Last week brought a stunning development in Judicial Watch’s efforts to hold Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) accountable for sexually harassing Winsome Packer when they were both involved in the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Commission. (Hastings was the chairman and Ms. Packer was his employee). The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) has concluded there is “probable cause” to believe Hastings “violated House rules, standards of conduct and federal law.”

This conclusion came in a report issued to the House Ethics Committee on October 11, 2011, when the OCE referred the matter for further investigation. It was released to the public this week. The House Ethics Committee, for its part, announced it will continue its review of the case against Hastings as it seeks additional evidence.

Of course, this whole controversy was brought to light when Judicial Watch filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Hastings on behalf of Ms. Packer on March 7, 2011.

Ms. Packer alleges that Rep. Hastings subjected her to unwelcome sexual advances and touching over a two-year period when she worked for the Helsinki Commission. Ms. Packer further alleges that Rep. Hastings, with the assistance of Helsinki Commission Staff Director Fred Turner, retaliated against her when she rebuffed the congressman’s advances.

Here’s a squib from our original complaint detailing the allegations, which were validated by the OCE in its report:

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With the South Carolina Democrat Senate nomination going to no-job, no-money, living-at-home-with-mom Alvin Greene, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) is now calling for an investigation, hinting that Greene may even be a ‘Republican plant’.

There were some real shenanigans going on in the South Carolina primary. I don’t know if he was a Republican plant; he was someone’s plant.

While we applaud Congressman Clyburn’s attempt to maintain the integrity of the political process, where the hell was he last week…?

Stung by a series of inquiries, nearly half the members of the Congressional Black Caucus want to scale back the aggressive ethics procedures that Democrats trumpeted after gaining control of Congress.

Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, and 19 fellow black lawmakers in the all-Democratic caucus quietly introduced a resolution last week that would restrict the powers of the new independent Office of Congressional Ethics. The office, formed by Congress in 2008, is run by a panel of private citizens.

The message from Clyburn and others seems to be they want clean candidates coming in, who can get as dirty as they want later (and there will be no investigations to worry about).

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One thing our founding fathers could not foresee… was a nation governed by professional politicians who have a vested interest in getting reelected.  They probably envisioned a fellow serving a couple of hitches and then looking forward to getting back to the farm.” — Ronald Reagan

The energy of 1994 led to the Contract with America, and the huge Republican victory of that year.  It was a victory for Republicans, but was it a victory for America?

The Contract with America had an inherent flaw.  It was a political party bargaining with Americans:  give us power and this is what we will do for you.  The Freshmen 50 is different:  it is Americans telling the federal government what it will do.

We are citizen-candidates united on a platform of six simple and realistic reforms for our government:

• Apply the Law Equally: All laws that apply to all citizens also apply to Congress
• Term Limits: Limit terms in Congress to no more than 12 years in the House and Senate, respectively
• Enforce Congressional Ethics: Yearly tax and expense audits, former Congressmen and their staff cannot be lobbyists, allow the ethics committee to do their job
• Read the Bill: Prior to final vote, the entire bill must be read out loud on the floor of the House; if a representative is not present for the entire reading, he cannot vote
• Tax Reform: Repeal our current tax code in favor of one that taxes only once, at one rate, and require a 2/3-majority vote for any new tax
• Balance the Budget: Amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget

We are unique.

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Federal stimulus plan’s spending on roads and bridges has had no effect on unemployment, research finds; “Spend a lot or spend nothing at all, it didn’t matter,” the analysis showed as “local unemployment rates rose and fell regardless of how much stimulus money Washington poured out for transportation”

· “It beats being at work!” Federal Aviation Administration spent $5 million to send 3, 600 managers to a conference in Atlanta that some say was little more than an excuse to throw a three-week-long party

· Congress spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to send politicians and staff on a junket to the global warming summit that failed to reach a climate agreement

· “Stealth” company whose address appears to be an empty office to receive $9.2 million federal grant

· The Postal Service’s top marketing executive directed more than $1.3 million in sole-source contracts to former business associates; As a result, some postal employees are sitting idle because the consultants are doing what previously were their jobs

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