One of the things that many conservatives hold against Arizona Senator John McCain is his support and sponsorship of the campaign finance legislation that bears his name. To his credit, McCain, apparently has worked within the confines of his own legislation and kept his nose clean. This is especially important to him since he was a member of the notorious “Keating Five” involved in the Savings and Loan Scandal back in the late ’80s. Maybe McCain-Feingold was a personal crusade that McCain sought in order to vindicate himself and make reparations – regardless of how misguided this act has been.
And while some GOP-leaning groups and Republican candidates/politicians have run afoul of campaign finance laws over the past few election cycles, it seems that the Democrats and their patron support groups on the Left have been the ones to make a true mockery of the legislation in recent years. And what do we call that kids? Hypocrisy – say it with me now.
There are two great examples recently to illustrate this point. The first involves Hillary. And while this is a doozy, the MSM and the relentless Clinton machine will make sure that none of this comes back on her. The story involves a guy named Norman Hsu. Nobody knows the extent of this fraud yet, but it all starts with a middle class California family who suddenly became some of Clinton’s biggest donors. The Wall Street Journal details the events.
Six members of the Paw family, each listing the house at 41 Shelbourne Ave. as their residence, have donated a combined $45,000 to the Democratic senator from New York since 2005, for her presidential campaign, her Senate re-election last year and her political action committee. In all, the six Paws have donated a total of $200,000 to Democratic candidates since 2005, election records show.
Ok, no problem so far, right? Well….not exactly.
It isn’t obvious how the Paw family is able to afford such political largess. Records show they own a gift shop and live in a 1,280-square-foot house that they recently refinanced for $270,000. William Paw, the 64-year-old head of the household, is a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service who earns about $49,000 a year, according to a union representative. Alice Paw, also 64, is a homemaker. The couple’s grown children have jobs ranging from account manager at a software company to “attendance liaison” at a local public high school. One is listed on campaign records as an executive at a mutual fund.
Ouch! Anyone smell a rat? While Hsu’s ties to the family are not extremely clear yet, he once listed his address at the family’s residence. A mega-Dem fundraiser living in this tiny home. Doesn’t pass the smell test.
Obviously, the Hillary folks have denied this one was linked to the candidate, but it certainly raises some eyebrows when you consider the Chinese Lobbying Group that scandalously funneled money to Bill’s presidential campaign back in the 90s. Or maybe the Al Gore trip to the Buddhist temple which was connected to the same shady players.
But, this scandal aside, also consider that George Soros’ former leftist 527 group, America Coming Together (ACT) was just hit with a $775,000 fine by the FEC for campaign finance violations in the 2004 election. Naturally the group settled with the FEC without admitting to many of the charges, but you don’t get fined $775,000 for simple mistakes.
The Federal Election Commission has fined one of the last cycle’s biggest liberal political action committees $775,000 for using unregulated soft money to boost John Kerry and other Democratic candidates during the 2004 elections.
America Coming Together (ACT) raised $137 million for its get-out-the-vote effort in 2004, but the FEC found most of that cash came through contributions that violated federal limits.
MOST of $137 million is a whole lot of green. Think about the impact of that amount of money. That could easily tilt a campaign. Fortunately for the GOP, ACT’s main benefactor was John Kerry. Even that amount of money wasn’t going to help him with his issues.
I’m not saying that GOP groups and candidates are clean here. When it all comes down to it, money is a corrupting force in politics for many. But the hypocrisy here is that McCain-Feingold was made possible primarily by the hordes of Democrat senators and representatives who were tired of being out of power since 1994. They sought to level the playing field at a time when Republican groups were outraising them by massive amounts.
Now that the field is more level due to increases in Dem donors and the left’s mastery of the shady 527 groups, they seem to have little regard for the legislation that they piously advance only a few years ago. If that’s the case, then I would urge them to consider the repeal of McCain-Feingold. Let’s see how many Dem takers we have on that one.
steveflesher
Philip
Mel Maguire
Mark Ciavola
Comments
This story is taking off in the MSM.
I think it is about time that people like Johnny Wong and Norman Hsu are introduced to the American people and how they are associated with the Clintons – both Bill and Hill!
Uh, check out CNN’s homepage and you won’t see the story. You have to find it in at least three clicks.
CNN biased?
Oh, no, their is no bias at CNN, so please move along. Nothing to see here. Move along.
In spite of all the $$$ spent on the 2004 campaign, it didn’t work!
I do admit $$$ can and will influence an election, however once in office a political party may find there fortunes fleeting. The bottom line is Americans for the most part are not socialists or modern liberals. At the same time, the alternative media will keep journalist in check. We would have never heard of the Seattle news editor admonishing his reporters for taking glee over Carl Rove’s departure.
As for campaign money, remove all restrictions and require full discloser!
The prevailing philosophy in this case, as ever, is “Thou Shallt Not Get Caught.” Now we’ll hear, not defense of the practice, but mis-directing accusations. We might even learn about a new ‘creative financial calculation’. What does sum mean? (An artisit application of what “is” is.)
It will, in time, bore the bartender and hairdresser silly. One will raise the TVvolume on the game and the other paper the shoppe with new magazines. In a country that has the collective attention span of a colony of ants, it’s just not raunchy enough to maintain attention.
One other interesting note, Hillary Clinton was a board member for ACT. And Harold Ickes, part of the old Clinton hit squad, was its President shortly before it ceased operations.
And you are correct, Shawmut. This story probably won’t get much traction. Despite the fact that 22 people were convicted in the Chinese fundraising scandal, the American people didn’t seem to care. And look at Whitewater. That was a big fraud, but it was too complex for people to understand.
Most Americans are more fascinated with sex scandals and lurid affairs. But even that won’t hurt you much unless you’re a Republican. Just ask Bill Clinton.