WHOSE SCANDAL? (MICHAEL KELLY'S TAKE ON HARKEN)

NY POST ^ | JUL. 18, 2002 | MICHAEL KELLY

[aristeides]

THERE are few hopes more naked than those of a politician who thinks he has found the weapon with which to well and truly smite the other side, and Democrats are regarding the story of how George W. Bush got rich with exceptionally unclothed desire.

[aristeides]

Hope Kelly is right about public opinion.

Maybe the Dems could make business corruption an effective issue if they purge their party of the Clintonistas.

[aristeides]

I think this is worthy of your pings.

[1bigdictator]

The general public is astute enough to realize political profiting from corporate America is not a partisan issue. However, the problem is how the press biasly reports it as such. Give the public all the information and a rational and educated opinion will be formulated. In my opinion this whole corporate fraud issue has been blown way out of proportion by the press because they are looking for an issue which voters can easily assign blame to republicans, and to date nothing else has stuck.

Can the press please focus on the danger of Islam to our national security-- or maybe it's only worth reporting about in the weeks following the murder of thousands of Americans.

[Lysander]

...during the past decade, corporations gave $636 million to Republicans and $449 million to Democrats - $221 million to the former and $161 million to the latter in the 2000 cycle alone.

And people wonder why Libertarians have trouble getting elected. It is all about the money boys. The dough ray me.

My vote is not for sale.

[aristeides]

Well, there's a danger of both parties ending up being discredited if the economic turmoil becomes too great. But the big boys have been thinking ahead. That's why they've been building up McCain, thinking he might be the logical third-party candidate in 2004. Scary thought, McInsane being president. Let's hope his health problems rule that out.

[mombonn]

My vote is not for sale.

That kind of attitude is what gave us 8 years of clintbilly.

It's virtuous on paper, disastrous in reality. I voted Keyes twice in the primaries believing him to be the best candidate. To have written him in, or vote for either than one of the two main candidates would have been to vote for clintbilly/gore.

[bandleader]

Michael Kelly failed to mention that labor and teacher et al unions give almost exclusively to DemocRats!!

[Morgan in Denver]

For what it's worth, a comment.


This article is really good. Most of us realize Republicans tend to eat our own in terms of criticism and complaints over how the government is operating. Democrats, on the other hand seem to always defend or ignore anyone in their party who is clearly a bad player in politics. When we point this out, Democrats use the tired old "you did it first" ploy or the "everyone does it" excuse. Then, again, we find ourselves on the defense and off the real issues.


This article, while pointing out their political strategy, also reveals just how unfair Democrats are. I think one of our best weapons is the Democratic refusal to acknowledge virtually any of their own failings while always blaming Republicans for everything. If we Republicans can get over doing the same thing I think we will attract more independent voters whose numbers will decide the elections.


I believe it is time for Democrats to come forward with real positions and programs of what they will do IF elected to office. Platitudes of "helping the little people" is not a program but a strategy of pitting one portion of the people against others. The argument against Democrats needs to start being one of forcing them to stop the Republican bashing and start telling people what their agenda really is.

[Alberta's Child]

$221 million to the former and $161 million to the latter in the 2000 cycle alone . . .

The real story here is not that politicians can be bought, but that they are very cheap whores.

Corporate America spent $382 million buying off politicians in the year of a hotly-contested Presidential election and many close House and Senate races. In a U.S. economy with an annual GDP somewhere in the $8 trillion range, this comes to about 0.000048% of the overall economy. I don't have the actual figures handy, but I'll bet "corporate America" spent less money buying off politicians than they spent on paper clips.

Lest anyone take their "leaders" too seriously.

[aristeides]

I agree the Republicans ought to be more aggressive.

[Lysander]

...To have written him in, or vote for either than one of the two main candidates would have been to vote for clintbilly/gore.

The difference being?

Voting for the lessor of two evils is still voting for evil. It would be the same logic if you had only one government approved candidate. If you don't vote for Joey Stalin you waste your vote? At what point do you have enough?

[Lysander]

I'll bet "corporate America" spent less money buying off politicians than they spent on paper clips.

The relative expense to GNP or to corporate "paper clips" is not material to the fact that money was paid, not to buy influence, as much as to buy protection.

It is not a slam against the donors it is a slam against the one-party system that extorts money from these corporations. I actually feel sorry for big business being put on the hook for this and then having their donations publicly announced as some kind of "enemies list."

[Alberta's Child]

I actually feel sorry for big business being put on the hook for this . . .

I don't. If they have any problems with this arrangement, they ought to simply stop doing business here. When enough companies do this we will revert back to the Stone Age, at which point we will be able to start over again.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

[Re: Clintbilly/Gore]: The difference being? Voting for the lessor of two evils is still voting for evil. It would be the same logic if you had only one government approved candidate. If you don't vote for Joey Stalin you waste your vote? At what point do you have enough?

Look, in the general election, very often neither candidate is someone I earnestly want to vote for. But usually it's easy to determine which of the two to vote against.

Work for The Cause in the primaries. Then, in the general election, vote to slow onrushing socialism as much as possible.

[Lysander]

Then, in the general election, vote to slow onrushing socialism as much as possible.

Oh I get it now. A size 9 1/2 EE shoe is better than a 10 D up my ass.