By Frank Antenori
August 28, 2007
Lesson 1: “No Controlling Legal Authority”
During the 1996 campaign, Vice President Gore made forty-five money-raising phone calls from his White House office. Gore claimed that there was "no controlling legal authority" that prohibited his shaking down donors from the Vice President’s office, although the statute that bans solicitations in and from federal offices, the Pendleton Act, had been on the books since 1883.Did he think the law lapsed once he moved into the West Wing or did Al Gore pioneer the Cheney defense by claiming his office wasn’t part of the Federal Government, long before Cheney's wasn’t part of the Executive Branch?
Of course Janet Reno's Justice Department sided with Gore, on the grounds that all his calls had been made to raise “soft” money for the DNC not “hard” money for Clinton-Gore. But when leaked notes of a 1995 fundraising powwow in the White House Map Room showed that both hard and soft money was to be raised; that Gore volunteered to make calls from his office; and that he followed the discussions closely, Gore denied having been at the meeting.
Then when Secret Service records showed Gore was actually present, Gore said he must have missed the “sexy parts” since he took so many bathroom breaks on account of all the iced tea he drank that day.
Janet Reno once again came to the rescue, deciding there was only "weak circumstantial evidence" that Gore violated Federal Law. Either she was blatantly covering up a crime or was too stupid to see what was happening in front of her nose.
And to think that Alberto Gonzales gets run out of town on a rail for his pathetic Senate testimony where he made a lame excuse for legally firing U.S. attorneys and Janet Reno covers up actual crimes and gets nothing but R-E-S-P-E-C-T from the media for her decision.
Lesson 2: Poor Monks = Big Money
In April 1996, Al Gore made a fundraising visit to the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif. The DNC got $65,000 and Clinton-Gore got $35,000 in illegal contributions "donated" by monks and nuns who had taken vows of poverty.When the media questioned the visit, Gore described it as "community outreach" - Again Gore didn't conclude, from the robes and the sign that read “Buddhist Temple”, that he might be in a religious establishment prohibited, by law, from making campaign contributions to parties or candidates. Maybe Gore drank too much green tea and had to pee again while the checks were being written.
Once again Janet Reno said no laws were broken by then VP Gore but after three of the nuns testified to Congress in 1998 that the temple reimbursed them and others for $55,000 in donations made to the DNC and Clinton-Gore, Reno was forced to investigate.
Rather than indict soon to be Presidential Candidate Al Gore of violating federal campaign finance laws, conspiracy and perjury, the Reno Justice Department drummed up six felony counts against Maria Hsia, a Taiwanese-born immigration consultant and Democratic fundraiser who steered Gore through his temple visit.
A Clinton appointed Judge later dismissed five of the six felony counts letting the conspiracy charge stand. Hsia was later sentenced by another Clinton appointee to 90 days home detention and three years probation.
Lesson 3: If it worked for Hubby it’ll work for me
In today’s Wall Street Journal, probably the last decent newspaper left in the country, is a headline: Big Source of Clinton's Cash Is an Unlikely AddressIn the article, Journal reporter Brody Mullins brings attention to another creative Clinton fundraising technique: Shake down the Mailman!
Mullins discovered an address on the FEC website that is one of the biggest sources of political donations to Hillary Rodham Clinton. The address, 41 Shelbourne Ave. in San Francisco, a tiny, 1280 sq ft, lime-green bungalow, owned by 64-year-old U.S. postal worker William Paw.
Paw, whose salary is less than $49,000 a year and lives with his unemployed wife have somehow managed to donate over $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005. That includes $45,000 donated to Hillary for her Senate and Presidential campaign funds.
The couple's four grown children have jobs ranging from account manager at a software company to "attendance liaison" at a local public high school. One is listed on campaign records as an executive at a mutual fund. All six Paws have contributed “the Max” of $4,600 to Hillary’s Presidential campaign.To add to the “mystery” the Paws' political donations closely track donations made by Norman Hsu, a wealthy New York businessman in the apparel industry who once listed the Paw home as his address, according to public records.
Mr. Hsu just happens to be one of the top fund-raisers for Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign.
Kent Cooper, a former disclosure official with the Federal Election Commission, said the two-year pattern of donations (by the Paws and Hue) justifies a probe of possible violations of campaign-finance law, which forbid one person from reimbursing another to make contributions.
"There are red lights all over this one," Mr. Cooper said.
Don’t you just love the hypocrisy?
Of course Clinton Inc. will probably protect Hillary from any air of illegal activity. Hiding in the bathroom seemed to work for Gore; maybe Hillary should start drinking tea. I can see Hillary running for the bathroom now! Run Hillary Run!
Frank Antenori is a retired Special Forces Soldier and a former candidate for the Republican nomination for Congress in Congressional District Eight.
21 comments:
Why rehash poorly research news articles when you can break the mold and explore some of the things the WSJ chose to ignore?
http://mediamatters.org/items/200708280016
Anon,
Media Matters? You’re kidding right?
Media Matters was started by the Center for American Progress (CAP).
Which by the way is run by former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta and CHIEF FUNDRAISER (Oh the irony!) Harold Ickes. It has been nick named the “Hillary Clinton Think Tank” because it has so many of the former Clinton policy wonks on its staff.
CAP was the brain child of none other than George Soros and Morton Halperin. Ha! Now there’s a fair and balanced guy, but it gets even better.
CAP helped launch Media Matters for America, a 501(c)(03) public charity better known for its Web site MediaMatters.org, which opened for business on May 3, 2004. Inasmuch as Media Matters aspires to serve as a media watchdog, monitoring “rightwing” journalists for errors and ethical violations, it is odd, to say the least, that David Brock has been appointed its President and CEO.
Brock is a former conservative journalist who defected to the Left amidst an outpouring of dramatic public apologies and confessions that he had BUILT HIS CAREER ON LIES, writing political hit pieces filled with flimsy evidence and outright fabrications.
Frank was dead on. Clinton Inc is in full swing.
How much is the Hildebeast paying you?
Frank, why don't you quit blowing smoke for attention!
Why does it always take ten pages of dialogue for you to make your point?
Put your motor-mouth to work to prove what YOU are all about!
Lynois,
It just so happens that I was at Borders in the Las Vegas airport this weekend, looking through book choices and was able to pick up a copy of "Roughneck Nine-One" that may be a good place to start if you wish to find out more about Frank. It is considerably longer than 10 pages, however, but I believe you can get it at Borders here in Tucson.
Other than that, Frank blogs here from time to time and he makes plenty of public appearances, even at the Democratic "Drinking Liberally" series.
Knowing Frank, I can pretty much state that he is one individual that doesn't have to "prove" anything to anybody. He has been there, done that, and published the book.
And indeed, if you wish to see more of Frank "doing something" I would suspect that you will not be disappointed in the near future.
Frank,
Tell us something new. Everyone knows the Dems don't follow the rules and only enforce them when they can beat on Republicans.
Everyone knows Hillary will do what ever it takes to win, even if she has to kill for it.
Frank,
If you like the WSJ, you'll LOVE the IBD. Check it out at http://www.investors.com.
Anon,
"Frank,
Tell us something new. Everyone knows the Republicans don't follow the rules and only enforce them when they can beat on Dems."
Fixed that for you.
What? You want to actually go after people comitting felony conspiracy, money laundering, campaign finance law violations and raqueteering charges when we have another queer Republican to lynch?
Get your priorities strait. Gay Republicans trump cheating democratic presidential candidates anyday.
Lets face facts:
Eighty percent of the money raised by the Clintons comes from equal opportunity corporate influence peddlers that give generously to the Republicans.
Case in point: Rupert Murdoch, Pharma, General Dynamics, and Oil.
What we have here is a failure to communicate.... both parties are serving corporations before citizens.
It's only August 07, and the orgy is beginning.
Imagine August 08.
Anon, yes, both parties serve corporations. Thanks to Lord Cheney, the US Government is a corporate whore. Cheney's companies get to go first.
x4mr,
Lets not forget the prostitues known as labor unions and whores from Hollyweird.
You're right it is an orgy.
One reason donations are required to be public is so people can dig ou issues like this.
I'm glad Clinton got called on it.
Hillary Clinton is one of the finest Republican women to ever join the Democratic party. Her policies and donors support this fact.
She is a Republican by other means, kind of like the Blue Dog Democrats and the DLC apparatchiks such as Gabby Giffords.
This is the face of the new Republican party. Run your smart candidates as Democrats and watch as the Republicans play Elmer Fudd vs. Bugs Bunny. The quicker rabbit always wins.
Eighty percent of both national conventions are paid by the same corporate cash.
The little people can argue about social issues like gay senators and crooked preachers as the money is already spent, invested and awaiting an ROI.
It seems the issue goes beyond Hillary. Dozens of Democrats have received money from this Paws - Hue money laundering scheme.
Mr. Hue is also a wanted Felon; to add to the developing story.
Of course this goes on, on both sides of the political isle, but I'm glad to see that candidates are being held accountable.
So much for the attempted smoke screen by Media Matters.
Last year, congressional candidate Frank Antenori was worked over by the Huffman/Kolbe/RNCC partnership, using much of the same money from the same donor list that Hillary feeds from.
Much of Kolbe's staff safely transitioned to Gabby Gifford's office.
Gabby is now both DLC and Blue Dog Democrat.
I don't think the Yosemite Sam wing of the local Republicans can match the hybridized threat that candidates such as Hillary and Gabby bring to the orthodox Republicans. They get the money mojo and can straddle between the divisions within while cutting the corporate cake in slices that appeal to the CEO class.
Imagine rehashing Al Gore's old stuff and ignoring Abramhoff's racketeering influenced corrupt organization: RNCC.
Wascally wabbits and maroons argue about the minor differences of the upper class Rs and Ds, while the rest of the world considers the USA to be bipartisan when it comes to manufacturing Walmarts, wars and failed nation states.
Ironic, yes?
Funny how liberal Democrats want to paint Hillary as moderate.
Hillary is a corporatist. That is neither liberal, nor conservative. That is the position of most Republicans, and a plurality of Democrats.
The corporatist values transactions over ideology, and economics over human rights.
Hillary is closer to Jim Kolbe, Jon Kyl and John McCain, than she is to say... Howard Dean or Raul Grijalva.
Remember what George Washington said about liberals:
"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."
We can safely count most Democrats and Republicans as being against the principles that George Washington assumed to be humane.
Americans have become comfortable with everything about fascism... except the word. We are more corporate than liberal, more fascist than humane and more lethal than peaceful. We are Americans. Not liberals.
anonymous, whoever you are, you are spot on. Pure, unadulterated truth.
The Gore part of this analysis so so old. These fund raising techniques have been obsolete for both parties since at least 2002.
The internet fund raising, the blogging advocacy and better grass roots networks have rendered Frank's analysis as being quaint, out of date, and biased for no real reason other than to trash Hillary and Gore. Remember, Hillary gets most of her cash from the same people as the RNCC. Pointing out some minor players and ignoring this makes the analysis less than succinct.
Frank - we are now in the 21st century, and the world of fund raising has changed. Hillary is getting trounced by small donors, and so are the Republicans.
Coincidence or conspiracy?
I enjoy the fact that some Republicans are revelling in the fact that Democrats are receiving a lot of money from corporations and the rich. They call it hypocrisy and some on the far far left worry, understandably, about corporatism.
What is driving these outcrys...the whining, bitching, and moaning that I hear on blogs...is that the GOP is losing its fundraising base. What was once a party supported by business has alientated these funders. They see very clearly what GOP insiders have done to the party of Reagan and Dole...they also see that the people they are going to be visiting for law changers are very unlikely to be GOP in the next go around.
This worries Liza. I can understand that...but I find it hilarious that GOP insiders are bemoaning the donations of business now.
Feeling rejected?
The shift in money from Republicans to Democrats underscores the corrupting influence of corporate cash.
A corporation is not an ENTITY, nor is it human. It is a contrivance to avoid liability and exploit the market and consumers.
It IS a license to steal. It makes thievery and irresponsibility legal.
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