have been enough days in the general election to cover them.
Thank God she lost the nomination.
Oh, and since "Mr. Arrogant Know It All" is going to ask for proof, let's just start with the Tan Family.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/13/215317/551(oh, and don't scoff at the Kos link -- you will find links to FEC reports in the diary. This stuff is iron clad)
A hard link to Jack Abramoff is bad news, but even worse news (morally and ethically) would be those politicians with a connection to the Tan Family.
Jack’s bad reputation was created—in great measure—because he was willing to take the money from scoundrels like the Tan Family. He knew their fortune was made off of stolen labor, sweatshops and abuse, but it was OK. It was OK because Jack wanted their money to help his Party meet their political goals. And for Abramoff and those like him, the ends always justify the means.
There are many others in Washington who are like Jack Abramoff. These are the folks who will bend the rules to fit their needs of the day. These are the folks who will take in money from known scoundrels if it might help them get and maintain power.
For them, the ends always justify the means and money from any source is just fine.
George W. Bush is one of those people and I was not surprise to learn that he is the number one recipient of donations from the core members of the Family (the patriarch and his wife; their children and spouses and their children) is. They have given him $15,000 on the record (and—I suspect—more money off-the-books).
And the number two recipient of Tan Family donations is Senator Hillary Clinton of New York:
KIM LAM, PEK, Homemaker; 9/30/2005; $2,000
TAN, JOISE, N/A/Homemaker; 10/2/2005; $2,000
TAN, RAYMOND, Luen Thai/President; 9/30/2005; $2,000
TAN, SIU L, Tan Holdings Corp./Chairman; 9/30/2005; $2,000
TAN, WILLIE, Luen Thai/COO; 9/30/2005; $2,000
Like Abramoff, Bush and DeLay, Senator Clinton has proven herself to be an "ends-justify-the-means" kind of gal. As I said, we include her on the Ticket at our peril.
But it is more than just one set of donations that form the links between Senator Clinton and the Tan Family (and through them, links to the Abramoff Scandal).
A few years ago, the Tan Family created a multi-national Corporation, Luen Thai, to expand the reach of their business and give it a patina of respectability. Richard Helfenbein is the fellow running Tan Family USA operations and he has added another $6,700 to Senator Clinton. His wife has matched his gift.
Oh, and for those of you who used to work in a textile mill in the USA, you can thank Richard for your new job as a greeter at Wal-Mart. The focus of Luen Thai USA is to "help" brands "outsource" their textile manufacturing for profits.
The story of the rise of Luen Thai and the Tan Family is the story of How you lost your job, but I digress...Helfenbein is a neighbor of the populist of Chappaqua. The Family is down with the HRC. Richard’s son is a big supporter of Senator Clinton. He served as her first Page, as an intern in her office, work with Bill and he is working on her Campaign for the White House.There are more links between Senator Clinton and the Tan Family as well. Some go back to 1995 and a visit she made to Guam (you can read more about it here).
Despite repeated requests by me and many others, Hillary Clinton has not returned the Tan Family money. And it is a problem for two reasons:
1. It is money from stolen labor, sweatshops and abuse. It links her to that abuse, the Tan Family and Jack Abramoff.
2. Her acceptance of this money protects Republicans and provides them cover when their links to Abramoff are exposed. Hillary lets them use the everybody does it meme and muddy the waters. By hanging onto this tainted cash, she lets the Right and media gasbags link the Democratic party to the Republican Abramoff Scandal through her careless pursuit of cash from any source.
This should be a good year for Democrats. In many ways we have the GOP on the run. The issue of corruption—and especially when links are made to Abramoff—is just as potent in 2008 as it was in 2006.
Colorado is a case in point. There, the former GOP Congressman Bob Schaffer is taking a lot of heat for his links to the Abramoff scandal. What really links Bob to the scandal is not a direct link with Jack Abramoff, rather it is his work with and donations from the Tan Family and their employees. The Democratic Party is using the $7,300 he received as a hard link between Bob and the Tan Family, especially the $2,000 he received from Willie Tan’s brother, Jerry Tan.
And they should.
The money is part of the hard link between Schaffer and the sweatshops, human trafficking and labor abuse on the Mariana Islands. It should be tied around his neck and sink his campaign. Bob Schaffer is way too corrupt to get into the US Senate and the money from the Tan Family is evidence of that corruption.
Schaffer is being defined by this issue. Others are getting involved, like Campaign Money Watch which has put up a Schaffer Facts web site and is already running ads in Colorado about his links to the Tan Family and Jack Abramoff.
They could run almost the exact same ad about Hillary Clinton.Good thing we dodged the bullet of nominating Hillary Clinton. Our anti-corruption campaign would have oozed of hypocrisy with her at the top of the ticket. Check the diary and the links. This guy has been investigating Jack Abramoff and the Tan Family for YEARS.
Oh, and this bill passed to stop the abuse on the Mariana Islands, with Abramoff, Delay and so many corrupt others gone:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/8/1654/19901/601/511977Once again, if you find it all "biased", look at this USA Today article:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-06-abramoff-bush_x.htmControversial lobbyist had close contact with Bush team
WASHINGTON (AP) — In President Bush's first 10 months, GOP fundraiser Jack Abramoff and his lobbying team logged nearly 200 contacts with the new administration as they pressed for friendly hires at federal agencies and sought to keep the Northern Mariana Islands exempt from the minimum wage and other laws, records show.
It is one thing if Hillary took the money not knowing what the Tan Family were about. But she has been contacted repeatedly to return the money, and yet she has taken more money from them save George Bush, and is now friends with them. This is how power corrupts. And this is how we lose elections, running corrupt Democrats like the Clintons. I am telling you that the Obama campaign has been gentle, and it would be non-stop scandals had she won the nomination.
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