Remember All of Those Promises Democrats Made in 2006-Part II

I have continued to research the promises that were made by Democrats in 2006. Many of these promises were at the very cornerstone of why they won both Houses. During this Presidential campaign, both politicians are making promises. It's what they do. However, it was the Democrats who came into power promising change and for that reason, I am giving an update on where they stand today.

The second major area that the Democrats made promises in was to be the most open, honest, and ethical congress in history. This should be a bi-partisan issue. There is no one in this country that isn't sick of the corruption on both sides that continue to taint our government. Here were their promises in 2006:

We'll Be More Honest, Open, and Ethical Than Republicans Were:
In a press release in 2006, Nancy Pelosi stated, "This leadership team will create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in History."

Congressman William Jefferson-On June 5, 2007, he was indicted by a federal grand jury on 16-counts including bribery. It was also reported that during Hurricane Katrina, Rep. Jefferson took Louisiana National Guard away from their duties to check on his property in New Orleans.

Congressman Charles Rangel-Head of the House Ways and Means Committee failed to pay taxes on a resort property in the Dominican Republic. Until this past week, he was also illegally using the Congressional garage to store a car of his with expired tags and registration. He finally had it towed away after photos in several newspapers.

Senator Chris Dodd- Received a "sweet-heart" deal mortgage from the CEO of Countrywide. (See my earlier blog for details)

Senator Kent Conrad-Received a "sweet-heart" deal mortgage from Countrywide (See my earlier blog for details)

Is this what they call Honest and Ethical? Can you imagine what their vision of dishonest and unethical would look like. None of the members were brought up on any ethics violations.

No Swapping of Earmarks for Votes: In the Democrats House Rules Package, they state that there will be not be any promise of earmarks made or threatened against any member in order to secure a vote on any bill. In May 2007, John Murtha threatened Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan of stripping any funding for his home district after Rogers pushed for the elimination of a government center in Murtha's district. This was a blatant violation of the House Ethics Rules. On May 22, 2007, the Democrat Leadership killed a reprimand of John Murtha for his ethics violation. Only two democrats voted to reprimand Murtha.

Sever Links Between Lobbyists & Legislation: Head of the Senate Banking Committee, Chris Dodd, ranked number one in donations from both Fannie/Freddie and AIG. ($165,400 & $281,400). Senator Chuck Schumer, also a member of the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Finance Committee ranked number two in donations from AIG ($116, 400). Who ranked number two in donations from Fannie/Freddie? That would be Senator Barack Obama with $126,349 in total donations. Both parties received money from these organizations, that cannot be disputed, but it was the Democrats who made the promise of change in 2006.

Again, I only ask you to look at these promises because they, and Barack Obama, continue to make promise after promise that they have not kept. There are really great men and women serving in the House & Senate in both parties. However, the leadership of the Democrat party have taken and continue to take the party further to the left and refuse to work across the aisle. Will Barack Obama keep any of these promises or will he follow in the foot-steps of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid?