Posted on 01/11/2002 9:12:14 PM PST by Doctor Raoul
ENRON – WHAT’S GOING ON?
Do you want an 60-second rendition of just what all this Enron stuff is all about?
OK .. here you go.
Enron was the nation’s seventh largest corporation in terms of revenue. Enron would buy natural gas and electrical energy from producers and re-sell those commodities to distributors and consumers. Enron was apparently cooking the book. Enron was heavily in debt, but the debt was hidden in various partnerships. Eventually the house of cards caved in and Enron tanked. Many Enron employees and investors literally lost most of their life savings.
Enron’s connection to President Bush? The corporation and it’s top official contributed heavily to Bush’s various political campaigns. Also – when the financial cave in began at Enron some Enron officials had meetings with Bush Administration officials seeking help.
That’s just about it. This is the synopsis for the “scandal” that many in our wonderful news media say could be “as big as Whitewater.”
So, you want to compare Bush/Enron with Clinton/Madison Guaranty and the Whitewater scandal? Fine! Let’s go for it. For starters:
•Can you show me any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, that George W. Bush or anyone working for George W. Bush did anything to help Enron hide its financial misdeeds?But, you say, Enron talked to Bush officials when they knew they were in trouble? So? Didn’t airline representatives talk to both Republican and Democratic officials in Washington when they found themselves in trouble? Didn’t Chrysler make a trip to Washington decades ago when it hit some rough roads? It’s pretty much standard practice for huge corporation to go to Washington when the going gets rough. Sometimes you see a bail-out as you did with the airlines and Chrysler. Sometimes the corporate officials learn that they are going to have to go it on their own.•Can you name one Bush family member who received money from Enron for professional services – as an attorney, for instance?
•Can you show any loans to George W. Bush or any of his family members from Enron or from any of Enron’s principals?
•Can you show that George W. Bush invested in Enron and that that investment was subsequently protected by Enron officials when the financial picture started to fall apart.
• Can you provide me with any evidence that any administration official, from Bush’s years as Governor of Texas or since he became president, has taken any action whatsoever to prevent, stall or impede an investigation by any government regulatory agency, either state or federal, into the financial affairs of Enron?
•Can you provide any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, of any sexual relations between George W. Bush and any officer or the wife of any officer of Enron?
•Can you produce evidence that either Enron or any Enron official ever made payments on any promissory obligation of George W. Bush or any member of his family?
• Can you introduce any evidence that George W. Bush, or any member of his immediate family, ever participated in the preparation of any legal documents drawn for the sole purpose of defrauding the federal government?
•Can you show that either George W. Bush or any member of his administration or his immediate family has lied, whether under oath or not, about any aspect of his relationship with Enron or any Enron officials?
•Can you provide me the name of any Enron official who is presently serving time in jail for contempt of court for his or her refusal to answer questions under oath about the role of George W. Bush or any member of his family or administration in dealings with Enron?
• Can you show me that any pertinent documents relating to Enron, which documents were once in the possession of George W. Bush, any member of his immediately family or any administration official has been destroyed, lost, shredded or otherwise disposed of?
•Explain just why there is so much criticism of George W. Bush over the Enron debacle while Enron is being represented in Washington by Bill Clinton’s former attorney.
Democrats and Clinton-lovers are just salivating on this one. They are trying to convince the myrmidons that Enron is Bush’s Whitewater. As you can see from the list above, this is a tough play to run. It doesn’t matter, though, because the vast majority of people in this country – including most Democratic voters – don’t have the intellectual curiosity to delve into the situation. They’ll believe what their favorite politician says – or what they hear from their favorite news anchors – and that will pretty much be it.
If there’s any fraud, criminal conduct or ethical violations here … show me the proof. I’ll be right there with you demanding appropriate action.
Don't forget, Long Term Capital Management. This is a company that was on the verge of collapse, and the Clinton administration went in there and bailed them out on the advice of Robert Rubin."
Can anyone find more on this and post it as a new article?
And yet, you know *damned* well that had the administration instead taken the steps necessary to keep Enron from hitting bottom, Waxman would be screeching like a little schoolgirl about "corporate welfare", "Bush helping his cronies in the oil business", "spending public money to pay off big contributors", blah, blah, blah...
The man makes me want to puke.
That is the crux of the biscuit! Jennings, Rather and Brokaw will push the “bigger than Whitewater” schpiel to the hilt, offering no proof of wrong-doing.
The dems will do their best to form a council with the goal of throwing out as much innuendo as they can against the Bush administration.
It's all they got and they will push it as far into 2002 as possible.
With a dumbed-down electorate, a liberal media, a recession and a 2002 election ahead... it's a win-win situation
It doesn't matter if there is nothing there.
The idea is to get everyone talking about it. The ENRON/BUSH connection is permantly installed in people's minds. The arguments against, are not.
Clinton's tactic ("This is old news") is the way out of it. Defense (by providing proof) is a loser - it plays into their hands.
They'll do the same thing on the deficit.
Want to know where they're going? Look for clues on the front page of the NY Times each day.
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