New "Watergate" of Sorts?

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ivwshane

Lifer
May 15, 2000
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Considering that it's illegal in both Kentucky and D.C. to record a conversation without the permission of at least one party, and there is an FBI investigation, it's pretty safe to presume that the tapes are in fact illegal. For one thing, the FBI would certainly ask everyone present if they taped the meeting or gave permission to tape the meeting before proceeding with an investigation. For another, it's quite difficult to imagine that one of McConnell's trusted aides has turned on him to the point of preferring a woman of completely opposite political persuasion who is reasonably hot and probably not legally insane at the moment without him knowing it.

Yes the guilty until proven innocent offense, that cornerstone of American law.
I'm sure there are no other possibilities of how this happened other than illegal means and if there were other ideas I'm sure your unbiased thinking would have provided those examples.
/s
 

werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
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Well most rational people would prefer their candidates to debate the issues instead of personal attacks but what do I know, except what the polls show.
Yes, clearly "Republicans want to starve children and kill old people" is debating the issues.

EDIT: Clearly this issue is going to be the same as voter ID, with the left insisting that unless we can prove who made the tapes, we must insist they are legal. I did not realize that tapes held a legal right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.
 
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ivwshane

Lifer
May 15, 2000
32,284
15,074
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Yes, clearly "Republicans want to starve children and kill old people" is debating the issues.

EDIT: Clearly this issue is going to be the same as voter ID, with the left insisting that unless we can prove who made the tapes, we must insist they are legal. I did not realize that tapes held a legal right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

Hmm...I must have been sleep posting because I don't see where I said any of that in my post you quoted.
 

marincounty

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2005
3,227
5
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New "Watergate" of sorts? Nice insinuation that the white house was involved by the op.
Some Republican operatives? You mean the ones sent by the white house and the Republican President to bug the Democrats?
 

monovillage

Diamond Member
Jul 3, 2008
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Yes, and David Corn did state that it was his understanding that it wasn't obtained in a bugging operation. Corn could be lying or could have been lied to by his source who provided the tape. We seem to have conflicting versions of this.

If I was McConnell, I'm not sure if I would have made this allegation publicly. All it does is underscore the contents of the tape itself, which aren't very flattering to him. Basically he's caught doing something that all the pols do, but the key is he was caught.

It was an illegally taped eavesdropping recording made by operatives of a Democratic super PAC and then sent to Corn and Mother Jones. Corn claims he didn't know it was illegally obtained. I was wrong about felony, it is only a misdemeanor offense.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/progress-kentucky-mitch-mcconnell_n_3062688.html

UPDATE: 5:11 p.m. -- Douglas L. Davis, treasurer for Progress Kentucky, has announced that he has stepped down from his position with the group, NBC reports.
 

lotus503

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2005
6,502
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It was an illegally taped eavesdropping recording made by operatives of a Democratic super PAC and then sent to Corn and Mother Jones. Corn claims he didn't know it was illegally obtained. I was wrong about felony, it is only a misdemeanor offense.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/progress-kentucky-mitch-mcconnell_n_3062688.html


Yeah it looks like Mitch is also in Hot water

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/mitch-mcconnell-ethics-complaint_n_3062215.html
 

monovillage

Diamond Member
Jul 3, 2008
8,444
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The recording, made after an open house at a newly opened McConnell campaign office..................

Done on their own time the trumped up accusations by the hyper partisan CREW can casually be dismissed.

*EDIT* and thanks lotus for proving my earlier post
As long as it's Democrats committing felonies to injure Republicans then it's a perfectly sensible and permitted crime. Everyone knows that laws only apply to those on the political right.
 
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werepossum

Elite Member
Jul 10, 2006
29,873
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Hmm...I must have been sleep posting because I don't see where I said any of that in my post you quoted.
You didn't. I did not mean to target you specifically, as I consider you a very liberal but generally reasonable person. These things are however a very standard practice among the left, and that was my point. Even one of Clinton's spokesmen (Mike McCurray) made that accusation in a press conference.

Sorry I was not more clear with my flip response.
 

CaptnKirk

Lifer
Jul 25, 2002
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Isn't it amazing that by holding a random meeting to discuss smear strategy at McConnell's new offices that nobody Mitch, staff, or aides, was bright enough to think 'Hey, maybe we should just close this here door, in case someone happens to come down this hallway while we are strategizing our attacks'.


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Nov 30, 2006
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Looks like the treasurer for Progress Kentucky is stepping down from his position based on the advice of counsel.
 

UberNeuman

Lifer
Nov 4, 1999
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Isn't it amazing that by holding a random meeting to discuss smear strategy at McConnell's new offices that nobody Mitch, staff, or aides, was bright enough to think 'Hey, maybe we should just close this here door, in case someone happens to come down this hallway while we are strategizing our attacks'.


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Hard to close the door when they apparently were standing in the hallway...
 

monovillage

Diamond Member
Jul 3, 2008
8,444
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Hard to close the door when they apparently were standing in the hallway...

Too bad that isn't what happened. Maybe if you had read the links from the Huffington post you'd have known it.
Conway's account is consistent with explanations that McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton has offered since the release of the recording. Benton has said that the door to meeting room had a vent through which someone could've recorded the conversation taking place inside.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/progress-kentucky-mitch-mcconnell_n_3062688.html
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
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It was an illegally taped eavesdropping recording made by operatives of a Democratic super PAC and then sent to Corn and Mother Jones. Corn claims he didn't know it was illegally obtained. I was wrong about felony, it is only a misdemeanor offense.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/progress-kentucky-mitch-mcconnell_n_3062688.html

Yep, looks like good confirmation.

It's hardly Watergate though. Watergate was, well, Watergate because it went all the way up to the oval office.
 

chucky2

Lifer
Dec 9, 1999
10,038
36
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Yep, forgot password and lost access to my old e-mail when I changed jobs. Either that or I'm a government shill posing as woolfe9999.

That sux the mods couldn't do something for you...now you've lost your join date and post history. :(
 

monovillage

Diamond Member
Jul 3, 2008
8,444
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Yep, looks like good confirmation.

It's hardly Watergate though. Watergate was, well, Watergate because it went all the way up to the oval office.

Very true and accurate, this was just a upper level Democrat fundraiser that should have know better. Welcome back Woolfie.
 

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
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New "Watergate" of sorts? Nice insinuation that the white house was involved by the op.
-snip-

Bravo as to your 'imagination'.

There's no insinuation with regards to anything. As explained in my OP the similarities to Watergate are explained and, I think, reasonable. Also, Nixon wasn't involved in break in, only the cover up.

Fern
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,188
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Bravo as to your 'imagination'.

There's no insinuation with regards to anything. As explained in my OP the similarities to Watergate are explained and, I think, reasonable. Also, Nixon wasn't involved in break in, only the cover up.

Fern

Doesn't seem to have been much of a cover-up here. There wasn't a break in either. It seems that they were legally allowed to be where they were, just not allowed to use their iphones to tape a conversation they overheard. I do see the similarity in that they were trying to get confidential information about an opposing campaign strategy. It's just that the importance of who was involved as well as the overall moral culpability of the perps in each incident are in entirely different domains.
 

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
173
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Doesn't seem to have been much of a cover-up here. There wasn't a break in either. It seems that they were legally allowed to be where they were, just not allowed to use their iphones to tape a conversation they overheard. I do see the similarity in that they were trying to get confidential information about an opposing campaign strategy. It's just that the importance of who was involved as well as the overall moral culpability of the perps in each incident are in entirely different domains.

I don't disagree, and I never even mentioned any cover up.

At the time it wasn't known how the recordings were made. Had it been known they merely stood outside of a door which had a vent in it and made the tape I wouldn't have even mentioned Watergate.

But it was absurd of the above poster to claim that I was trying to implicate Obama. The absurdity is further underscored by the fact you couldn't even try to implicate a President unless you had a cover up. Nixon was only involved in the cover up, not the break in. Of course you also have to overlook my use of "sort of" and a "?" mark.

Fern
 

marincounty

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2005
3,227
5
76
Bravo as to your 'imagination'.

There's no insinuation with regards to anything. As explained in my OP the similarities to Watergate are explained and, I think, reasonable. Also, Nixon wasn't involved in break in, only the cover up.

Fern
Then why use the word Watergate? It was a major scandal involving the white house. I haven't heard any evidence the white house was involved in this case, so why bring it up?

We don't know whether Nixon was involved in the break in, the tapes were doctored and the FBI director and Nixon aides destroyed the contents of a safe. There were lots of things we didn't find out about Nixon after he resigned and the impeachment proceedings stopped.
We know Nixon was lying to his aides for two years.
48 govt officials were found guilty in the Watergate scandal.
 

lotus503

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2005
6,502
1
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Done on their own time the trumped up accusations by the hyper partisan CREW can casually be dismissed.

*EDIT* and thanks lotus for proving my earlier post

I don't approve of anyone using illegal means to garner information.

What I was stating early on was I doubt they were bugged, like watergate turns out I was right as it appears the people from the PAC did it from the hallway or through a vent. If its illegal they should be charged.

I think if it wasn't on their own time and dime Mitch should be up for ethics violations.

In short I think the rules and law should apply to everyone.

So you can take the putting words in my mouth and shove them up your ass instead.
 

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
173
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Then why use the word Watergate? -snip-

I should think it obvious. Watergate was break in of a campaign office and an illegal recording. At the time of creating the OP that's what was alleged here, including an FBI investigation that confirmed at the time illegality was suspected to a sufficient degree to justify such an investigation.

And the inclusion of the phrase "of sorts" should tell people that no one was suggesting that these two events were exactly the same.

Fern
 

monovillage

Diamond Member
Jul 3, 2008
8,444
1
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I don't approve of anyone using illegal means to garner information.

What I was stating early on was I doubt they were bugged, like watergate turns out I was right as it appears the people from the PAC did it from the hallway or through a vent. If its illegal they should be charged.

I think if it wasn't on their own time and dime Mitch should be up for ethics violations.

In short I think the rules and law should apply to everyone.

So you can take the putting words in my mouth and shove them up your ass instead.


You did prove my point, they confessed to a crime and you turn around and try to lay the blame for something on Mitch. Sorry if it bent your nose out of joint.