Obama's First Blunder

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  • subterFUSE
    Gold Gabber
    • Nov 2006
    • 850

    Obama's First Blunder

    Next installment of the newletter.


    OBAMA?S FIRST BLUNDER
    By DICK MORRIS
    January 17, 2006 -- Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) made his first misstep a few days ago when he joined only a handful of Democrats in opposing a Senate reform banning the increasingly widespread practice of legislators hiring their family members on their campaign or PAC payrolls. Obama has not heard the last of this vote. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who opposes wives cashing in on their husbands? positions, voted righteously in favor of the reform and will probably use the Illinois senator?s vote against him in the presidential primaries.
    When a legislator hires his or her spouse on the campaign or PAC payroll, he is effectively converting contributions to his campaign committee into personal income that flows into the family?s checking account, blurring the line between contribution and bribe.
    In the past, senators and House members routinely hired their spouses and other family members on their public payrolls. In the early 1940s, for example, Harry S. Truman hired his wife, Bess, to work on his Senate staff. She got $2,500 a year in salary at a time when senators themselves only earned $8,500. But nepotism on the public payroll is now banned. So inventive congressmen and senators have filled the void by hiring family on their campaign or PAC payrolls.
    Hiring family members and paying them with campaign donations is, if anything, more pernicious than doing so with public funds. Where tax money is involved, the sin is against the taxpayer for wasting his funds. But where campaign contributions are involved, the congressman is profiting personally from the largesse of special interest donors. In plain English, that?s a payoff.
    There is, of course, a certain hypocrisy in the Senate action since very few senators, in fact, hire their families on their payrolls. It is, though, widely practiced in the House of Representatives, where 30 members have their families on their payrolls. But senators are much less likely to do so. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who voted "present" on the reform, hired her son, Douglas, a lobbyist, to manage her PAC, paying him $130,000 over a four-year period. Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, then a Democrat, hired his son, Matthew, for $34,000 and his daughter, Rebecca, for $36,000 to work on his 2004 presidential campaign.
    So the congressional ethics reform of 2007 boils down to this: The House banned the use of corporate jets but the Senate did not, even though senators are more likely to avail themselves of the luxury than is the average House member. The Senate banned hiring family members but the House did not, even though House members are far more likely to hire their significant others to work for them.
    Obama?s inexplicable pro-nepotism vote may have been cast in sympathy with Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), whose hiring of his wife, Sandi, to work on his campaign prompted an FEC ruling allowing the practice. Jackson might be afraid that the Senate action will catalyze a similar reform in the House, which could cut way back on his disposable family income.
    But whatever the reason for his vote, Obama has screwed up. The public will not take kindly to a senator who pledged to clean up the political process voting to allow wives to be hired with special-interest campaign funds.
    The FEC required, in allowing the practice, that the contract for the services of the family member contain the language customarily used between campaign committees and consultants. The FEC also ruled that any payment to a family member in excess of the fair market value of the services would be considered to be a "personal use of campaign funds."
    But, as usual, the FEC has missed the point. Any payment from campaign money to a spouse is, in fact, an appropriation of campaign funds by the member of Congress for his own personal use, however camouflaged or disguised. The Senate was right to ban the practice and the House should follow suit.
  • 88Mariner
    My dick is smaller
    • Nov 2006
    • 7128

    #2
    Re: Obama's First Blunder

    Obama is in the spotlight now to keep Gore out of the race. Which means its a dead lock for shillary
    you could put an Emfire release on for 2 minutes and you would be a sleep before it finishes - Chunky

    it's RA. they'd blow their load all over some stupid 20 minute loop of a snare if it had a quirky flange setting. - Tiddles

    Am I somewhere....in the corners of your mind....

    ----PEACE-----

    Comment

    • runningman
      Playa I'm a Sooth Saya
      • Jun 2004
      • 5995

      #3
      Re: Obama's First Blunder

      Obama will be like a fart.. he's pretty stinky right now but he will fade.

      Comment

      • Lorn
        Looking for a title!
        • Sep 2004
        • 5826

        #4
        Re: Obama's First Blunder

        Originally posted by 88Mariner
        Obama is in the spotlight now to keep Gore out of the race. Which means its a dead lock for shillary
        Interesting. You might be right.

        Comment

        • 88Mariner
          My dick is smaller
          • Nov 2006
          • 7128

          #5
          Re: Obama's First Blunder

          of course i'm right. Gore's vote could really take down shrillary, he's got her beat on many, many things. Notice how we're slowly finding out about the problems from Obama's past?

          Compliments of the Shrillary camp.

          And guess what!

          When Gore doesn't enter the race, and Obama steps down (after it's too late for Gore to join the race that is)...guess who's going to be nominated for the VP position?


          He'll be castrated just enough to show he's not the person for the Democratic nomination...but not enough to give the moderate democrats a reason to not stand for him as a VP.
          you could put an Emfire release on for 2 minutes and you would be a sleep before it finishes - Chunky

          it's RA. they'd blow their load all over some stupid 20 minute loop of a snare if it had a quirky flange setting. - Tiddles

          Am I somewhere....in the corners of your mind....

          ----PEACE-----

          Comment

          • 88Mariner
            My dick is smaller
            • Nov 2006
            • 7128

            #6
            Re: Obama's First Blunder

            https://www.intrade.com/aav2/trading...wExpired=false#

            check it out....
            you could put an Emfire release on for 2 minutes and you would be a sleep before it finishes - Chunky

            it's RA. they'd blow their load all over some stupid 20 minute loop of a snare if it had a quirky flange setting. - Tiddles

            Am I somewhere....in the corners of your mind....

            ----PEACE-----

            Comment

            • Lorn
              Looking for a title!
              • Sep 2004
              • 5826

              #7
              Re: Obama's First Blunder

              Originally posted by 88Mariner
              of course i'm right.
              I wouldn't presume.

              Comment

              • 88Mariner
                My dick is smaller
                • Nov 2006
                • 7128

                #8
                Re: Obama's First Blunder

                we shall see.....
                you could put an Emfire release on for 2 minutes and you would be a sleep before it finishes - Chunky

                it's RA. they'd blow their load all over some stupid 20 minute loop of a snare if it had a quirky flange setting. - Tiddles

                Am I somewhere....in the corners of your mind....

                ----PEACE-----

                Comment

                • Lorn
                  Looking for a title!
                  • Sep 2004
                  • 5826

                  #9
                  Re: Obama's First Blunder


                  Comment

                  • runningman
                    Playa I'm a Sooth Saya
                    • Jun 2004
                    • 5995

                    #10
                    Re: Obama's First Blunder

                    I mean it is pretty obvious what is going on.. Giuliani is going to win the Race because he is going up against a Black guy or Hillary..

                    Comment

                    • thesightless
                      Someone will marry me. Hell Yeah!
                      • Jun 2004
                      • 13567

                      #11
                      Re: Obama's First Blunder

                      i just pray that hillary dies. i dont care how, just that she dies, preferebly in a lot of pain. like internal bleeding.

                      and rumsfeld too.
                      your life is an occasion, rise to it.

                      Join My Chant. new mix. april 09. dirty fuck house.
                      download that. deep shit listed there

                      my dick is its own superhero.

                      Comment

                      • alexfish333
                        Gold Gabber
                        • Jul 2004
                        • 966

                        #12
                        Re: Obama's First Blunder

                        Originally posted by thesightless
                        i just pray that hillary dies. i dont care how, just that she dies, preferebly in a lot of pain. like internal bleeding.

                        and rumsfeld too.
                        Holosound@Vertigo in Costa Rica Streaming Video and Audio http://livestream.com/urbanettv/vide...8-c5911280cf91




                        Part of the weekend never dies...

                        Comment

                        • thesightless
                          Someone will marry me. Hell Yeah!
                          • Jun 2004
                          • 13567

                          #13
                          Re: Obama's First Blunder

                          she aint bad, she is just married to an idiot. ask christina what it feels like.
                          your life is an occasion, rise to it.

                          Join My Chant. new mix. april 09. dirty fuck house.
                          download that. deep shit listed there

                          my dick is its own superhero.

                          Comment

                          • toasty
                            Sir Toastiness
                            • Jun 2004
                            • 6585

                            #14
                            Re: Obama's First Blunder

                            Originally posted by runningman
                            Giuliani is going to win the Race
                            If he gets the nomination, you might be right -- that will be the tough part, though. Too liberal on social issues for many conservatives.

                            Comment

                            • Lorn
                              Looking for a title!
                              • Sep 2004
                              • 5826

                              #15
                              Re: Obama's First Blunder

                              Just have to ram rod him through.

                              Comment

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