Are The Democrats Eating Their Own ?

Massa Messes with the White House [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

A reader:

Obama asked Patterson not to run for governor. He refused and he has been destroyed. Massa was a no vote, and he has been destroyed.

Coincidence? I think not.

Remember during the Chrysler bankruptcy, recalcitrant bondholders were threatened that the full force of the White House press corps would be turned against them, should they not comply. Now we know what that looks like.


Could Massa Rescind His Resignation? [Daniel Foster]
He left the door open:

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.”

Well, it has certainly become that. Still, Massa also repeatedly said during his radio show that staying in Congress would mean the continuation of the House ethics panel investigation:
“That’s very kind of you, but understand what that means for me," Massa said in a response to a caller who suggested he not resign. “It means that a group of lawyers are going to try to rip me and my family limb from limb. And you’ve already seen it in the newspapers. … It’s a piranha feeding frenzy.”

In any event, we'll know by five.


The Naked Truth [Daniel Foster]

Another gem from The Eric Massa Radio Hour, this one on Rahm Emanuel taking a page out of LBJ's book and doing his bullying in the showers of the Congressional gym:

"I am showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me."

Audio of the anecdote over at RCP.


He's Resigning [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

I feel like I am watching a soap opera, but . . . Massa is apparently sticking with the resignation. Roll Call reports:

Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) will follow through with his resignation, scheduled to take effect at 5 p.m. Monday, his chief of staff confirmed.

Massa suggested to a New York radio station on Sunday that he could rescind his resignation after asserting that an ethics investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed an aide may have been orchestrated by Democratic leaders to get him out of office before the health care vote.

"The comments on the radio came from constituents calling in, saying, 'You should rescind.' And that's how that fire got fed. He addressed them by thanking them for the comments, but the resignation is still effective," Massa Chief of Staff Joseph Racalto said in an interview outside the New York Democrat's office in the Longworth House Office Building.