Or Maybe It’s the Hatch Act that Will Do Karl In

Pachacutec sent this in an email:

During the briefings at Treasury and Commerce, then-Bushadministration political director Ken Mehlman and other White Houseaides detailed competitive congressional districts, battlegroundelection states and key media markets and outlined GOP strategy forgetting out the vote.

Commerce and Treasury political appointeeslater made numerous public appearances and grant announcements thatoften correlated with GOP interests, according to a review of theevents by McClatchy Newspapers. The pattern raises the possibility thatthe events were arranged with the White House’s political guidance inmind.

What I find most, um, curious, is that the same Republican thugs are always at the center of each new scandal:

In the months leading up to the 2002 election, then-CommerceSecretary Don Evans, Bush’s former campaign finance chairman, madeeight appearances or announcements with Republican incumbents indistricts deemed by White House aides either as competitive districtsor battleground presidential states.

During the stops, he doledout millions of dollars in grants, including in two publicannouncements with Rep. Heather Wilson, a New Mexico Republican in acompetitive district.

Republicans ultimately regained control ofthe Senate and expanded their majority in the House of Representativesin the 2002 elections.

In 2004, Evans and his aides significantlyscaled back appearances with candidates, but an assistant treasurysecretary returned to New Mexico to announce with Republicans Sen. PeteDomenici and Rep. Steve Pierce the release of $2.5 million in economicdevelopment funds.

[snip]

In 2006, Evans’ successor, Carlos Gutierrez, and his aides also madepublic announcements with several Republican congressional incumbents,including in the battleground states of Missouri, Pennsylvania and NewMexico. Weeks before the 2006 election, Gutierrez and CongresswomanWilson announced $3.45 million in grants for Albuquerque organizations.[my emphasis]

And Heather Wilson wants to run for Senate?!?!?!

Or maybe the cover-up of Iglesias’ firing and these Hatch Act violations will just merge into one giant megascandal.