"Congressman Kagen is a Pathological Liar" Sykes [originally posted at KagenWatch.com]

My instinct was good -- the execution was not. When I first heard Congressman Kagen's latest claim that his wife and Laura Bush are now close buds ["they converse, they go to tea together, they go to White House functions together"], I said to my colleagues on the KagenWatch blog 'let's call the campaign and demand to know exactly how many times Gayle Kagen has had tea with Laura Bush'. The response? 'Wouldn't go there Todd. She's the chair of the Freshman class spouse's hospitality committee. Chances are she has been to the White House for tea. Focus on the fact he's changing his story...again.' And the matter died. That is, until Mark Belling picked it up later that day...

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Here's a rough transcript of the call from WHBY in Appleton last week: "Host: Good morning. You're on the air with Congressman Kagen, Dorothy. Caller: This is Dorothy. Umm. I'm an undecided voter and I heard a rumor that and I'd like to know why, when you went to the White House representing the 8th district you embarrassed the 8th district by calling the first lady by the wrong name intentionally? Kagen: Well, many people will call the first lady by the wrong name because there are two President Bushes and Barbara and Laura is an easy mistake [ed. Notice he does not deny having done it.] Our wives get along fine. Laura and Gayle converse, they go to tea together, they go to White House functions together and no harm was intended and I certainly apologize for calling her the wrong name and I thank you for your question." It seems that Jessica McBride had the same funny feeling that I had. Congressman Kagen has a 'walter mitty-esqe' [h/t Jerry Bader] personality and is prone to self-aggrandizement. Think of the many times he said in the debate 'I authored a bill' -- unfortunately the average voter is too uninformed to know that saying 'I authored a bill' is about as impactful as saying 'I sent an email'. Here's the real story: 22 bills total, only 3 passed. 2 were resolutions, 1 was to rename the VA clinic in GB and the only one to make it out of the House was his bill to sue OPEC. Other than that no bill of his has passed out of committee, but to hear him tell the story in the debate, he's single handedly re-writing our nation's history... However, I digress. Jessica had the presence of mind to contact Sally McDonough. Jessica says "Basically, Sally McDonough, Laura Bush's press secretary, told me that Kagen and Laura Bush are NOT personal friends. I said, are they personal friends, and she said (on the phone), "No, they are not." She said that Laura Bush HAD invited Mrs. Kagen to "larger congressional social events" such as for congressional spouses. That's it. I then asked for a list of all events, and she emailed the following events in the email below after our call ended." Here's the list:

• Congressional Picnics in 2007 and 2008
• Coffee for Spouses of New Members of Congress in 2007
• Reception for New Members of Congress in 2006

LOL! There's not even a mention of TEA!!! That's a far cry from the impression giving in the audio -- that Laura and Gayle are BFF's [best friends forever in internet lingo] and hang out all the time... Mark Belling went nuts with it here about 2-3 minutes into the segment. Charlie Sykes didn't have Jessica's input when he went on air, but says "U.S. Representative Steve Kagen is officially indoctrinated into "Pathological Liars Anonymous"! in this on-air segment". Set aside your feelings about John Gard for a moment and dwell on the fact that the rest of the state think that Congressman Kagen and the people who vote for him are MORONS when they hear this stuff! btw, a friend of mine was in Nevada at a rally for Congressman Dean Heller last week. He says "I was at a McCain Rally at the Carson City NV HQ Friday night., Mitt Romeny, NV Lt Gov Krolicki, Congressman Heller, Actors Jon Voight, and John Ratzenberger where all stumping this area for McCain/Palin for days" and goes on to say "I told Heller that I was working to oust Kagen. This was his statement: "Kagen I know him, he's that doctor that always lies. He lies about everything, he's what you call, what's the word I'm looking for, (me, consumate) right. He's a consumate liar." So that is how he is seen by a colleague." As one of my fellow bloggers said "Kagen is the doofus that kissed a girl the night before and then in the locker room says it went much much farther than that." If these radio talk show hosts can spot it from all the way in Milwaukee, why can't the media and the people in the 8th Congressional District?