Politico: Traficant's in!

[bobbyw24]

Former Congressman and jailbird James Traficant will be running for his old Ohio congressional seat as an independent, according to CNN.

Traficant, who served as a Democrat in the House from 1985 to 2002 (and in the big house from 2004 to2006) casts the decision in terms of principle, but it was pragmatic, because he's got virtually no chance of winning a Democratic primary against incumbent Tim Ryan, a Youngstown Democrat.

"I will be running for congress … as an independent," Traficant told CNN's Kyra Phillips. "I have been a Democrat all my life, and quite frankly I am disgusted with both parties. I hate to say this. My father is rolling over in his grave, a truck driver."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0210/Traficants_in.html

 

[catdd]

Good for him.

 

[torchbearer]

fun!

 

[sofia]

Paul/Trafficante 2012?

 

[leipo]

Awesome.

 

[Elle]

Paul/Trafficante 2012?

NO!

 

[FrankRep]

What's James Traficant's voting record? It looks like he skipped every vote except one. Weird.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes.xpd?year=2002&person=400611

 

[Michigan11]

Traficant! LOVE IT

Let's get behind this guy and BJ Lawson... these guys have a shot at winning and cutting the bullship

 

[Elle]

James Anthony Traficant, Jr. (born May 8, 1941) is a former Democratic Representative in the United States Congress from Ohio (from 1985 to 2002). He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered around his hometown of Youngstown and includes parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington, D.C.,[1] and was released from prison on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence


Is this really who you want to support?

 

[ctiger2]

JT kicks ass. He speaks his mind freely and I respect that.

 

[Michigan11]

James Anthony Traficant, Jr. (born May 8, 1941) is a former Democratic Representative in the United States Congress from Ohio (from 1985 to 2002). He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered around his hometown of Youngstown and includes parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington, D.C.,[1] and was released from prison on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence


Is this really who you want to support?

There is alot more to his story then you think. He could have accepted a plea deal, and had a shorter sentence, yet he didn't. Research him a bit more, at first I was skeptical too...

His voting record wasn't perfect but he raised some hell while in office, and can shine some light.

 

[ctiger2]

He was expelled after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington, D.C.,[1] and was released from prison on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence


Is this really who you want to support?

Who wrote that, AIPAC? Lies

 

[Stary Hickory]

James Anthony Traficant, Jr. (born May 8, 1941) is a former Democratic Representative in the United States Congress from Ohio (from 1985 to 2002). He represented the 17th Congressional District, which centered around his hometown of Youngstown and includes parts of three counties in northeast Ohio's Mahoning Valley. He was expelled after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his aides to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and on his houseboat in Washington, D.C.,[1] and was released from prison on September 2, 2009, after serving a seven-year sentence


Is this really who you want to support?

Yea this Traficant guy is not a good guy. Why support this douche? Give me reasons why he deserves any support at all.

 

[itshappening]

the question is can he win? will they vote for him in his old district?

the republican should pull out

 

[OddballAZ]

Paul/Bachmann 2012

Traficant the director of the IRS, overseeing it's dismantlement!

 

[SelfTaught]

Traficant is badass.

All I've ever wanted was for there to be someone in DC that isn't afraid to ruffle more than a few feathers. That's why I am so interested in Schiff's campaign.

Traficant and Schiff would be a nightmare for the establishment. These guys give the facts, give it hard, and neither of them know how to shut up.

 

[lynnf]

look again

Yea this Traficant guy is not a good guy. Why support this douche? Give me reasons why he deserves any support at all.

he says he was railroaded, that the prosecutors forced false testimony against him with threats against the witnesses.

I know for a fact that our government has pulled these crooked methods to convict people with witness tampering.

remember the stir up about falsely convicted death-row prisoners where the prosecutors knew they were innocent but would not let them go in order to keep their conviction rate high?

remember: don't trust the government! (or their convictions)

in the meantime, bigger criminals run rampant in D.C. without charges

lynn

 

[BlackTerrel]

he says he was railroaded, that the prosecutors forced false testimony against him with threats against the witnesses.

Every man in Shawshank is innocent.

Here's just one reason I don't trust Trafficant. He also says they wanted him to die in jail. Here's the thing: getting a Congressman convicted for a crime he didn't commit is hard. Getting someone in prison killed is easy - will cost you about two packs of cigarettes and someone will shank him.

He just strikes me as someone who enjoy playing the victim. People here like him because he opposes Israel - that's about it from what I can gather.

 

[rp08orbust]

What's James Traficant's voting record? It looks like he skipped every vote except one. Weird.

Dr. N/A

 

[Anti Federalist]

Every man in Shawshank is innocent.

Not so much about Traficant, just a comment on the above, which I used to think too.

Then it became clear, after looking into death row releases of people wrongly convicted and seeing what a high percentage existed there, at the end of what is supposed to be the very best of the best of what the legal system has to offer, I've become convinced that yeah, you know, a good chunk of the those guys in "Shawshank" are innocent, just like Andy DuFreyne was.