Rendell can't spin away Hsu

pittsburgh live dot com ^ | 9-32-07 | Bumsted

[doug from upland]

Rendell can't spin away Hsu

By Brad Bumsted STATE CAPITOL REPORTER Sunday, September 23, 2007

HARRISBURG Capitol observers were astounded when Gov. Ed Rendell called Democrat fundraiser Norman Hsu, a felon and then-fugitive, "one of the best 10 people I've met." They're likely more astounded now.

Rendell made the comment to The Philadelphia Inquirer; it became instant fodder for Capitol insiders. If Mr. Hsu is on the governor's Top 10 list, who else is on the list?

Incredibly, Rendell last week backed off the statement at his first Capitol news conference since the Hsu scandal surfaced. The governor threw in a heavy qualifier.

"First of all ... let me be clear: I said he was one of the 10 best people I've met in the field of political giving."

You've got to be kidding. Three weeks after one of the nation's leading newspapers quoted him on "best people" he now tries to correct the statement? Why didn't he ask The Inquirer for a correction or clarification the day it was published? Tom Fitzgerald, a top-notch Inquirer reporter, took the statement out of context? No way.

[doug from upland]

Hey, Ed, don't you think it is time to return 120K to Peter Paul that you hid from the FEC?

[sageb1]

Did you see my post here about Hsu’s attorneys?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1900785/posts?page=20#20

[Brad from Tennessee]

[ If Mr. Hsu is on the governor’s Top 10 list, who else is on the list?]

Ralph Natale, Joey Merlino and Michael Ciancaglini of Philadelphia.

[sageb1]

“”I want to hear him (Hsu) out; I don’t want to be one of the guys to pile on. Norman Hsu’s one of the best 10 people I’ve met. He raised money for me because he believes in all the things we’re doing and he never asked for a bloody thing — not a job, not a contract, not (even) to attend a wedding.””

Just because he didn’t ask for anything doesn’t mean he didn’t get anything. And I have my suspicions about his relationship with Hochberg and the gay lobby.

[Brad from Tennessee]

It sounds like the California prosecutor is serious about putting Hsu under the jail. The fact that Hsu fled from there in 1992 and then defrauded more people, has laundered campaign money right there in California, jumped bail a few weeks ago and has become a major news story, may have wet the DA’s appetite for blood.

[an amused spectator]

Hey, Rendell's not a criminal, because he's never been prosecuted...

Of course, Adolf Hitler was never prosecuted, either...

I guess this goes to show that you've got to subvert local government before you go on your crime spree...

[RatsDawg]

Granholm from Michigan took a lot of Hsu’s money too.

[Tribune7]

ping

[tiger640]

“First of all ... let me be clear: I said he was one of the 10 best people I’ve met in the field of political giving.”

.....

Can you say.........lame? Apparently “Fast Eddie” is not too swift, eh?

[doug from upland]

thanks.....interesting stuff

[doug from upland]

Here is a video clip of Horndog Ed at the event - http://www.dropshots.com/sivix#date/2006-09-13/16:20:11

[GOPJ]

Thanks for th e ping.