Posted on 05/09/2006 10:44:34 AM PDT by Rebelbase
Alphonso Jackson says deal was scuttled after contractor admits not liking Bush.
Once the color barrier has been broken, minority contractors seeking government work may need to overcome the Bush barrier.
That's the message U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson seemed to send during an April 28 talk in Dallas.
Jackson, a former president and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, was among the featured speakers at a forum sponsored by the Real Estate Executive Council, a national minority real estate consortium.
After discussing the huge strides the agency has made in doing business with minority-owned companies, Jackson closed with a cautionary tale, relaying a conversation he had with a prospective advertising contractor.
"He had made every effort to get a contract with HUD for 10 years," Jackson said of the prospective contractor. "He made a heck of a proposal and was on the (General Services Administration) list, so we selected him. He came to see me and thank me for selecting him. Then he said something ... he said, 'I have a problem with your president.'
"I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'I don't like President Bush.' I thought to myself, 'Brother, you have a disconnect -- the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn't be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don't tell the secretary.'
"He didn't get the contract," Jackson continued. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."
Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said canceling a government contract due to political views "is not a door you want to open."
"Whether or not it's legal, it certainly draws your judgment and the judgment of your office into question," Jillson said. "It's just not the tone you want to set."
Told of Jackson's comments, Mary Scott Nabers, a government-contracting consultant in Austin, had a briefer initial reaction. "Oh, my goodness gracious," she said.
Hearsay.
I don't believe the story either. There's something more to this.
The contracts don't belong to a company led by Bush. Bush is the selected administrator of the executive branch, but the contracts are awarded by the United States of America, not the President as an individual.
If the guy said "I hate America", that would be a different story.
There are rules about federal contracting, and none of them require an oath of allegiance to the man serving in the White House.
WELL he IS the President.....
The government is supposed to serve the people, not the President or elected officials.
He gave "different" kinds of contracts to his enemies.
'I have a problem with your president.'
What an incredibly dumb thing to say! Amazing! "Give me a job. I hate your boss." I'm just sittin' here shakin' my head. That guy's too dumb to be in business!
actually the contractor should have kept his mouth shut.
Seems like he is a trouble maker and not someone you would want to do work for you regardless. I question the validity of the encounter.
Remember we are only having the view of the complaining democrat who was rejected.
This is fine.
"He didn't get the contract," Jackson continued. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."
This is wrong, assuming it is a remotely accurate quote. Not reprimand wrong...firing wrong.
Actually, it appears that it's Jackson boasting about this, and not the guy who who got his contract circular filed.
What a concept.
A CONRACTOR WHO LIES!
GASP!
sacasm off.
It works that way also.
As if Coca-Cola would award an advertising contract to someone who fessed that they hated the management of Coca-Cola and/ or detested Coca-Cola products?
Might be just a tad conflict of interest.
"As if Coca-Cola would award an advertising contract to someone who fessed that they hated the management of Coca-Cola and/ or detested Coca-Cola products?"
What part of Coke is a private corporation and HUD is a public agency don't you understand?
Agreed. I suspect most vendors could count on not getting a contract if they started negotiations with "I hate your CEO".
He lost the contract because he was a idiot.
Playing this out like it was some kind of freedom of speech angle is also completely stupid.
If the secretary did in fact say this, the President would unload him immediately. It just does not square with the character of this administration.
It is intended to set up another "avenue of investigation" on the chance the Democrats regain power...and to gently pitch them a "evidence" that they can use to "prove" corruption.
I would put money on the fact this is complete and utter BS. I would say that the majority of career bureaucrats working for the President don't like him simply because he holds them to a standard to which they are unaccustomed, and he hasn't fired them.
Right you are!
So, I go into see Henry Cisneros at HUD back during the first Clinton term and tell the secretary that I think Clinton is a jerk...does anyone really think that Cisneros would give me a govie contract? Of course not.
The SMU prof mentioned in the article is an idiot - and NOT a politican. How does that boob think NASA headquarters found its way to Texas? By using a AAA Trip-Tik?
This prospective contractor was, for all intents and purposes, being interviewed by the HUD director for the opportunity to perform work on behalf of the USA.
He failed the interview when he opined about (1) "your boss" and (2) his political position. Neither of these would be a requirement for the work. Since he offered them up in the context of this "interview", he manifested a large degree of just plain "stuck on stupid" and a propensity to "shoot off his mouth".
Opportunity wasted. The HUD guy was justified in not promoting this agency for the contract.
ofcourse we shouldnt even have a HUD
There's a difference between Coke and the US Government. I drink Coke, but I don't eat government cheese.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.