Menendez Indicted

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/ranking-the-states-from-most-to-least-corrupt/

New Jersey is #1 in the country in criminals per politician, according to Today's Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/01/new-jerseys-elected-officials-get-in-more-legal-trouble-per-capita-than-its-residents/


eta: Illinois doesn't even come close according to this article.

NJ doesn't even rate on this one.
http://fortune.com/2014/06/10/most-corrupt-states-in-america/

I do think NJ ranks #1 in the American public's perception.

Lot of juicy provable details in this case . Throw in the charge that alot of the good Dr.'s wealth is the result of overbilling Medicare . Menedez will not look good to a jury . Dr makes restitution throws Bobby under the bus. And we get another appointed Senator.

Whatever the ranking, NJ certainly isn't a positive poster child in this area.

I don't know how provable a lot of this is. I believe bribery requires proving a quid pro quo arrangement. But it'd be nice to have some sunshine focused on this.

I think a lot of states like to think of themselves as particularly corrupt. There is even a strange sense of pride in it. When I think about corrupt states, a bunch immediately come to mind.

New York
New Jersey
Connecticut
Georgia
Arkansas
Alabama
Mississippi
Louisiana
Florida
Kentucky
Illinois
Ohio
Indiana
New Mexico
Arizona
Texas

And this is just off the top of my head.

Like so many in power, Menendez clearly lost sight of the optics, regardless of whether he actually provided a quid pro quo or not.

Power is so corrupting, in large and subtle ways. He absolutely knew that taking so many freebies from the Doctor was at the very least incredibly dangerous in a visible and traceable way. So Menendez clearly made a conscious decision that the laws and/or perception did not apply to him, or that he was strong enough (read:connected enough) to beat any rap.

And while making phone calls on behalf of constituents is part of the retail job of politics, he absolutely knew that making the calls on behalf of someone who is not only NOT a constituent, but also someone who has financed his trysts and vacations and legal defense funds had to at least appear to be crooked--and might well be adjudicated as crooked. Again, his hubris and arrogance led him to believe that somehow he could beat any rap levied on him.

I wish even a few more politicians would be like President Mujica of Uruguay.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-03-02/perhaps-worlds-most-humble-leader-humbly-steps-down

For the record Senator Menendez was reelected in 2012 his term expires in 2018. Senators serve a 6 year term.

As was pointed out today on several news programs. The Justice Department has screwed up several high profile prosecutions in the last few years. The senator from Alaska for one. There is a new crew in place that is trying to show that they have what it takes. I will wait and see what is brought forth as real evidence before I rush to judgement. But My money is on the Distinguished Gentleman from New Jersey.

smhollow said:

For the record Senator Menendez was reelected in 2012 his term expires in 2018. Senators serve a 6 year term.

As was pointed out today on several news programs. The Justice Department has screwed up several high profile prosecutions in the last few years. The senator from Alaska for one. There is a new crew in place that is trying to show that they have what it takes. I will wait and see what is brought forth as real evidence before I rush to judgement. But My money is on the Distinguished Gentleman from New Jersey.

Senator Mendacious admits to doing things that are simply wrong, whether he can be prosecuted for them or not. As a party and as a people, we would be better off without him.

Klinker said:

smhollow said:

For the record Senator Menendez was reelected in 2012 his term expires in 2018. Senators serve a 6 year term.

As was pointed out today on several news programs. The Justice Department has screwed up several high profile prosecutions in the last few years. The senator from Alaska for one. There is a new crew in place that is trying to show that they have what it takes. I will wait and see what is brought forth as real evidence before I rush to judgement. But My money is on the Distinguished Gentleman from New Jersey.

Senator Mendacious admits to doing things that are simply wrong, whether he can be prosecuted for them or not. As a party and as a people, we would be better off without him.

+1

New York Times calls on Menendez to step down.

Here is the problem. Saying that a member of Congress should resign when indicted gives the Executive outsized control over the Legislature.

The Times editorial does not deal with that issue nor does it consider "innocent until proven guilty".

A Star-Ledger editorial does address those issues:

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/04/menendez_resign_and_spare_us_the_drama_editorial.html

Get him out. He needs to resign.

paulsurovell said:

New York Times calls on Menendez to step down.

Good. He is an embarrassment to our state.

mjh said:

Klinker said:

smhollow said:

For the record Senator Menendez was reelected in 2012 his term expires in 2018. Senators serve a 6 year term.

As was pointed out today on several news programs. The Justice Department has screwed up several high profile prosecutions in the last few years. The senator from Alaska for one. There is a new crew in place that is trying to show that they have what it takes. I will wait and see what is brought forth as real evidence before I rush to judgement. But My money is on the Distinguished Gentleman from New Jersey.

Senator Mendacious admits to doing things that are simply wrong, whether he can be prosecuted for them or not. As a party and as a people, we would be better off without him.

+1

I generally agree. I'm no fan of Menendez. He's a warmonger who'd order the bombing of just about any country if they looked at us funny.

but I'm trying to understand how what he did is any different from what dozens (maybe hundreds) of other congress people do all the time. How is lobbying for Melgen any different from all the people in office who get PAC money from the Koch brothers and then work tirelessly on behalf of fossil fuel companies? Or is it that the $600K to his PAC was ok, but it's a crime to accept trips? I guess the big money bribery is A-OK, it's the little stuff that a guy has to be careful about.

From the Star-Ledger Editorial:

"The state needs a respected senator who is focused on his job, not a tarnished defendant who spends his days fending off credible charges of corruption and raising money for his legal defense."

So they think Christie will appoint a "respected" person "focused on his job".
How would the majority of NJ voters, let alone the posters on MOL feel about a Senator who sees his job as opposing the Obama Administration? That's what most Republican members of Congress see as their primary job.

How would you all feel if the Senator from NJ spoke in support of Governor Pence and the Indiana "religious exemption" law as did almost every GOP Presidential candidate?

If Menendez resigns he should do so just before the deadline for there to have to be an election so that Christie's appointee is interim for only 70 days.

ml1 said:

I generally agree. I'm no fan of Menendez. He's a warmonger who'd order the bombing of just about any country if they looked at us funny.

but I'm trying to understand how what he did is any different from what dozens (maybe hundreds) of other congress people do all the time. How is lobbying for Melgen any different from all the people in office who get PAC money from the Koch brothers and then work tirelessly on behalf of fossil fuel companies? Or is it that the $600K to his PAC was ok, but it's a crime to accept trips? I guess the big money bribery is A-OK, it's the little stuff that a guy has to be careful about.

Bribery apparently requires a specific quid-pro-quo. Menendez could certainly lobby on behalf of all Eye Surgeons who accept Medicaid. Which is different from taking a gift to do a specific favor.

And if a Congressperson took a specific gift from David Koch in return for a personal favor to David Koch that would be bribery.

Is ex-governor Bob McDonnell a reasonable comparison?

Republicans are not going after Menendez and 58% of NJ residents think he should not resign unless found guilty.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/04/republicans-give-bob-menendez-a-pass-116744.html?hp=t2_r

Called his office yesterday and told them that I thought he should resign for the good of the party (and because he is a total scumbag).

The number for his Newark office is 973.645.3030