Thanks heaps for this!… if anyone else has anything, it would be much appreciated. Great website HOT Pianoforte Links http://www.en.Grand-Pianos.org Enjoy!…

http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20081015105434.pdf

RECOMMENDATIONS
The White House Office of Political Affairs has been controversial since President Reagan created the office in 1981. In President Reagan’s Administration and every administration since, there have been reports that the office was used improperly to coordinate political travel for the President or cabinet officials.
Some of the reports of abuses by the office involve the Clinton Administration … The extent of political activity by the current White House and its deep and systematic reach into the federal agencies are unprecedented, however. … When Congress drafted the Hatch Act, it envisioned that political activity by White House officials would be incidental to their official duties. Congress also prohibited the use of taxpayer funds to aid political candidates. These principles were flouted by President Bush’s White House. … To prevent a repetition of the abuses of the White House Office of Political Affairs, Congress should revise the Hatch Act. American taxpayers should not pay the salaries of White House officials when they are engaged in helping to elect members of the President’s political party. They should also not pay the travel expenses of cabinet and other senior officials who fly across the country to boost the reelection chances of vulnerable members of Congress.
For these reasons, the Committee recommends that Congress develop legislation to eliminate the White House Office of Political Affairs. If this is not politically feasible, Congress should adopt reforms to ensure that the office serves the interests of the taxpayer rather than the political party of the President.

Michelle Bachmann endorsed Hoffman too. No doubt this involved some time for her and her staff. On our dime. Wanna criticize her too?

On November 2nd, 2009 at 7:29 pm, chapoutier said:

He has as much right as anybody else to stick his nose into the campaign as long as he didn’t offer her a bribe in the form of a job offer or whatever, and nobody would ever be able to prove that anyway.

On November 2nd, 2009 at 7:29 pm, chapoutier said:
So whether or not someone is meddling comes down to their effectiveness, not their intent?

You want others to read a book to understand your points, yet you fail to read the short article I linked before commenting.

“It’s not an office that should be subsidized by taxpayers”– Craig Holman

Politico’s article on Gaspard’s position of power shows why Palin and other political operators are not on the same level:

So whether or not someone is meddling comes down to their effectiveness, not their intent?

On November 2nd, 2009 at 5:35 pm, chapoutier said:
Duh. That was my point. I just think it is a bit odd for MM to single out one person, who is at least FROM NY, as being a meddler. Why not Palin for endorsing Hoffman? Why not herself for her multitude of posts on the subject? Why not all the other political operators on all sides pulling levers behind the scenes?

Politico’s article on Gaspard’s position of power shows why Palin and other political operators are not on the same level:

Gaspard was national political director for the Obama campaign and has been an associate director for personnel for the transition.
The office he will oversee has been strongly denounced by some Republicans and Democrats, including Obama’s former opponent Sen. John McCain, who vowed to abolish the office if he were elected, and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), who issued a report last month recommending its elimination. …
The Office of Political Affairs was created by President Ronald Reagan. And while it has been criticized for as long, it has also been staffed by every president since.
Opponents of the office argue that a partisan political office has no business being in the White House.

“It’s not an office that should be subsidized by taxpayers, and it should not be part of the White House itself,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyist with the government watchdog group Public Citizen. The office has no benefit for the public, he said.

“I’m really disappointed,” Holman said of Obama’s decision. “I really didn’t think he was going to keep it.”

Is this our Duh comment of the day? I have two words for YOU…. Hillary Clinton.

What the hell does Hillary have to do with anything? I am not talking about carpetbaggers. I am talking about people from both parties and from all political persuasions taking a keen interest and trying to influence this election.

Let’s just stop acting like outsiders have never played a part in NY politics, shall we?

Duh. That was my point. I just think it is a bit odd for MM to single out one person, who is at least FROM NY, as being a meddler. Why not Palin for endorsing Hoffman? Why not herself for her multitude of posts on the subject? Why not all the other political operators on all sides pulling levers behind the scenes?

There have been years where Albany and downstaters have interfered with the business of Upstate and Northern districts. Most of the downstate districts like NYC have gotten most of the monetary investment while the Northern and Upstate regions have been left to rot.

This is such a common fallacy. I did my senior thesis on just this dynamic. believe me, upstaters interfere with downstaters as much or more than vice versa. Do you know how many State Authorities there are that deal only with things that pertain to NYC? Do you know why rent control, which existed only in NYC and was very popular there, was gotten rid of by upstate politicians? Do you know how many laws are on the books in New York state that apply only to cities with 1 million or more? If you want some inkling of what is going on, read EE Schatschneider’s The Semisovereign People.

Is this our Duh comment of the day? I have two words for YOU…. Hillary Clinton. Another outsider, not originally from the state, ran for Senate and won because of her relationship with Bill Clinton, illustrates, in spades, how outsiders have continued to shape New York politics.

That is an excellent point, emjem. I think chapoutier forgot something in his analysis…

That any of La Malkin’s commenters could complain about Gaspard is too hypocritical to be believed… You people aren’t satisfied with just screwing one of Conservatism’s most prized tenets – local determination – you’re also too stupid to recognize what you’ve DONE? Incredible.

Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?

If the dems hadn’t done what you accuse modern conservatives of doing, some 35 plus years ago, the Dems wouldn’t be so radical marxist today. Anyone who was of voting age or near voting age about 1975 who was other-wise conservative and anti-marxist probably belonged to the Democrat Party unless they owned a business, in which they probably belonged to the Republican Party at that time. In a sense, the modern conservative perspective is almost that of a philiosophy exiled from where it would otherwise be, thanks to “all-inclusive liberal thinking” of the radical left within that Paerty-not.

Also, the modern Democrat is a steroetypical supporter of large-city thinking and politcs, I doubt that this paradigm would sell beyond such geographical confines.

chapoutier said:
Um…can I ask what outside parties, on ALL sides, haven’t meddled in this special election?

Is this our Duh comment of the day? I have two words for YOU…. Hillary Clinton. Another outsider, not originally from the state, ran for Senate and won because of her relationship with Bill Clinton, illustrates, in spades, how outsiders have continued to shape New York politics.

Hoffman may not be from the district but he’s not from another state like Clinton was. I’d rather someone like Hoffman tell it like it is to people in this district instead of using bribes and false flattery to get voters on his side.

There are some Northern New Yorkers and Upstaters who have fallen in love with pork and handouts because it’s the only way they can survive. I’ve witnessed, as a Upstate New Yorker, the demise of the farming sector (including dairy) and I didn’t see Scazzafava and Owens addressing it except to promise more subsidies. Subsidies are just a form of life support for local farmers already facing hardships from corporate farm enterprises.

There have been years where Albany and downstaters have interfered with the business of Upstate and Northern districts. Most of the downstate districts like NYC have gotten most of the monetary investment while the Northern and Upstate regions have been left to rot. Let’s just stop acting like outsiders have never played a part in NY politics, shall we?