Mike Ross, you're a crook and a sleazebag.

Are you sure you're not a Republican?

Justin,

Whether or not he's done anything illegal, Mike Ross is clearly on the side of Pharma and the insurance companies. I'd like to see him canned sooner rather than later. But I'm amazed by the sloppy reporting on this.

So I have a suggestion for TPM. Since ProPublica and the AP aren't going to do it, would you mind talking to someone who can explain the following:

A) In Arkansas, the assessed value for property tax purposes is not the same thing as the market value at sale. The assessed value is almost always much lower than the selling price of a property. So reporting that the assessed value and the sale price are different sounds damning, but isn't. It's meaningless.

B) Our federal tax laws encourage the use of depreciation. If TPM doesn't know what depreciation is, ask your accountant. The depreciated value of a property, for tax purposes, is not the same thing as the market value at sale. Why, one can depreciate a property, for tax purposes, down to almost nothing, and then still sell it for a profit! This has only been going on for, I don't know, decades!

When the AP report you cite says that Ross "told the Internal Revenue Service the property was losing value" and that "during the nine years Ross owned the building, the record indicates, Ross depreciated its value on his taxes," he was doing exactly what was legal, customary, expected, and what you would do if the building were yours.

Trying to understand why this makes me so angry. I want Mike Ross out. But not this way. Not through sloppy reporting, ignorant innuendo and unsupported allegations of fraud. If you're going to investigate this sale, do it intelligently. Talk to somebody who understands tax law and real estate property valuation. And talk to somebody who understands how businesses are valued and priced when they are sold, especially pharmacies.

Maybe there is a problem here and if so, I hope you nail it. But I don't like it when people go after Chris Dodd this way, and I don't like it any better when an organization I trust goes after a politician I dislike in the same way.

If there's no there there, why does Ross immediately leap to the "left-wing conspiracy" canard?

Blue Dogs..they are such douche nozzle's.

And occasionally quite entertaining! ;)

I am growing increasingly tired of all the TPM readers who are willing to give Ross the benefit of the doubt in this case.

We all know that if the tables were turned, and there was even the hint of impropriety attached to a progressive congressman or presidential appointee or advocacy group, the right-wing noise machine would be blasting out their bullshit pronouncements demanding that an investigation/firing/defunding be accomplished immediately, if not sooner, and that the Democrats would be been all too eager to comply. Examples, as if I need to mention them: John Lewis, Van Jones, ACORN.

So-called liberals are so concerned that all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed before any kind of ruckus is raised about anything, no matter how important, while conservatives go off on even the slightest, most insignificant event, and force the mainstream media to legitimize their complaints. This is hardball, folks, and until the wishy-washy among you are willing to play as hard as the conservatives are playing, we will lose. Every. Single. Time.

Here's an indisputable fact: Mike Ross is trying to obstruct a major overhaul of health care in this country, an overhaul that will help innumerable people stay out of debt and deal with their health-care crises without fear of what it will cost them. He is being backed in this by health insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, one of the latter of which purchased his business for what seems to be more than the going rate. THIS GUY NEEDS TO BE NAILED. Why are you so afraid of being just as aggressive about things that matter as conservative are about things that they make up out of whole cloth? Jesus Christ, get some goddamn balls or just give up, and let the idiots take over this country and do whatever they want to it.

Enough is enough. The idiots are taking over, and the smart people are too concerned about getting their hands dirty.

"Rep. Ross Blames 'Left-Wing, Special Interest Conspiracy' For Pharmacy Sale Story"

Heres a left wing special interest conspiracy for you Mr Ross;
I will contribute to any organization that wants to Primary you with a Lib. I just sent a contribution to ActBlue to help them primary James Cooper of Tenn.