McCain tries to get the best of the New York Times

McCain has tried to get the best of the New York Times. Yesterday, his campaign manager sent out an e-mail appealing to conservatives. In it he writes,

Well, here we go. We could expect attacks were coming; as soon as John McCain appeared to be locking up the Republican nomination, the liberal establishment and their allies at the New York Times have gone on the attack. Today’s front-page New York Times story is particularly disgusting - an un-sourced hit-and-run smear campaign designed to distract from the issues at stake in this election. With John McCain leading a number of general-election polls against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the New York Times knew the time to attack was now, and they did. We will not allow their scurrilous attack against a great American hero to stand.

Hello conservatives! “The liberal establishment and their allies at the New York Times have gone on the attack.” The email goes on to say, “The New York Times — the newspaper that gave MoveOn.org a sweetheart deal to run advertisements attacking General Petraeus…”

What a brilliant move to grab some conservative support. Hey look those liberals at the Times are attacking me. We can’t let them win. Help John McCain become the next president of the United States. Anyone care to donate?

Renzi indicted

Arizona Rep. Renzi Indicted

by Kevin Tripp/KTAR and Associated Press Arizona congressman Rick Renzi has been indicted on 35 counts including wire fraud and embezzelment.

So what does it mean to all of us?

IRS Special Agent Andrea Whelan hopes it doesn’t destroy public trust.

“It can be disheartening when the outcome of our investigative work causes citizens to doubt the integrity of their elected representatives,” Whelan said.

Congressman Renzi has not yet issued a statement.

Republican Rep. Renzi was indicted Friday on charges of extortion, wire fraud, money laundering and other matters in an Arizona land swap scam that allegedly helped him collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in payoffs.

A 26-page federal indictment unsealed in Arizona accuses Renzi and two former business partners of conspiring to promote the sale of land that buyers could swap for property owned by the federal government. The sale netted one of Renzi’s former partners $4.5 million.

Renzi is a three-term member of the House. He announced in August that he would not seek re-election.

Attempts to reach Renzi by phone through his congressional office in Flagstaff and his lawyer were unsuccessful Friday.

As part of the alleged scam, Renzi and his former business partner, James W. Sandlin, concealed at least $733,000 that the congressman took for helping seal the land deals, the indictment says.

“Renzi was having financial difficulty throughout 2005 and needed a substantial infusion of funds to keep his insurance business solvent and to maintain his personal lifestyle,” the indictment says.

The indictment accuses Renzi of using his position as a member of the House Natural Resources Committee to push the land swaps for Sandlin, who was also charged. It comes after a lengthy federal investigation into the land development and insurance businesses owned by Renzi’s family.

GOP presidential front-runner Sen. John McCain, an Arizona colleague of Renzi’s, seemed surprised when asked in Indianapolis for his reaction to the indictment, choosing his words carefully, shaking his head and speaking slowly.

“I’m sorry. I feel for the family; as you know, he has 12 children,” McCain told reporters on the presidential campaign trail. “But I don’t know enough of the details to make a judgment. These kinds of things are always very unfortunate…. I rely on our Department of Justice and system of justice to make the right outcome.”

The extensive legal document says Renzi refused in 2005 and 2006 to secure congressional approval for land swaps by two unnamed businesses if they did not agree to buy Sandlin’s property as a part of the deal.

Renzi had previously owned some of Sandlin’s property, the indictment says.

In early 2005, one of the businesses seeking surface rights for a copper mining project in Renzi’s district failed to buy Sandlin’s land. As a result, the indictment says, Renzi allegedly told the business, “No Sandlin property, no bill.”

At the time, Sandlin owed Renzi $700,000 out of the land’s selling price of $800,000. Renzi also allegedly concealed his business relationship with Sandlin, even though the company had expressly asked if there was one.

Meanwhile, Renzi allegedly pushed the land on a second firm, an unnamed investment group, that was trying to secure a federal land swap. If the firm accepted Sandlin’s property as part of the transaction, Renzi allegedly said investors would receive a “free pass” through the House Natural Resources Committee, according to the indictment.

In April 2005, the investors reluctantly agreed to the deal.

“Please be sensitive to the fact that we are going way out on a limb at the request of Congressman Renzi,” one of the investors wrote in an April 17, 2005 e-mail to a Renzi aide. “I am putting my complete faith in Congressman Renzi and you that this is the correct decision.”

The investment group agreed to pay $4.6 million for Sandlin’s land, the indictment says. Sandlin then paid Renzi $733,000 for his help in securing the land swap from the second business.

Renzi failed to report the income on financial disclosure reports to Congress, as is required.

Government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington applauded the Justice Department for holding Renzi “accountable given that his House colleagues refused to do so.” The group has had Renzi on its “Most Corrupt Members of Congress” list for the last three years.

“Bluster aside, this latest in a string of congressional indictments demonstrates that Congress simply will not police itself,” said CREW executive director Melanie Sloan.

LA Times: It’s getting hard out there for illegal immigrants

The Los Angeles Times writes this today:

It’s getting ugly out there for illegal immigrants. States and cities are cracking down with harsh new ordinances, and the courts are upholding them. Not only are deportations at record highs, but immigrants are being detained at places previously understood to be off-limits, such as schools. The debate about illegal immigration, labor, social justice and international trade has devolved into open season on illegal immigrants.

Let us remind ourselves that states and cities are cracking down on their own because the Federal Government and our Washington politicians will not lead on the issue. It’s clear people want something down about illegal immigration. State and city leaders know this. Even here in Phoenix, Mayor Phil Gordon recognized it. Our state lawmakers recognized it. And they did something about it. Other states are following. Oklahoma, New Jersey, Indiana, Missouri and several others are doing what they can to curb the problem.

The Times goes even further:

With the spirit of Dred Scott hovering over his pen, Judge James H. Payne wrote that illegal immigrants do not have the right to sue: “An illegal alien, in willful violation of federal immigration law, is without standing to challenge the constitutionality of a state law, when compliance with federal law would absolve the illegal alien’s constitutional dilemma.”

Wow. Did they really just do that? This is what has become of the illegal immigration debate. Scary. Should we mistreat people because they are here illegally. Of course not. Should we remind them that there are legal processes to come to the United States?

Indiana Fights over Illegal Immigration

Arizona isn’t the only state to be fighting over illegal immigration (remember that issue?). We have our Employer Sanction’s Law. Indiana “Republicans walked off the floor in protest of procedural moves” made by Democrats to prevent them from voting on anti-immigration measures.

From the Indy Star:

Republicans accused Democrats of using a sneaky maneuver to prevent them from offering changes to legislation that could penalize employers who hire illegal immigrants. Republicans left the floor around 6:30 p.m., and Democratic House Speaker Patrick Bauer declared around 8 p.m. that the chamber was in recess until Monday.

Still don’t think this is a nationwide problem?

Is McCain stuck with public financing?

When John McCain’s campaign was faltering and out of money he reached out to the Federal Election Commission for matching public funds. In a letter dated February 6, 2008, McCain wrote to the FEC to opt out of public funding. Read the letter here. The FEC responds in their own letter by saying, sorry McCain, you might be stuck. Here is the FEC letter, dated February 19, 2008.

Time Magazine has additional analysis here.