Democrats: Don't Gloat About Enron

CNN ALLPOLITICS ^ | January 7, 2002 | Michael Weisskopf

[Lady In Blue]

As Congress gears up for hearings on Enron's $60 billion collapse, some Democrats are savoring a chance to investigate links between the company and its many G.O.P. friends in the White House and Congress. But the scandal may wind up tainting Democrats as well. Florida's state pension fund, which lost $325 million on Enron, is examining, as part of a broader inquiry, what role Frank Savage, a major Democratic donor, may have played in the state's loss. The fund's investments were directed by Alliance Capital Management, where Savage was a senior executive and chairman at the same time he sat on Enron's board.

[Lady In Blue]

The Democrats can't afford to gloat - they've got a lot of connections to Enron!

[Lady In Blue]

Bump

[lowbridge]

if nothing else, that Enron was a bipartisan debacle.

No it wasn't. It's a Democrat debacle. Enron got quid pro quo from the Clinton administration. It got no such thing from the Bush administration.

CNN trying to drag us down into the dirt with them.

[Howlin]

*Snicker*

[OldFriend]

Hope someone has forwarded this to Waxman's TIP LINE!!!

[Lady In Blue]

hehehehe!

[Dog Gone]

State officials want to know whether he inappropriately pushed Enron's stock on the pension fund while the energy giant was failing. Alliance more than doubled the state's stake in Enron since last August, buying 5.6 million shares in three months, even as stock prices fell and analysts questioned the firm's management and accounting practices.

Whether he pushed it, or somebody else was responsible for buying it, it was absolutely reckless at best. I know I considered buying Enron stock during that time period wondering whether it was being unfairly beaten down by rumor. But it is always smarter to let somebody else buy at the bottom and pick a stock when it's clearly turned around. Fortunately, I passed.

Enron's slide only became faster and faster.

There certainly is an appearance of impropriety here, and it needs to be looked into.

[YaYa123]

Here's that earlier, much earlier Michael Weisskopf article we discussed yesterday:

"FLASHBACK: CLINTON OFFICIAL MET WITH ENRON CHAIRMAN; $100,000 CASH DONATION TO DEMOCRATS TIMED TO PLANT APPROVAL TIME MAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER 1, 1997

On Nov. 22, 1995 President Clinton scrawled an FYI note to chief of staff Mack McLarty, enclosing a newspaper article on Enron Corp. and the vicissitudes of its $3 billion power-plant project in India.

McLarty then reached out to Enron's chairman, Ken Lay, and over the next nine months closely monitored the project with the U.S. ambassador to New Delhi, keeping Lay informed of the Administration's efforts, according to White House documents reviewed by TIME magazine.

In June 1996, four days before India granted final approval to Enron's controversial $3 billion power-plant project, Enron's gave $100,000 to President Clinton's party.

Enron denies that its gift was repayment for Clinton's attention, and White House special counsel Lanny Davis says McLarty acted out of concern for a major U.S. investment overseas, TIME's Michael Weisskopf reported.

****

DRUDGE NOTE: McLarty was later hired by Enron. Lay also played golf with President Bill Clinton and slept in the Clinton White House. A master of political manipulation of both parties, Lay served as an adviser to the Clinton White House on energy issues. The Clinton administration, in turn, helped Enron get a contract for a gas pipeline in Mozambique and other projects, according to reports."

Michael Weisskopf has been on this case for awhile...too bad neither he nor his media elite pals had the desire to follow up. No one wanted to hurt Clintons.

[Lady In Blue]

You're right about CNN.I caught the tail end of a segment late this afternoon of one of CNN's news shows.They had a question: "Do you think the media has gone overboard(right word?)to the Enron scandal(word?)! They gave their email address which I'm sorry now that I didn't write down!They had several guests.One,a guy from Chicago,said paraphrasing him:"Sadly,the people in Chicago are more interested in the upcoming Bears game and in Michael Jordan's divorce and upcoming return to Chicago for a Bulls,Wizard game." Go Chicago!he he he! I suspect that a lot of people,not just in Chicago are not following or don't care about Enron.Either that or they're just sick and tired of the media stressing only one side of this mess!

[Lady In Blue]

That's a good idea.

[Slyfox]

Hey, doesn't the gloat come before the fall?

that's got to be a famous quote from somebody

[Howlin]

Add this one to the list!!!!!!

[gov_bean_ counter]

A LA Times piece showed up in the Huntsville paper today proclaiming that the problem is not now the scandal but the investigation. We need a special prosecutor. This Justice Department is not capable of running an honest investigation, etc, etc. A couple of things are at work here. First, the Dems have to have a special prosecutor so the scope of the investigation will be restricted to the Bush administration. They won't get this and it worries them because an open ended investigation of possibly criminal activity brings the Clintons and the Democrat Party into the cross hairs. The second dynamic has to be of equal or greater concern. This investigation will be handled by the same group of agents who were forced by upper management to ignore hard evidence against the Clintons and their friends and facilitators. Paybacks being what they are and all... This all adds up to a bunch of hurt for the Democrat Party and their wanna be standard bearers. The Dems will now try and put a lid on it, too late. My half-pence. gbc

[Lady In Blue]

I wonder if any of our Florida freepers have anymore to add to this story? I heard,sometime ago that an Enron exec(name escapes me right now)was quoted as saying that he expected Enron to be back on tract sometime next year.Did anybody else hear something like that? Thanks.

[Lady In Blue]

Hey, doesn't the gloat come before the fall?

That and the accompanying remark - "He who laughs last,laughs best!" hehehe!

[StriperSniper]

Fortunately, I passed.

Fortunately, I waited till $0.37, sold two days later at $0.82, that was enough fun for me!:-)

[Lady In Blue]

The Dems will now try and put a lid on it, too late. My half-pence. gbc

Funny that you should say that because I've noticed that since middle to late afternoon,I haven't heard anything much on my local talk radio or cable,except for a little bit on CNN asking people to email them if they think they have been overdoing the Enron bit!

[OldFriend]

I am not clear on the true situation with Enron......I heard these two different and possibly unrelated comments......The S.E.C. is considering delisting Enron. Some of Enron's assets have been turned over to another company.

I am pretty sure that the bottom fell out of Enron while they were trying to sell their assets. They ran out of time when the banks said ENOUGH!! I get the feeling that there is a lot more to this story than meets the eye. Something very big.....

[jd792]

Am I the only one here that can tell that,Enron was controled by DEMOCRAPS ??

[Dog Gone]

Fortunately, I waited till $0.37, sold two days later at $0.82, that was enough fun for me!:-)

You are either smarter or braver than me. Perhaps both.