http://voices.kansascity.com/node/7971

Massa's resignation another blow to reeling Democrats




Eric Massa


By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

U.S. Rep. Eric Massa made a bad week worse for the Democratic Party on Friday. He resigned, even as the House ethics panel looks into complaints he harassed a male staffer.

Pile Massa's woes on top of the scandal involving Gov. David Paterson and the problems of U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, and Democrats are reeling.

And this is just what's happening in the state of New York.

Nationally, Republicans are licking their political chops, ready to pounce in the fall elections in their bid to take back Congress. Or at least mount a serious effort to do so.

And even while the GOP and Republican National Committee continue to have their own problems, the Dems this week are suffering the biggest headaches.

While the Massa resignation news came Friday, Paterson remained close to resigning himself.

And for good reasons. He's under ethics investigation for his use of World Series tickets (another reason to hate the Yankees). But his biggest problem his alleged involvement in making sure a domestic violence case didn't go forward against one of his top aides.

Rangel's ethics also are under investigation in Congress, the culmination of years of questionable behavior by the New York Democrat.

But showing that you don't have to be in D.C. a long time for concerns about your moral qualities to show up, Massa's resignation will come before he's completed one term in office.

These are heady days for Republicans, as they watch the train wreck involving high-profile Democrats.

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AND:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/02/paterson-resignati




The political world in New York is buzzing that Governor David Paterson may be close to stepping down amid damaging revelations over the role he played in handling a domestic violence case involving a close aide.

The latest story in the New York Times on Monday evening detailed the extent to which Paterson personally directed state officials to contact the alleged victim has pushed the retirement question to the fore. On Tuesday afternoon, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said that Paterson should resign if the allegations are true: "But if at the end of the day, if all of the allegations of the abuse of power are true, then the governor will be unable to govern and he will have to step down."

Earlier on Tuesday, the governor reportedly convened a meeting with top Democratic officials in the state to ostensibly discuss state and party business. But the topic of impending ethics investigations and their impact on his political future invariably came up (though none of the attendees publicly called for a resignation). Days earlier, a group of prominent black leaders in the state, including Al Sharpton, Congressman Gregory Meeks, and Assemblyman Darryl Towns convened in New York City to discuss the circus erupting in Albany. The pow-wows aren't being held to rally sympathetic lawmakers to Paterson's defense. But rather to plot what, exactly, can be done moving forward.

"He has no constituency. No voting constituency or political constituency," said one well-connected New York Democratic fundraiser. "Plus, this story is not finished. More revelations are going to come out. At some point there will be an avalanche of people calling for his resignation. The question then is, who gets out ahead of this."

At this juncture, it is still very much an open question as to whether Paterson's decision to forgo reelection will be enough to calm the waters. The governor was widely considered ineffectual before the Times began exploring the seedier underpinnings of his reign in Albany. Now, it's difficult to see any legislative business forthcoming.

But it's not just state business at stake. There's also the issue of Paterson's legacy, whatever is left of it to salvage. A Democrat who has worked with the governor's staff insisted that the best course now -- perhaps the only course -- is for him to resign.

"He should convene a press conference, tell his side of the story, and bow out," the strategist said. "Although I think you can safely say far more New Yorkers and observers are now saying 'Who cares what his side is?'"

It's always good to see the power elites fall. Now we just have to get rid of the Repubs and Dems permanently, and it'll be all good.

And WHAT will replace the existing system ... ? Please don't tell me Ron Paul ...

This is the worst part of the problem finding some people who aren't corrupt .