards, yet he is guilty before be provened that he had any role in the illegal behavior of others directly or indirectly associated with his campaign.
 
Remember, Mayor Gray called for the investigation into his campaign before the US Attorney got involved.  I find it hard to believe that if Mayor Gray knew about these activities, he would have kept silent.  I also find it hard to believe that AG Nathan would have stuck his neck out and made the statement about Mayor Gray if he sensed Mayor Gray was anyway involved in any illegal activity around his campaign.
 
We should let the investigation play out, let those who thought their illegal actions would get Mayor Gray voted in take responsibility for their actions, be punished for their choice(s).  I'm standing by Mayor Gray until shown otherwise.  The city is moving forward, I'll do the same!
 
Albrette "Gigi" Ransom
From: "jeromepeloquin@fastmail.fm" <jeromepeloquin@fastmail.fm>
To: wardfive@googlegroups.com; ward5@yahoogroups.com
Cc: brookland <Brookland@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2012 9:00 AM
Subject: Re: [WardFive] Re: [ward5] Mayor Vincent Gray: In denial about his fate/ Washington Post

 
It is all about the money, of course.   If we can take the money out of political campaigns we will go a long way towards leveling the playing field.   The 1% skew the game by using the influence of money to subtly and not so subtly change the rules in their favor ...ie: the tax laws, the commercial laws, the laws of private property, etc ... i am not calling this some grand conspiracy.  It is a conspiracy of convenience and self-interest.   in other words those with wealth essentially pay (through a convoluted and confusing political campaign law system) our elected officials to pass laws favorable to them and unfavorable to us.  It is not a free market and has not been a free market for at least 100 years.  Monopolies abound ... now, what is happening is that our representatives are taking their place at the table with the 1%.  We have the unholy communion of money and political power in the same hands.  It is un American, Un Democratic ... and it is dangerous as hell.
 
The federal congress has actually passed laws that make insider trading legal for congress!  Jeez! have they no shame?  The answer is clearly, no!  A congressman knowing a vote that will effect a particular industry like, say Airlines can buy or sell Airline stock the day before the vote he know will send the stock soaring.  Pitiful but true.  If you want to change the  outcome you have to change the system.
 
Jerry in opposition
 
----- Original message -----
Cc: brookland <Brookland@yahoogroups.com>, Ward 5 Google Groups <mailto:wardfive@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [WardFive] Re: [ward5] Mayor Vincent Gray: In denial about his fate/ Washington Post
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2012 16:49:13 -0400
 
Good Morning,
 
Not saying Our Mayor is guilty, but let 100% of us say that he is - is he any more guilty than Fenty or many/most or maybe even all of our CM's of being guilty for breaking rules, and probably exactly those Same Rules!!!  For those who are looking for his demise, even if he is found guilty, I hope that you know that he probably would not have been the the only sitting Govt. Official who may have broken Campaign Finance Rules.  Also, I am sure that many of the others are abusing their positions as we speak.  
 
I say this only to say that UNLESS WE ALL COME TOGETHER  and force them to change the way elections are done as well as the other Ethics Changes that are needed, nothing really changes.  I am absolutely that we could all get together and refine the regs to a point that would eliminate most if not all issues we are seeing.  At least, violators would have penalties. 
 
1.  Campaigns should not be allowed to accept contributions from Corporations, Businesses, Unions, etc.
2.  Advertising/mailings,etc. should not be paid by organizations, companies, etc. to skirt the Campaign Finance Laws of individual contribution (currently business contributions)
3. No out of "State" wor kers should be allowed. 
4. Etc.
 
At the end of the Day,whether he goes or stays, let's not keep allowing for the same nonsense and expect a different result.
 
Rob Ramson.
 
On Sun, Jul 15, 2012 at 10:50 AM, Aaron McCormick <aaron.mccormick01@gmail.com> wrote:
 
By Robert McCartney, The Washington Post
District Mayor Vincent C. Gray is almost certainly going to have to resign in disgrace, and possibly soon, but it's unclear whether he's fully aware of that fact.
Instead, because of a mix of pride and stubbornness, the mayor appears to be in denial about the likelihood that the current avalanche of revelations of corruption in his 2010 campaign is going to carry him away.
 
(Daniel C. Britt/THE WASHINGTON POST) - Mayor Vincent Gray wipes his brow during his weekly press conference in an alley on Wednesday as members of the D.C. Council began calling for his resignation.
 
It's conceivable that Gray (D) knows full well he's on his way out and is just posing as an innocent to buy time. In that case, his goal could be to cut a deal with U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. to give up his office in exchange for avoiding legal charges.
But both Gray's public comments and private conversations with associates suggest that he's convinced himself that he did nothing wrong — or at least nothing for which Machen can catch him.
The mayor acts as if everyone will eventually accept that he was just out of the loop while his biggest campaign donor and some of his closest associates orchestrated the largest election fraud in 39 years of District home rule.
"In my conversations with the mayor over the past few days, he is very resolute in ensuring that he continues to lead," D.C. Chamber of Commerce President Barbara Lang, a Gray supporter, said Friday.
"I've seen no indication at all — and I've asked — that there is any exit strategy," Lang said.
Gray should start finding one, for his sake and that of the District. I wrote in late May that Gray should resign unless he could explain to the District's citizens what went wrong in his campaign. Now he's got much more to explain, but he's still offering just a sketchy, implausible defense. Delaying the inevitable only aggravates the city's agony.
People with experience in District politics were stunned at the size of the corrupt "shadow campaign," confirmed Tuesday. It was funded by $650,000 of illegal contributions from city contractor Jeffrey Thompson.
"That is a ton of money. That was over a quarter of what we raised in total for the legitimate, official campaign," said Mo Elleithee, a communications strategist who advised the legal part of Gray's effort. "If I'd had another $600,000 in legitimate money, that would have bought me an entire additional week of television ads."
Compare that sum with one in a recent scandal just up the freeway. In 2010, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon was forced from office after being convicted on a misdemeanor of embezzling retail gift cards worth about $600.
There's no "smoking gun" yet in the District — a witness's testimony or documentary evidence — to show that the mayor knew about the illegal funding during the campaign.
But Gray isn't plainly denying it. In his Friday television interview with NewsChannel 8's Bruce DePuyt, he evaded two direct questions about whether he knew about the "shadow campaign" when it was happening.
Gray tried to fuzz up the issue by saying he "set out to run a campaign with integrity" without describing how that alleged plan went astray.
He also said he was too busy being D.C. Council chairman to make sure his subordinates in the campaign were being honest. But that doesn't square with the fact that the council was in recess in 2010 for most of the time from mid-July to the primary's Election Day in September.
Gray also had the gall to stress his purported desire to be open and transparent with the public, when all his behavior says he's being closed and secretive.
It's hard to judge how much longer this painful drama will last. Machen has been relentless recently, obtaining three guilty pleas in less than eight weeks. Some legal experts believe that the prosecutor will try to wrap up the case by early fall to avoid getting involved in the run-up to the November election.
Meanwhile, people who know the mayor are stressing his ability to "compartmentalize" and stay focused on his day-to-day duties despite the scandal. Top politicians said they're amazed at Gray's ability to maintain his cool at public events.
But "compartmentalization" also takes the form of self-delusion and rationalization, traits Gray is displaying to an increasing degree.
"I think he thinks he's a good guy and always tries to do the right thing, so he can do these other things even when the results aren't right," said a city official and longtime Gray observer who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely criticize the mayor.
I suppose there's still some faint possibility of a dramatic turnaround that vindicates Gray, but no available evidence supports that prospect. Most likely, he'll have to wrap his brain around the reality that he's headed prematurely back to private life, and possibly to prison.
 
For previous columns by Robert McCartney, go to washingtonpost.com/mccartney

--
Aaron McCormick
571-505-0605
 
 
 
 
 



--
R. Ramson
3744 12th Street, N.E.,
Washington D.C., 20017
202-438-5988

"We must become the change we want to see" - Mohandas Gandhi-
(Together, for a Brighter Tomorrow)




 


 
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