Something's In The Air

QUESTION: When is a shitstorm not a shitstorm?

ANSWER: When it is brewing right under the nose of the MSM.

Oh yes. There is something nasty in the air. It leaves a greasy tang inside your nostrils if you walk through the foul mist emanating from the White House. Maybe Obama's gotta cut back on Michelle's sewer-enriched collard greens.

From Jeffrey Lord in the American Spectator:

A bombshell has just exploded in the 2010 elections.

For the second time in five months, the Obama White House is being accused -- by Democrats -- of offering high ranking government jobs in return for political favors. What no one is reporting is that this is a violation of federal law that can lead to prison time, a fine or both, according to Title 18, Chapter 11, Section 211 of the United States Code.

The jobs in question? Secretary of the Navy and a position within the U.S. Agency for International Development.

If it gets any worse they'll have to hose down all the tourists walking by the White House. The press corps will be forced to wear HazMat suits. On second thought, never mind about the press. They're part of the stink.

The favor requested in return? Withdrawal from Senate challenges to two sitting United States Senators, both Democrats supported by President Obama. The Senators are Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Michael Bennet in Colorado.

On Friday, Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak, the Democrat challenging Specter for re-nomination, launched the controversy by accusing the Obama White House of offering him a federal job in exchange for his agreeing to abandon his race against Specter.

There's the one senate race in PA the White House tried to fix. But our bad boy wasn't done. There's another load he was grunting out across the country in Colorado.

[...]In the Colorado case, the Post reported that while Romanoff refused comment on a withdrawal-for-a-job offer, "several top Colorado Democrats described Messina's outreach to Romanoff to The Post, including the discussion of specific jobs in the administration. They asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject."

The Post also noted that the day after Romanoff announced his Senate candidacy, President Obama quickly announced his endorsement of Senator Bennet.

The discovery that the White House has now been reported on two separate occasions in two different states to be deliberately committing a potential violation of federal law -- in order to preserve the Democrats' Senate majority -- could prove explosive in this highly political year. The 60-seat majority slipped to 59 seats with the death of Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democrat, and the election of Republican Senator Scott Brown. Many political analysts are suggesting democrats could lose enough seats to lose their majority altogether.

That's one hell of a job you're doing there, Skippy. And from Our Big Giant Book of Federal No-No's, here is the money quote:

18 USC Sec. 211

Bribery, Graft and Conflicts of Interest: Acceptance or solicitation to obtain appointive public office

"Whoever solicits or receives … any….thing of value, in consideration of the promise of support or use of influence in obtaining for any person any appointive office or place under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."

One subpoena, two subpoena, three subpoena, four...