Tony Shelton
BS Detector, Esquire
As I've said before THIS is the problem with politics today.
The Fierce Urgency of Pork
By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, February 6, 2009; A17
"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe."
-- President Obama, Feb. 4.
Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.
And so much for the promise to banish the money changers and influence peddlers from the temple. An ostentatious executive order banning lobbyists was immediately followed by the nomination of at least a dozen current or former lobbyists to high position. Followed by a Treasury secretary who allegedly couldn't understand the payroll tax provisions in his 1040. Followed by Tom Daschle, who had to fall on his sword according to the new Washington rule that no Cabinet can have more than one tax delinquent.
The Daschle affair was more serious because his offense involved more than taxes. As Michael Kinsley once observed, in Washington the real scandal isn't what's illegal, but what's legal. Not paying taxes is one thing. But what made this case intolerable was the perfectly legal dealings that amassed Daschle $5.2 million in just two years.
He'd been getting $1 million per year from a law firm. But he's not a lawyer, nor a registered lobbyist. You don't get paid this kind of money to instruct partners on the Senate markup process. You get it for picking up the phone and peddling influence.
Here's Daschle's bio:
Age: Born Dec. 9, 1947, in Aberdeen, S.D.
Experience: Daschle, a former Air Force officer, was first elected to the House at age 30 and devoted much of his adult life to Congress. He left the Senate after losing a brutal reelection bid to John Thune in 2004.
His post-Senate career moves caused complications. He worked as a public policy adviser for a K Street law firm, Alston & Bird. Although not a registered lobbyist, he provided "strategic advice" to commercial clients in the fields of health care, energy, telecommunications and taxes, public documents said.
Family: Married to Linda Hall Daschle, who is regarded as one of the most influential lobbyists in the capital. Three children from a previous marriage.
NEWS SERVICES
Where is his business experience?
What has he accomplished in his life other than "serving" his country? (and making far more than most doing it with a permanent pension for life)
What has he done other than pimp himself out to make 5.2 million dollars since the good people of south dakota threw him out on his sorry a$$!!!!
And what kind of "change" are we getting when Obama immediately starts bringing in the same losers that Clinton had?
What kind of leadership does it show when Obama brings back a scumbag like Daschle who was just thrown out of office by his own DEMOCRAT state by an overwhelming margin?
It's worst than the same old thing.
I only wish there was some type of magic that could separate those of us who dared to vote against the "messiah" from the effects of his reign.
(There's only one type of magic that could have gotten us out of this grip before the election and it's called an earthquake, but it would have to happen on both coasts AND the Great Lakes!)
Whew!! Ok, I'll settle down now..........
The Fierce Urgency of Pork
By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, February 6, 2009; A17
"A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe."
-- President Obama, Feb. 4.
Catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared "we have chosen hope over fear." Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill.
And so much for the promise to banish the money changers and influence peddlers from the temple. An ostentatious executive order banning lobbyists was immediately followed by the nomination of at least a dozen current or former lobbyists to high position. Followed by a Treasury secretary who allegedly couldn't understand the payroll tax provisions in his 1040. Followed by Tom Daschle, who had to fall on his sword according to the new Washington rule that no Cabinet can have more than one tax delinquent.
The Daschle affair was more serious because his offense involved more than taxes. As Michael Kinsley once observed, in Washington the real scandal isn't what's illegal, but what's legal. Not paying taxes is one thing. But what made this case intolerable was the perfectly legal dealings that amassed Daschle $5.2 million in just two years.
He'd been getting $1 million per year from a law firm. But he's not a lawyer, nor a registered lobbyist. You don't get paid this kind of money to instruct partners on the Senate markup process. You get it for picking up the phone and peddling influence.
Here's Daschle's bio:
Age: Born Dec. 9, 1947, in Aberdeen, S.D.
Experience: Daschle, a former Air Force officer, was first elected to the House at age 30 and devoted much of his adult life to Congress. He left the Senate after losing a brutal reelection bid to John Thune in 2004.
His post-Senate career moves caused complications. He worked as a public policy adviser for a K Street law firm, Alston & Bird. Although not a registered lobbyist, he provided "strategic advice" to commercial clients in the fields of health care, energy, telecommunications and taxes, public documents said.
Family: Married to Linda Hall Daschle, who is regarded as one of the most influential lobbyists in the capital. Three children from a previous marriage.
NEWS SERVICES
Where is his business experience?
What has he accomplished in his life other than "serving" his country? (and making far more than most doing it with a permanent pension for life)
What has he done other than pimp himself out to make 5.2 million dollars since the good people of south dakota threw him out on his sorry a$$!!!!
And what kind of "change" are we getting when Obama immediately starts bringing in the same losers that Clinton had?
What kind of leadership does it show when Obama brings back a scumbag like Daschle who was just thrown out of office by his own DEMOCRAT state by an overwhelming margin?
It's worst than the same old thing.
I only wish there was some type of magic that could separate those of us who dared to vote against the "messiah" from the effects of his reign.
(There's only one type of magic that could have gotten us out of this grip before the election and it's called an earthquake, but it would have to happen on both coasts AND the Great Lakes!)
Whew!! Ok, I'll settle down now..........