Blog | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

CREW's new website, FixTheFEC.org, is getting some attention today.

Scott Shepard at "Window on Washington," the Cox News Blog reports we are trying to end the impasse at the FEC:

A private watchdog group is trying to end a congressional impasse over the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the federal agency that enforces federal campaign finance laws.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today launched a website, fixthefec.org, in an effort to pressure Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to allow a vote to get the FEC back in business.

“Since Senator McConnell has dug in his heels and refused to allow for a vote, the nation’s watchdog has been muzzled right when we need it most,” CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan said. “Incredibly, the FEC cannot address any complaints against presidential candidates or a series of public financing questions.”

Jonathan Stein at the MoJo Blog thinks we're "trying the impossible":

CREW's new website is a badly needed effort, but one that is unlikely to succeed. I say that with a tone of resignation. The FEC is not a sexy topic and no one but good government reformers gets ...   more »

Blog | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

"What we did was perfectly legal and appropriate." That’s John McCain rationalizing his use of Cindy McCain's corporate jet for a fraction of the cost rate after having argued in favor of limiting senators’ use of corporate jets in last year’s ethics reform debate.

Remind you of anything? How about "There is no controlling legal authority that says this was in violation of law." Al Gore in 1997, describing the fundraising phone calls he made from the White House. Gore was rightly pilloried for his comments, which instantly entered the pantheon of classic evasions of responsibility – not far removed from "mistakes were made."

Virtuous reformer John McCain's ill considered remark deservedly should suffer a similarly ignominious fate.

McCain's use of his wife's corporate jet is just another reason we need a functioning FEC. Get the FEC back in action – Go to CREW's new website today at FixtheFEC.org.

URL: Blog | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Bad Attitudes

URL: Bad Attitudes

Blog | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Today, CREW launched a new website, FixtheFEC.org, created to prompt Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to allow for a vote on federal election commissioners that can get the FEC back to policing federal elections business. We are in the midst of the presidential campaign season, but the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been rendered ineffectual -- unable to perform its function, to administer and enforce campaign finance laws. Melanie Sloan explains:

CREW’s site features a letter that can be emailed from FixtheFEC.org directly to Sen. McConnell’s office. It also posts all of the FEC complaints that have not been addressed this year. Currently, there are nineteen.

URL: Blog | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Blog | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

On Saturday, a Washington Post editorial excoriated Senator Pete Domenici's lack of remorse for the unethical behavior of interfering with a U.S. Attorney. The subhead of the Post's editorial read, " The senator dodges accountability for his unethical behavior."  He did. 

CREW thinks the Senate Ethics Committee is also at fault.  As Melanie Sloan said Friday, "The committee’s effort to minimize its reprimand of Senator Domenici itself reflects poorly on the Senate."

Here's a couple of key passages from the Post's editorial: 

WHEN YOU'RE caught doing or saying something inappropriate, you can acknowledge your error and apologize. Or you can issue the modified limited hangout apology, saying that you are sorry if anyone was offended, if your actions caused pain, etc. Unfortunately, Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) chose the latter route in response to the determination by his peers -- the Senate ethics committee -- that some of his actions "created an appearance of impropriety that reflected unfavorably on the Senate."

.....

Although the panel said it appreciated the senator's "candor" in saying last year that he regretted making the call, Mr. Domenici's statement Thursday was devoid of any acknowledgment ...   more »

Bad Attitudes

Maybe everybody else knew this already, but I’m damned if I did. More good news on energy, brought to you by the agribusiness lobby and the quadrennial bad joke known as the Iowa caucuses:

Conventional gas delivers more energy than a gallon that contains ethanol. If it’s a gallon of E-10, which is a blend of 10 percent ethanol and conventional gas now widely available in the Kansas City area, there’s an energy difference of about 3.4 percent.

Now that may not seem like much when you’re topping off the tank this week. But over the course of a year of normal driving, it would take an additional 40 gallons of E-10 to go the same distance as conventional gas. If they were both priced the same, it would mean an extra $120.

If it’s E-85, a blend containing 85 percent ethanol that can be used in specially equipped vehicles, the energy loss soars and more than offsets its lower cost, even though E-85 is about 60 cents per gallon less at retail than conventional gas.

Mileage can suffer by about 25 percent with E-85, according to AAA. Over the course of a year, that amounts to an ...   more »