What’s new Today
Our #1 story looks at the culture of corruption that can be found with the stimulus package Obama gave away right after his inauguration. #2 show a bit more corruption with Nancy Pelosi.
1. Culture of Corruption
A top campaign contributor to former Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.)—the Obama bundler who once registered, then deregistered and now “never registered as a lobbyist for Spirit Airlines—won stimulus grants and contracts worth nearly $18.5 million, White House records show. Florida Turbine Technologies (FTT), an engineering and development firm headquartered in Klein’s district, received a total of $18,459,277 in federal funding as part of the 2009 stimulus package, which Klein supported.
The Jupiter, Fla., company and its top executives were major contributors to Klein’s campaign during his two terms in Congress from 2007 to 2011, according to a database maintained by the Center for Responsive Politics. CEO Shirley Coates Brostmeyer and her husband Joe Brostmeyer, the company’s president, gave a combined $14,200 to Klein’s campaign while he was in office. The FTT political action committee added another $15,000.
When Klein mounted his unsuccessful reelection bid against Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) in 2010, FTT and its employees were the third-largest contributor to Klein’s campaign, giving nearly $20,000.
Shortly after Congress passed the $787 billion stimulus package, Klein’s office prepared a “How to” guide to the stimulus for constituents. “In the weeks since this bill’s passage, I have worked closely with local elected officials, business leaders, and other members of the community to ensure that South Florida is fully prepared to secure and use its share of the federal funding quickly and efficiently,” he wrote.
His district ultimately received hundreds of millions of dollars. The money directed to FTT came in the form of three “clean energy” grants from the Department of Energy totaling $8.1 million, and a Defense Department contract worth $10.4 million for the creation of “adaptive versatile engine technology.”…
Political payoffs were the real meaning of the stimulus. When liberals cite figures of jobs created they are using formulas which say if the government spends x it will result in y to z number of jobs. It’s baloney.
2. Pelosi might have skirted House ethics rules on campaign solicitations
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) might have briefly run afoul of congressional ethics rules at a Capitol press conference on Thursday when she made a statement that could be construed as a solicitation for campaign contributions.
The Democratic leader was holding a briefing to promote a campaign finance disclosure bill when she said she was “asking people to contribute to us, if they want to elect more reformers to Congress.”
House ethics rules prohibit members of Congress from soliciting campaign donations in House office buildings, including the Capitol Visitor Center, where Pelosi was speaking. A section of the U.S. criminal code also prohibits fund-raising in federal buildings.
It appears leftists don’t have much of a sense of fair play. Playing by the rules is only done if the rules favor them.
No comments:
Post a Comment