Excerpts From The Book
Howard Dean’s Idea of Fairness
On December 28, 2003, then-presidential candidate Howard Dean said of Osama bin Laden…“I’ve resisted pronouncing a sentence before guilt is found… I still have this old-fashioned notion that even with people like Osama, who is very likely to be found guilty, we should do our best not to…prejudge jury trials.” On May 14, 2005, Howard Dean, now chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said that just-indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay “…ought to go back to Houston where he can serve his jail sentence.” The indictment of DeLay was questionable, at best, and Delay had not even been given a trial date, let alone convicted…. In other words: According to the chairman of the Democratic Party, terrorists deserve due process, Republicans do not. (p. xi)
It’s Worth it to Break the Law
Her work in politics brought her to the post of Democratic Party Chairwoman for Northern California. This position, in turn, brought Pelosi for the first time into conflict with campaign finance laws. At issue was more than $90,000 in printing done for the California Democratic Party for the 1980 campaign—the union which did the printing reported it properly as an in-kind donation, but somehow, Pelosi’s Democrats forgot to mention it in their financial reports—the perfect prologue to Pelosi’s long climb to the top of the political heap. The state party was fined $7,000, teaching Pelosi a valuable lesson she would never forget: Sometimes the fines are so small it’s worth it to break the law. (p. 14)
Not Just A Republican Scandal
When Reid was confronted by Chris Wallace about $68,000 in campaign contributions from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s tribal clients, a highly defensive Reid told Wallace “don’t lump me in with Jack Abramoff. This is a Republican scandal. Don’t try to give any of it to me.” Abramoff, who pleaded guilty to various crimes involving his lobbying activities, was mostly tied with Republicans when he was discussed in the media. It remains a fact, however, that while Democrats were not the beneficiary of personal donations from Jack Abramoff, Democrats did receive very large donations at the direction of Jack Abramoff from his tribal clients, and Harry Reid is among the top beneficiaries of these Abramoff-orchestrated donations. (p. 32)
The Award for the Largest Financial Violation Since 1991 Goes to… Schumer
On April 20, 2001, a Federal Election Commission report claimed Schumer’s 1998 Senate campaign took $1 million in “excessive contributions” and ordered Schumer to refund over $850,000 in contributions. The FEC also identified nearly three hundred expenses amounting to $6.4 million that were improperly disclosed. According to the FEC, Schumer’s violations were the largest since 1991. (p. 45)
A $470,000 “It’s okay”
Jon Corzine -- Just days before he announced his candidacy for governor of New Jersey in 2004, Corzine forgave a $470,000 mortgage loan made in 2002 to his then-girlfriend Carla Katz, who also happened to be the president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), New Jersey’s largest union… As Corzine’s bid for governor went forward, he received the CWA’s enthusiastic endorsement. When you’ve spent $60 million on a Senate seat, you have to figure that getting a major endorsement for a mere $470,000 is a bargain. (p. 66)
Abramoff Democrats
In October 2005, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for an investigation of Bob Ney because of a Washington Post story “showing a relationship between Jack Abramoff, Congress-man Ney and a contract that was awarded.” Around the same time […] a story in The Hill revealed a relationship between Jack Abramoff, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), and two fundraisers that were not appropriately disclosed to the FEC. But did she call for an investigation into Tom Harkin’s Abramoff connection because of that story? Of course not. Pelosi turned an evil eye on Ney, but a blind eye on her fellow Democrats. (p. 102)
Stating within the Sexual Misconduct Family
Ironically, Jon Corzine’s handpicked replacement for his New Jersey Senate seat, Bob Menendez, also has been accused of sexual misconduct. Menendez reportedly had a long-term extramarital affair with a novice lobbyist and political consultant (and his former chief of staff) and then steering over $200,000 in fundraising and political consulting contracts her way as she lobbied him in Congress. (p. 180)
Clinton Regarding Lewinsky…I Did It Because I Could
When Bill Clinton was asked by Dan Rather why he had his affair with Monica Lewinsky, the former president answered, “I think I did something for the worst possible reason—just because I could.” It is a telling answer and one, we think, that is indicative of the broader Democratic attitude toward the world. (p. 183)
When A Republican’s “Corruption” is a Democrat’s “Mistake”
It wasn’t until May of 2005, following increased scrutiny of congressional travel—as a result of the Democrats’ attacks on Tom DeLay—that Democrats rushed to get their travel forms appropriately filed. In all cases of misfiling or non-filing, Democrats claimed innocence. It seems that the Democrats are babes in the woods—blissfully unaware when their homework is due, but fully prepared to come to class claiming their dog ate it. Republicans’ mistakes, on the other hand, were part of an evil and deliberate “culture of corruption.” Whether Democrats’ travel forms were misplaced on a messy desk, lost in the mail, or their dog ate them, there is always something or someone on which to blame their transgressions. Naturally, they pointed fingers at Republicans. (p. 130)
Hillary and the FEC
In January 2006, following a four-year investigation, the Federal Election Commission determined there was probable cause to believe that Hillary Clinton’s 2000 senate campaign had violated the law by not disclosing in-kind contributions totaling over $1.24 million from Peter Paul, the co-host of the infamous Hollywood gala/fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s 2000 senate campaign. (p. 143)
The Love Of Dirty Money
Charles Kushner, a gigantic source of funding for Bob Menendez, pled guilty to federal charges back in 2004. Despite the conviction, Menendez decided that Kushner’s dirty money wasn’t too dirty for him and decided to keep most of it. U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez had received at least $159,000 since 1997 from Kushner, his real estate partners, and their relatives. He donated just $6,000 of that—the amount the FEC said had been given illegally—to charity after the developer’s conviction. Menendez spokesman Matthew Miller defended keeping the remaining Kusher contributions because they “were raised legally before anyone had any knowledge of Mr. Kushner’s bizarre and criminal behavior,” and had nothing to with his illegal activity. But even Jon Corzine returned Kushner’s cash. All of it. (pp.71-72)
Mark Foley Would Still Be In Congress If He Registered As A Democrat
While Mark Foley did the right thing by immediately resigning [following the page scandal in 2006], even he could have prolonged his political career by moving to Massachusetts and registering as a Democrat. Just ask Rep. Barney Frank; he’s still serving. In fact, with the Democrats back in power after the 2006 elections, he became chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services. Imagine for a moment what would happen if a Republican congressman had a drug-addicted, live-in sex partner who ran a prostitution ring out of the congressman’s apartment, all the while being routinely in violation of his parole agreement stemming from a conviction for sex with a minor. How many seconds would it take for the resignation to follow revelation of the scandal? (p. 175)
Sell Drugs to get Promoted
Sherrod Brown, the newly elected U.S. Senator from Ohio, also has experience abusing his power for corrupt purposes. In 1985, Secretary of State Brown’s office was the subject of a drug probe... “Undercover agents made three buys of marijuana and one buy of a substance purported to be cocaine from the two employees,” but the two employees avoided felony drug prosecution. An Ohio State Highway Patrol investigator said Brown tried to end the probe because he feared it would hurt his chances to be reelected.… [O]ne of the employees who had sold drugs to the undercover agent in 1985 was promoted by Brown and remained on the state’s payroll. This scandal did little to hamper his political career, and now he’s been elected to the U.S. Senate the same year Democrats made corruption a campaign issue. (p. 157)
William Jefferson Hampering Katrina Efforts
Even national tragedy can be adversely affected by the actions of the corrupt. While New Orleans was undergoing the tragedy of Katrina, Congressman Jefferson had other things on his mind. Commandeering a National Guard vehicle and its personnel, he made his way to his residence in New Orleans and retrieved “a laptop computer, three suitcases, and a box about the size of a small refrigerator,” which he then had loaded up and driven out. (p. 77)
Democrats’ So-Called High Ethical Standards
Nancy Pelosi asked [Rep. William] Jefferson to resign from the Ways and Means Committee on May 24, 2006. “In the interest of upholding the high ethical standard of the House Democratic Caucus, I…request your immediate resignation,”…Jefferson had been under investigation since March 2005. It was only after the Associated Press reported on the existence of videotape evidence against Jefferson on May 21, 2006, that his party decided to act. (pp. 78-79)
For more information on Caucus of Corruption, or to schedule an interview with the authors, please contact Kristen Schremp at Kristen@kaspublicity.com or 703.928.5527.
