We finally know who put that ‘secret’ hold on Russ Feingold’s Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act, and I couldn’t be more appalled to say that it was my Senator, Judd Gregg.
The Secret is out, Judd Gregg! You see, it was a simple matter of hundreds of concerned citizens, led by the Sunlight Foundation calling every Senator and asking them if they put a hold on the bill. Callers to every other office eventually heard ‘NO’. Callers to your office, like myself, heard "I’m not sure where the Senator stands on that, I’ll get back to you".
So, why is this Campaign Disclosure thing important?
For years the Senate has clung to a tedious paper-intensive method of filing worthy of Bartleby. The information, which can show which senators are close to what big-money special interests, is churned twice like a cud, through paper, then separate computer versions, before being available to the public, months after the comparable money reports of House members and lobbyists.
The reform measure, sponsored by Senators Russell Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, and Thad Cochran, Republican of Mississippi, was suddenly stopped on the way to passage by the G.O.P. floor manager acting in behalf of some unidentified colleague. Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Democrat of California who shepherded the bill through earlier committee gates with unanimous approval, was mystified as she wondered aloud about "somebody in this body" up to an old trick. It is time for someone — Senator Mustard in the cloakroom, perhaps — to end the hold and stop embarrassing the Senate.
Now we know that the mystery Senator is Judd Gregg.
This is the same Judd Gregg who voted against heating assistance for New Englanders on the same day he won the Powerball.
The same Judd Gregg who killed disaster relief for farmers and ranchers on his way to the minority.
The same Judd Gregg who used the poison pill of a line item veto to roadblock ethics reform in the Senate.
The same Judd Gregg who voted to eliminate the minimum wage entirely.
The same Judd Gregg who put the no defunding the troops language into the Warner-Levin Resolutiuon, and then refused to even debate the Iraq War in the Senate.
Yes, Judd Gregg is giving all of us another stellar example of his willingness to do dirty work for the GOP. This time, however, he wont get away with it.
Enough is Enough, Senator Gregg. Either come clean with your opposition to the bill or let it pass with Unanimous Consent.
UPDATE Dean Barker adds to the fun:
This is...
...the same Judd Gregg who hates freedom of speech:
"In my view, there are limitations to academic freedom and freedom of speech," said U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.
...the same Judd Gregg who want to put chemicals in your maple syrup.
the same Judd Gregg who thinks 30 days in Kosovo is an outrage, but crafting Iraq withdrawal language in the Senate is unconstitutional.
...the same Judd Gregg who still links 9/11 and Iraq on the one hand, and blames the disaster there currently on the his belief that Iraqis are incapable of freedom.
...the same Judd Gregg whose staffer may have delivered the phonejamming money to guarantee his buddy John E. Sununu's victory in 2002.
...the same Judd Gregg who said this:
"It [phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq] is a policy that is firmly grounded in Birkenstocks and clearly not grounded in the reality of the world as it is," Gregg said.
This guy has got to go. Too bad there is every reason to suspect he will retire in 2010. It would be a lot more fun to see him lose.
UPDATE II: At the request of kossack Iowa Boy, no good diary exposing the shadey dealings of Republicans is complete without a good Donate Link. So please, head on over to the Act Blue Hampshire page and donate to your favorite New Hampshire Democrat. Judd Gredd isn't up for re election in 2008, but his buddy John Sununu is.
P.S. While I have your attention, if you're From New Hampshire, why don't you give John Lynch an e-mail and thank him for his recent support of the Civil Unions Bill. We can't stop until he signs it!