# Another Democrat Crook **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 3, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284 "2009-02-03T18:18:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/1 "2009-02-03T18:18:43Z")
Never mind the ex Illinois governor’s crookedness. Tim Geithner,Tom Daschle, and now [Nancy Killefer](http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090203/usa/us_politics_obama_nominee_2) These are Democrats who are often charged with wanting to raise everyone’s taxes. Except their own of course. In these cases anyway. Three cabinet appointees out of how many ? Before I make a judgement on Democrats in general, could any one tell me how many of Bush’s cabinet appointments were caught tax cheating ? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/2 "2009-02-03T18:22:24Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Before I make a judgement on Democrats in general… Oops, too late! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/3 "2009-02-03T18:38:38Z")
Why should they bother, they simply changed the tax laws so that they never owed the taxes in the first place. “The rich get rich and the poor get poorer” is a lament, these guys have mistaken that for God’s Law. And our major complaint about Republican’s isn’t so much about their personal honesty, but that over eight years they screwed every pooch in the pound! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/4 "2009-02-03T18:41:45Z")
Killefer’s transgression resulted in a lien over $950 which was resolved back in 2005. Not really like the other two “Now that we’re nominees, it turns out we owe $100,000… lemme cut ya a check” stories. If you wanted to gripe about Democratic cabinet nominees not paying their taxes, you picked the worst example out of the bunch. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/5 "2009-02-03T18:46:20Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Killefer’s transgression resulted in a lien over $950 which was resolved back in 2005. Not really like the other two “Now that we’re nominees, it turns out we owe $100,000… lemme cut ya a check” stories. > > If you wanted to gripe about Democratic cabinet nominees not paying their taxes, you picked the worst example out of the bunch. She wouldn’t have resigned if that was all there was to it. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/6 "2009-02-03T18:48:49Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > She wouldn’t have resigned if that was all there was to it. Apparently, she would. That really is all there is to it. She owed $300 in unpaid unemployment taxes for a domestic. She owed $50 interest and $600 in fees, and had a lien slapped on her home. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/7 "2009-02-03T18:52:47Z")
Who the heck is vetting these guys for Obama? From now on, that should be question number one. “Before we get started, are all your taxes up to date? Because it’s gonna come up…” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/8 "2009-02-03T18:58:23Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > She wouldn’t have resigned if that was all there was to it. Sure she would. See? When we just make wild guesses, threads are easy! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/9 "2009-02-03T19:00:02Z")
All nominees should be subjected to a fiscal colonoscopy of maximum rigor. But, more importantly they should subject themselves to one, and be sure before they get out there and step on their own dicks. Jesus, for dumb! They gotta know the Pubbies are deeply, deeply pissed off and rabid to sink their fangs into anything Obamish. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/10 "2009-02-03T19:04:49Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Before I make a judgement on Democrats in general, could any one tell me how many of Bush’s cabinet appointments were caught tax cheating ? How many of them lied about Iraqi WMDs, causing billions of dollars to be wasted and thousands of lives to be lost? :rolleyes: Before I make a judgement on Republicans, why did Nixon resign? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/11 "2009-02-03T19:10:37Z")
This whole thing has very little to do with Republicans being better than Democrats or vice versa. It has to do with a basic difference in party personalities. Imagine Bush-Cheney in this situation. Would they be wringing their hands like this for a Senate minority? Would one of their own party’s committee chairman be trying to torpedo a Republican nominee (cf. Baucus)? No, they’d tell the Republican majority to shut up and do the president’s bidding, and they’d tell the Democratic minority to go fuck themselves. No shame, no apologies, no concessions. Republicans are prepared to ride their party to hell. Democrats, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/12 "2009-02-03T20:21:31Z")
Tim Geithner is a Democrat? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/13 "2009-02-03T20:25:12Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > This whole thing has very little to do with Republicans being better than Democrats or vice versa. It has to do with a basic difference in party personalities. Imagine Bush-Cheney in this situation. Would they be wringing their hands like this for a Senate minority? Would one of their own party’s committee chairman be trying to torpedo a Republican nominee (cf. Baucus)? No, they’d tell the Republican majority to shut up and do the president’s bidding, and they’d tell the Democratic minority to go fuck themselves. No shame, no apologies, no concessions. Republicans are prepared to ride their party to hell. Democrats, not so much. Ah, but if it came up that one of the Republican nominees was _gay_… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/14 "2009-02-03T20:32:52Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > Tim Geithner is a Democrat? :smack: You are right. He is a registered Independant. Well that makes the democrats look a lot better. 😃 I had made the Democrats look 50% worse than they really were. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/15 "2009-02-03T20:44:12Z")
Dishonesty was never bound to any one political party. The sooner you realize this, the better off you are to avoid being disillusioned. If I could vote for the “Honest” party over the “Dishonest” party, I would do it every single time, but alas…my choices are Democrats and Republicans…two totally different rosters that are in the gray. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/16 "2009-02-03T20:48:10Z")
The part I want to know is… why the hell aren’t Congressmen and Senators vetted this way? What, it was okay for tax cheats (or tax incompetents) to serve in the legislature, but not the executive? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/17 "2009-02-03T20:59:09Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The part I want to know is… why the hell aren’t Congressmen and Senators vetted this way? > > What, it was okay for tax cheats (or tax incompetents) to serve in the legislature, but not the executive? In the case of elected officials, the constitution gives voters the power to decide what factors are important to them. In the case of executive appointments, the constitution gives U.S. senators the power to decide what factors are important to them. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/18 "2009-02-03T21:01:57Z")
I really don’t understand why she fell on the sword, when her problem was the smallest, monetarily, and she fixed it years ago, as opposed to discovering it during the confirmation process. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/19 "2009-02-03T21:08:59Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > In the case of elected officials, the constitution gives voters the power to decide what factors are important to them. > > In the case of executive appointments, the constitution gives U.S. senators the power to decide what factors are important to them. Sure, but there’s no reason there can’t be a system in place to report on stuff like this. AFAIK, Daschle’s financials were never questioned until the confirmation process. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284/20 "2009-02-03T21:11:38Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Sure, but there’s no reason there can’t be a system in place to report on stuff like this. AFAIK, Daschle’s financials were never questioned until the confirmation process. A system in place to publicize everyone’s tax records? I wouldn’t go for that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-democrat-crook/484284.md?page=2)