What the hell did he say?

Did you ever wonder why the U.S. Congress is one of the most reviled institutions in America? The members seem so decent, except, of course, for the ones who are in prison.
Some members are, of course, extremely interesting.
Take Alcee Hastings, who made news again this week.
His route to the House was circuitous, to say the least.
The story started in 1981 when Hastings was a federal judge in Florida. Out of nowhere, he was accused of what seemd like a clerical matter; he had inadvertently put a price tag on some of his judgments. The price tag in one case was $150,000 for a lenient sentence in a racketeering case.
The House, controlled by Democrats, impeached Hastings, also a Democrat.
The Senate subsequenlty convicted Hastings, who became the sixth federal judge ever ousted by Congress for corruption. The Senate could have barred him from federal office forever, but didn't do so.
In 1992, Hastings ran for the House, and won, joining the body that had cost him his judgeship. He's been there ever since.
This week, Hastings again made news. At a Jewish rally for Barack Obama in Florida, Hastings endorsed the Democratic candiate with these words: "If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever problem you have with Barack Obama then you damn well had better pay attention. Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through."
A transalator was not immediately available.