Eric Massa has always never been one to shy away from tough language, which is one of the reasons he was able to gather so many grassroots supporters during his campaigns for Congress. As he prepares to leave Congress today admist sexual harassment charges, he is staying true to form and not going out quietly.
First, he is alleging a conspiracy by the Democratic leadership to force him out of office to pass the health reform bill:
"There's a reason that this has all happened, frankly one that I had not realized," Massa said on WKPQ radio on Sunday. "Mine is now the deciding vote on the health care bill, and this administration and this House leadership have said, quote unquote, they will stop at nothing to pass this health care bill. And now they've gotten rid of me and it'll pass."
Massa mentions Steny Hoyer:
"Steny Hoyer has never said a single word to me at all, never, not once," Massa said. "Never before in the history of the House of Representatives has a sitting leader of the Democratic Party discussed allegations of House investigations publicly, before findings of fact. Ever."
Hoyer's office denies the charge.
Massa also mentions Rahm Emanuel:
When I voted against the cap and trade bill, the phone rang and it was the chief of staff to the president of the United States of America, Rahm Emanuel, and he started swearing at me in terms and words that I hadn't heard since that crossing the line ceremony on the USS New Jersey in 1983. And I gave it right back to him, in terms and words that I know are physically impossible. If Rahm Emanuel wants to come after me, maybe he ought to hold himself to the same standards I'm holding myself to and he should resign.
This certainly isn't the first time that freshman members of Congress have accused the White House of bringing heavy-handed pressure on Progressives to fall in line. Other reports have come from Lynn Woolsey, and there is talk that one of the primary challengers Donna Edwards faces is being supported by Emanuel behind the scenes.
Then again, Massa seems to be making these allegations to save his seat:
Responding to a caller to his weekly radio show on WKPQ Power 105 FM, a recording of which was made available via the Web site of local station 13 WHAM-TV, Massa said: "I'm not going to be a Congressman as of 5 o'clock [Monday] afternoon. The only way to stop that is for me to rescind my resignation. That's the only way to stop it. And the only way that's going to happen is if this becomes a national story."
He isn't exactly taking a progressive position against the health reform bill, either, echoing Republicans about using reconciliation:
By the end of the show, Massa is saying that passing Health Care Reform via reconciliation will tear the country apart and that the only way to stop it from passing is to get his story (presumably the alleged plan to force him out of Congress) on to Fox News to let the public know what the Democrats will do to get the bill passed.
Massa also opened up about the sexual harassment complaint that led to his resignation :
"A staff member made an intonation that maybe I should be chasing after the bridesmaid," Massa said. He responded by saying, "Well, what I really ought to be doing is frakking you." He said the complaint came not from that staffer, but from another at the table.
Wow--Massa watches Battlestar Galactica. Massa apparently also had another unfortunate incident like this about twenty years ago.
As someone who actively supported Massa's campaigns in 2006 and 2008 through both significant fundraising and search engine optimization efforts, the whole situation just seems like a huge frakking mess that I don't want to touch. There is a whole lot of he said / she said going on here. My usual inclination is to believe charges of sexual harassment and strenuous top-down pressure on Progs to fall in line. However, Massa also has appeared to play both sides of the fence during his time in Congress, telling Progs he opposes Democratic bills for left-wing reasons while echoing a lot of right-wing talking points at the same time. His opposition to the housing bill was a pretty good example of this.
I had a lot of hope for Massa, and I am sad he is leaving Congress. That it turned into something this messy is particularly saddening.
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