# Senator Judd **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 10, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539 "2013-03-10T06:45:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/81 "2013-04-10T20:37:49Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > How attractive is the Republican? And was she on _Star Trek: The Next Generation_? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/82 "2013-04-11T00:31:13Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I don’t see anything cynical or dishonest in the transcript. The way they were planning to attack her on religion certainly was, and ignorant into the bargain. She is probably a better Christian than most of them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/83 "2013-04-11T01:20:32Z")
I agree with Shodan. There was nothing that appeared to be illegal in the content of the transcripts. Politics can get ugly - and anyone who thinks only Republican politics get ugly is naïve. But hard politics is not a crime. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/84 "2013-04-11T01:47:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Politics can get ugly - and anyone who thinks only Republican politics get ugly is naïve. But hard politics is not a crime. Dems ain’t civic saints, but anyone who has been paying any attention for the last 30 years knows that Pub politics are a **lot** harder. It was not so in Ike’s day. It started out with vicious, petty, take-no-prisoners “power”-struggles among the Young Republicans in the 1960s (you can read that story in Rick Perlstein’s [_Nixonland;_](http://www.amazon.com/Nixonland-Rise-President-Fracturing-America/dp/074324303X) it is truly a very disturbing story), and by now it seems to have permeated the GOP’s entire political culture. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/85 "2013-04-11T02:14:35Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The way they were planning to attack her on religion certainly was, and ignorant into the bargain. She is probably a better Christian than most of them. And so the FBI should investigate whether her religous credentials were maligned, as opposed to wiretap laws possibly being broken? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/86 "2013-04-11T05:28:49Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > And so the FBI should investigate whether her religous credentials were maligned, as opposed to wiretap laws possibly being broken? See post #70. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/87 "2013-04-11T05:30:00Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > How attractive is the Republican? Less than Angie Harmon and more than Fred Thompson. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/88 "2013-04-11T12:30:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The way they were planning to attack her on religion certainly was, and ignorant into the bargain. She is probably a better Christian than most of them. So no one should attack a politician’s religious beliefs, right? And anyone who would do that is scum, right? Democrat or Republican. Right? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/89 "2013-04-11T13:07:23Z")
I’m sure the revelation that Mitch McConnell is an unpleasant person would have made headlines across the country. Probably on page 19, just below the waterskiing squirrel pictures and next to “Fast food is bad for you” and “Water wet, study confirms”. It’s interesting that someone taped and released the recording of the meeting, but unless there’s something we’ve all missed I’m not seeing the smoking gun that will bring down McConnell’s campaign. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/90 "2013-04-11T14:40:05Z")
What makes this newsworthy is the jubilant tone of those living in the gutter. At a normal meeting to discuss opposition research, we expect to hear someting like “Oh look! He voted for this new state park that requires a permit! Let’s call that a vote to increase taxes!” It’s all bullshit, everyone does it, and everyone knows it. What we have in this case is “Golllll- leee diddledums! It says in that there book that she had sigh-key … AT-rick treatment! She’s mentally unstable! Yippeeeee!” Most of us have gotten over the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment, but like their knuckle-dragging base, Republican officials see it as a disqualifying factor. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/91 "2013-04-11T14:45:39Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > What makes this newsworthy is the jubilant tone of those living in the gutter. Oh Bob, Bob, Bob…how’s it been, living up there in that cave on Mars with your fingers in your ears? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/92 "2013-04-11T14:46:57Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Oh Bob, Bob, Bob…how’s it been, living up there in that cave on Mars with your fingers in your ears? Well, I prefer to think that most people are better than that. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/93 "2013-04-11T15:00:50Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > What we have in this case is “Golllll- leee diddledums! It says in that there book that she had sigh-key … AT-rick treatment! She’s mentally unstable! Yippeeeee!” Most of us have gotten over the stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment, but like their knuckle-dragging base, Republican officials see it as a disqualifying factor. I would have been perfectly happy to raise the issue of mental faculties with candidates like Allen West. If someone says in apparent seriousness that they never know what is going to “send them over the edge,” and uses an example of fuzzy socks, that’s pretty serious. Sorry, I guess I’m just a horribly biased person that thinks we should have stable people in leadership positions. I am prepared for my pitting. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/94 "2013-04-11T15:31:19Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > As a factual matter, most government employees can engage in political activity so long as they aren’t being paid by the government to do so, or using government resources for electioneering. The whole room could have been filled with congressional staff, and so long as they weren’t being paid by the government for their time, there is no issue. > > So starting an investigation into who was in the room would seem to be a fishing expedition to me. I am still curious if that is what **BG** was driving at… So, do we know this meeting took place after normal business hours? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/95 "2013-04-11T15:35:54Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > If someone says in apparent seriousness that they never know what is going to “send them over the edge,” and uses an example of fuzzy socks, that’s pretty serious. This, OTOH, I totally agree with. And McConnell’s willingness to use stuff like that goes in the “politics ain’t beanbag” file. I mean, it was _in her own book._ It wasn’t like they had to use any underhanded means to get this quote. If an opponent hands you something like this on a platter, _you use it._ ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/96 "2013-04-11T16:25:44Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > So, do we know this meeting took place after normal business hours? Do we have any reason to suspect that there was a violation of the Hatch Act? Maybe there were Mexican drug lords in the meeting, too – perhaps we should investigate that. Nobody has ever found Jimmy Hoffa, so we won’t know if his body was in the conference room unless the FBI investigates that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/97 "2013-04-11T18:02:24Z")
It was apparently two volunteers from a local KY liberal group. They were in the building for another meeting, walked by the door (which was closed but had an open vent on the bottom), heard the meeting and recorded part of it with a smartphone. Not really sure how that shakes out legally or morally. Its not really “bugging” anything, and the meeting was apparently clearly audible from the hall. On the other hand, it was obviously supposed to be a private meeting and the two recorded it without permission from anyone involved. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/98 "2013-04-11T19:00:09Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Do we have any reason to suspect that there was a violation of the Hatch Act? The Hatch Act doesn’t apply to Congressional employees, just Executive Branch employees. Here’s what the [rules published by the Senate Ethics Committee](http://www.ethics.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/campaign-activity) say: > [@](#): > > Senate employees are free to engage in campaign activity, as volunteers or for pay, provided they do so on their own time, outside of Senate space, and without using Senate resources. A similar set of House rules quotes Common Cause v. Bolger, 574 F. Supp. 672, 683 (D.D.C. 1982), aff’d, 461 U.S. 911 (1983), indicating that their rules reflect “the basic principle that government funds should not be spent to help incumbents gain reelection.” Presumably that principle, and that decision, are the basis of the Senate’s rules as well. So it seems reasonable, if the FBI is investigating another ridiculous accusation based on nothing but a Senator’s spleen, that the FBI also verify that any Senate staffers present were taking the day off, or that the meeting took place after hours. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/99 "2013-04-11T19:03:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Less than Angie Harmon and more than Fred Thompson. Tease. That’s like saying “I’m pretty sure I lost my comb somewhere between Seattle and Mumbai.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539/100 "2013-04-11T20:00:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Less than Angie Harmon and more than Fred Thompson. More than Fred Thompson and less than Fred Thompson’s wife. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senator-judd/652539.md?page=6)