FBI IS ON A ROLL: FIRST DOOLITTLE AND NOW RENZI-- THE ARIZONA CROOK GETS RAIDED AND THEN RESIGNS FROM HIS COMMITTEE

It's about time, but the FBI has kicked into high gear on two long-pending cases against two of the slimiest of the Republican Culture of Corruption congressmen, John Doolittle (CA) and Rick Renzi (AZ). Doolittle details are at the link. Renzi's wife's business front for some of their dirty dealings was raided by the Feds yesterday. He was forced to resign from his Intelligence Committee seat immediately.

Renzi is well known as one of the slimiest and most corrupt members of Congress and he has been on CREW's "20 Most Corrupt Congressmen" list for many of his ethical lapses. Beyond the ethical lapses there has been some major criminal behavior, like funneling tens of millions of dollars into his father's defense contracting company, ManTech International, in return for contributions bribes.

Renzi has so many criminal activities going that no one has been sure which ones the FBI was honing in on. According to today's Arizona Republic it might not even one of the major ones. The Justice Department has been investigating Renzi for months, but the subject of the inquiry has never been made public. Media reports last fall gave conflicting versions, with authorities said to be looking into either a land swap involving a former business partner of Renzi or a Pentagon contract involving Renzi's father, a retired Army general."

One of the fired U.S. Attorneys, Paul Charlton, was axed by Abu Gonzo and Rove because he was investigating Renzi. An analysis of campaign fundraising in last week's Washington Post seems to indicate that Renzi knows he's unlikely to be running for re-election in '08.

Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), who is battling allegations about land deals under investigation, raised just $117,724 from Jan. 1 to March 31 -- which is about a third of the amount he raised in the same period two years ago. In addition, Renzi ended the quarter with just $80,561 in his campaign account, a sharp drop from the $441,704 he had in his war chest at this point in 2005.


Moreover, Renzi is still holds debts of more than $144,000, which means he has negative net balance in his campaign account. The bulk of that debt, more than $100,000, is to Patton Boggs, the law firm that is helping defend him from a federal investigation into allegations that he promoted a land deal that benefited a former business partner.

UPDATE: THE INSIDE DOPE ON AZ-01

I got a great primer on Renzi today from Joel Wright, a friend of mine who lives in the district (AZ-01). He says the FBI raid is "huge" news in Flagstaff, Prescott and the rest of Renzi's sprawling, mostly rural district. Last year's candidate was Ellen Simon and she did pretty well-- holding Renzi down to 51% of the vote. She didn't really get much traction with the corruption rumors because many voters considered her... well, Renzi's political opponent with an ax to grind. And the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, Paul Charlton slowed down the investigation-- at the insistence of Abu Gonzo and Rove-- for the duration of the campaign. So this raid yesterday was the first real public indication Renzi's sleaze; 'til yesterday it was just a rumor. "That means," writes Joel, "this is a psychic break for voters in this district, a district that is rural, the voters working class for the most part, honest, regular folk, and for them to see their congressman raided by the FBI, stepping down from the Intelligence Committee, well, there’s only one word to characterize how voters are going to feel about him now:
Embarrassed."
 

Oh my, is that a cardinal sin here. You can be an ass, a jerk, an ego maniac, politically ambitious, even ruthless, but do not ever, ever, ever embarrass the good people of this district. No, no, no, no, no! So, the raid et al is a huge, huge development here.
 
With that said, Ellen had a very tough road to hoe last time and it will be that way, for the most part, again. Even in a special election, which would enhance her chances, I think, because it would mean Renzi would have had to have stepped down. So, the Republican candidate would have to climb the mountain of sleazy association, in addition to making the case to be the new representative. Given the collapse of this Administration, Abu G, Iraq, a shit economy, a housing collapse that is particularly devastating to folks here (because a big part of the district economy is housing construction), global warming (water is the biggest issue for us), and on and on, the door would seem to be wide open for a Democratic pickup.
 
And it is. And it certainly is much wider open today than it was yesterday. No doubt. But, it’s a big but too, the door’s been open most every cycle since ’92. The problem has been, and still is, two-fold:
 
1.      Dem candidates. Mostly they’ve been weak campaigners, ineffective, dominated by Beltway idiot consultants who have no clue how to campaign and win here (the biggest single problem, BTW), uninspiring and, most often, all of the above. I am the first to say Ellen and her campaign were different last year. That is why she came fairly close to Renzi. She’s different; she worked hard. And I supported her in ways I was able and I will support her again and be willing to do whatever I can to help. But even Ellen, an outstanding person and a gutsy campaigner, is still going to be saddled with the dreaded "L word," the ACLU and, as Renzi hit on hard last year, her "association" with NAMBLA (The North American Man-Boy Love Association). A total Swift Boat smear, but it’s there nonetheless. Still, Renzi showed Republicans not be fearful of swift boating her (or anyone else for that matter). He didn’t pay the price for lying nor his other ruthless shit. Republicans noted that, trust me.

2.      This district is plurality Democrat in registration, by a small percentage, and most people identify as moderate, either Dem, Rep or Indy. That’s their initial inclination-- steady as she goes types. That’s what most Beltway polling shows Democratic candidates. Don’t rock the boat, keep it simple, talk about issues, health care, for example. The only problem with that is it’s campaign bullshit. Strategically brain-dead and a proven, proven recipe for disaster. Sheesh! Stuff I’ve done in this district, as recently as last year even, shows clearly voters support progressive ideas and with government help: solutions to the water crisis, wildfire protection, forest health, economic development of this narrowly-based economy, and on and on. In short, no Dem campaign has made the progressive case and voters want it to be made. They’re hungry for it, believe you me.
 
So, bottom line, we get crap campaigns run by Beltway idiots, generally speaking, saying nothing to anyone while Renzi and Republicans (JD Hayworth before him) literally slice and dice weak Democratic candidates to pieces. It’s incredibly sad and frustrating. And totally predictable.
 
Now, I believe Ellen, in a second go ‘round, is the most likely to change that pattern. She’s got experience here now; campaign experience. She’s got higher awareness. The November outcome was respectable. She’s poised, especially given Renzi’s now-public sleaze, to knock it down here. I believe she can do it IF she runs a smart and strong campaign. That means attacking, hard, relentlessly. I’d counsel to run a one-two punch campaign: hit the Republican, talk water, hit the Republican, talk fires, hit the Republican, hit the Republican, hit the Republican, talk honor, talk values, talk honesty, hit the Republican, hit the Republican, hit the Republican. Pretty much a cadence like that.
 
The final thing to note here is that AZ-01 is not a single geographic or cultural entity. It’s the size of Pennsylvania, I believe. One ofhe largest districts (in land mass) in the country. That means you’ve got at least six quite distinct areas of this district. Northern AZ is different from Casa Grande, down south. The Navajo Rezservation. Three/four other rez’s. Northern Gila county, where I live, is different from southern Gila county. Sedona is different from Camp Verde/Clarkdale/Jerome. Et cetera, et cetera. To win, a Dem must take these differences into account and, actually, exploit them. No campaign besides Karan English’s has been smart enough to do that effectively.
 
Tough road to hoe here, but entirely doable and, now, much more so, IMHO. I’m very hopeful today. Not so yesterday.

UPDATE: WHEN WILL RENZI RESIGN?

He can't even claim it's just the "librul media" out to get him. The front page of the Wall Street Journal, a paper even further to the right than Renzi, is carrying an article so damaging to his reputation that he should probably just cut the best deal he can right now and save himself and his constituents all the pain and anguish between now and the sentencing. Renzi tried to scam the world's two largest mining companies trying to mine copper in Arizona. "In exchange for supporting the bill, the local congressman, Rick Renzi, a Republican, insisted on something in return: He wanted Resolution [a joint venture between the two ming companies] to buy, as part of the land swap, a 480-acre alfalfa field near his hometown of Sierra Vista, according to documents and people involved in the deal. Resolution executives refused. For starters, they thought the land was overpriced, people close to the deal say. More troubling, they discovered it was owned by Mr. Renzi's former business partner, these people say. Resolution wasn't the only party troubled by the congressman's demands. His chief of staff resigned and began cooperating secretly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to witnesses and others close to the case. The FBI began a preliminary inquiry that was first reported in October, just before Mr. Renzi was elected to a third term."


UPDATE: GOP MOUTHPIECE, THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC SLAMS RENZI

Today's Arizona Republic took a big ole bite out of Renzi's hide. They explain the whole sordid investigation for their readers, although in the gentlest of manners, but end on an ominous note: "Renzi clearly has a great deal of explaining to do to his constituents as well as to investigators."