Make your Mark
Golly! What to make of Mark Siljander, a Republican former Congressman from Michigan, who was indicted on 42 counts of everything from money laundering to obstructing justice. The indictments stem from his involvement in helping an Islamic(!) charity raise over $130,000 that eventually found its way into the hands of known terrorists.
I take a special interest in this case because I remember when Siljander was the Congressional Representative from the district I lived in when I was growing up in Michigan. I wasn't old enough to vote through most of the 1980's, but I remember my parents ranting and raving about what an absolute moron Siljander was. Just what kind of a religious zealot is Siljander? An article that appeared in TIME in 1981 quoted him as saying, "I'm part of the silent majority that was heard Nov. 4 [when President Reagan was elected]... My support comes from morally concerned citizens who are sick of the situation in this country." The article also said that Siljander pledged to battle the Equal Rights Amendment, pornography, abortion, school busing and "big spending." It said that he would champion the neutron bomb, the MX missile and prayer in public schools.
A pro-lifer who championed the neutron bomb. Priceless.
A very distraught (conservative blogger) Debbie Schlussel, laments the fall of her one-time boss and mentor. After a somewhat tortured-sounding recounting of her past involvement with Siljander, she opines that, "I think this was about money. Since he lost his Congressional seat, he was hard up for money and was involved in many failed business ventures, including an AIDS-Test-By-Mail." An AIDS-Test-By-Mail? What could have gone wrong there? She says that, "desperation and money do bad things."
I'm waiting for the Republicans to spin this one away. You know, Siljander's misdeeds were Bill Clinton's fault.
Comments
Republican congressmen's misdeeds aren't Bill Clinton’s fault. They're dismissed with the standard trotting out of the list of Democratic congressmen's treasons. Where's the outrage?
Posted by: Newton | January 17, 2008 12:06 PM
Huh? What "Democratic congressmen's treasons"? I haven't seen any trials for treason recently. But maybe I missed something.
Posted by: Mike | January 17, 2008 1:19 PM