Aaron Schock: "Hey, Michael Grimm Is A Great Guy"

Other than whining to Jay Leno about how Members are always getting into trouble, Boehner hasn't done anything about disciplining several of his own most blatantly corrupt Members, particularly Staten Island Mafioso Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm and Peoria bad boy Aaron Schock. Both are under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and Grimm is also under intense investigation on multiple charges by the FBI. And now it has come out that the two have been gaming the system and working around campaign finance laws to enrich their respective campaigns, Grimm to hang onto his blue-leaning seat, and Schock to buy his way up the House leadership ladder. Apparently Schock didn't ask another eager beaver closet case, former-Rep David Dreier, what the glass ceiling is like for a closeted gay man inside the House Republican Caucus before donating a cool one point one million dollars to the NRCC. Even though the money was obtained, at least in part, through Schock's criminal activities with Grimm, the desperate, cash-strapped NRCC has no intention of rejecting it.

Maybe Schock taught his criminal buddy Grimm to be nice to the gays. I haven't seen the NRCC send this one around yet, but Jared Polis sent sent out a press release today welcoming Grimm on as the 200th cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act:

“I am happy to welcome Rep. Grimm as the 200th cosponsor of the bipartisan Employment Non-Discrimination Act. This is common sense legislation that is supported by a majority of Americans and was passed overwhelmingly by the United States Senate. I look forward to working with Rep. Grimm and all of the co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle to pass this bill and protect all Americans from discrimination in the work place.”

Grimm is the sixth Republican to sign on as a cosponsor, following Charlie Dent (R-PA), Richard Hanna (R-NY), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chris Gibson (R-NY) and John Runyan (R-NJ). None of the Republican closet cases-- like Aaron Schock-- have had the guts to sign on. But the folks back in Peoria who are looking at Schock queerly these days aren't worried about his sexual hypocrisy but about his propensity to involve himself incorruption.

Just because something is unusual or appears shady doesn't mean it's against the law.

That's something critics of U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock-- and for that matter, every other member of Congress-- should keep in mind, and perhaps work to change, if "donor swapping" is that objectionable to the public.

Schock was among congressmen named last week in newspapers from New York to Peoria in stories about the practice. It appears to take advantage of a loophole in campaign finance law.

In 2010, the maximum legal donation an individual can give to a congressional candidate per election was $2,400. (Now, it's $2,600.) Including the general election and the primary, that amounted to $4,800. In donor swapping, a contributor who gave the maximum to Candidate A donates to Candidate B. Then, the Candidate B donor contributes an identical sum to Candidate A.

Apparently, this scenario took place with donors to Schock of Peoria and Michael Grimm of New York, a fellow Republican congressman. Neither representative has been accused of illegalities. But the FBI arrested a Houston woman who is alleged to have paid a donor $4,800.

"What you can't do is say, 'Hey, I'm going to give you five grand, now you make the donation,'" Schock said. "You can't give people money.

"If you want to make a donation, I can say, 'Hey, Michael Grimm is a great guy, Aaron Schock is a great guy.' That's what I do, and that's what many members of Congress do, many people in the political field."

Schock makes no secret of that tactic because it's legal. Both major political parties sponsor programs that foster it. The Democrats call it "Red to Blue." The Republicans call it "Young Guns."

Some people might call it a violation of the spirit of campaign finance law. That case can be made.

But donor swapping isn't going away unless a significant number of people are vexed enough about it to protest to their federal representatives. Given the level of apathy and low-information voting that seems to permeate our society, we're not holding our breath.

Yeah. Mikey Suits is a "great guy"… but he's no Adam Kinzinger, is he Aaron? It doesn't matter to Schock anyway. Even Republicans know gays throw the best parties and this morning Aaron was named chair the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual March dinner, the committee's biggest fundraising event of the year.

UPDATE: Grimm's Mobster Instinct Comes Out

Michael Scotto is a reporter for NY1. After the State of the Union last night, Grimm threatened to throw him off a balcony, hissing menacingly  "Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this fucking balcony… you're not a man. I could break you in half. Like a boy," I bet Boehner was happy he had turned down Grimm's request that he allow Members of Congress to pack heat on the floor! Bob Hardt, NY1 political director released a statement saying, "It is extremely disturbing when anyone threatens one of our reporters-- let alone a U.S. Congressman. The NY1 family is certainly alarmed and disappointed by the behavior of Representative Grimm and demands a full apology from him. This behavior is unacceptable."

"Great guy," right Aaron?

Finally A Post About Aaron Schock That Isn't About GOP Closet Cases!

"Will it play in Peoria?" means one thing for the rest of the country, but something a lot more personal for Republican Congressman Aaron Schock. Although Schock was born in Minnesota, his family moved to Peoria when he was in the 4th grade. He graduated from Richwoods in 2000 and from Peoria's Bradley University in 2002 and was serving on the Peoria School Board by the age of 19. By 23 he was the youngest school board president in Illinois history and the same year became the youngest member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing, of course, Peoria, which he shares with very conservative Democrat Cheri Bustos. He represents IL-18 and the biggest county in it is Peoria County, which he won last year with 72%. (At the same time, Obama won the county 51-47% over Romney.)

Schock is popular and well-liked in his district, although Club for Growth is trying to find a tea bagger to primary him. THeir Primary My Congressman website: "Aaron Schock likes to portray himself as a defender of economic freedom, but his record is not consistent with that portrayal. His website claims that he’s focused on “fighting the massive expansion of government spending and debt.” However, one of the first votes Schock took in the House was against cutting all of the spending projects from Obama’s failed $800 billion stimulus bill, joining only 43 Republicans. He voted for the August 2011 debt limit deal that gave Obama a $2.1 trillion increase in the national debt, and he’s been a consistent supporter of keeping Davis-Bacon wage requirements for federal projects, nothing but an anti-free market giveaway to big labor."

So far no teabaggers-- and no Democrat-- has setpped forward to take on Schock. He wasn't worried when he voted to shut down the government each time Boehner and Cantor brought it up. Tuesday the Peoria Journal Star came out loud and clear for a clean CR. They're a "it's both parties fault" kind of centrist paper but this time they're taking leaning very much against Schock's position.

There is an easy way to deal with this impasse. Both House and Senate can vote on a bill that addresses only one issue: funding for the federal government. Not ObamaCare. Not a medical devices tax. Not the health care program members of Congress themselves should be on. Not the Keystone pipeline. Not any other subject. All of those can be dealt with in their own, stand-alone bills, on their own merits without any consideration of the other clutter. How often have we heard over the years, from Republicans and Democrats alike, how much they hate it when members of Congress lard on these unrelated measures? Now is the time to be consistent. Now is the time to keep it simple.

We believe that a clean continuing spending resolution-- to fund the national parks so that veterans on an Honor Flight can see the World War II memorial before they die, to ensure people who need food stamps get them, etc.-- would pass the House, as it has the Senate, if Speaker Boehner would just call that vote. Until that happens, he, his chamber and his Republicans own this shutdown, no matter what talking points they've adopted to try to deflect the blame for triggering yet another unnecessary crisis.

If Americans can't be allowed this simple vote, well, the inescapable conclusion is that these members of Congress aren't serious about doing their jobs, in which case the honorable thing to do would be to resign to make room for others who are interested in governing.

And that includes Aaron Schock who has never appeared, even briefly, on any lists of mainstream Republicans ready to vote for a clean CR. The Democratic controlled legislature tossed every Republican they could find in central and western Illinois into Schock's district. With a PVI of R+11, it's one of only two Illinois congressional districts with a PVI above R+10. Obama didn't even get to 40% there in 2012 and had already lost to McCain in 2008. Aaron Schock feels immune from pressure, even from his biggest hometown newspaper. He will continue doing exactly what John Boehner and Eric Cantor tell him to do… and continue hoping no photos of him every show up online doing anything he shouldn't be with other boys.