The congressman & the hedge fund (Rep. Jerry Lewis nailed)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-01-19-cerberus-cover_x.htm

By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY

One day after a New York investment group raised $110,000 for Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis, the House passed a defense spending bill that preserved $160 million for a Navy project critical to the firm. The man who protected the Navy money? Lewis.

The fundraiser, which took place July 7, 2003, and the subsequent vote illustrate the kind of relationship between congressman and contributor that's under increased scrutiny in the nation's capital.

A fellow California Republican, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, resigned in November after admitting he helped steer Pentagon contracts to two of four businessmen who paid him more than $2.4 million in bribes. Former top GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty last month to using gifts and political donations in a conspiracy to bribe public officials. Both investigations continue.

< snip >

Lewis, 71, insists he did nothing improper. "I'm darn sensitive to make certain we keep arm's length from certain efforts" by political donors to influence legislation, Lewis said.

see how darned sensitive you are to prison life....

There's no age limit on doing time in California. There isn't even an age limit on being executed.

yippee

I've been hoping for some way we could knock this guy out of Congress. Time to do a little grass roots work here in the Morongo Basin.

Desperate fro volunteers

:rofl:

:evilgrin:

so they say.

"I had been doing this for over a dozen years, helping to raise money for our members," Lewis said. "

to go on - the way the first part of the article reads - he gets money, then the house passes legislation (which could have already been in motion). HOWEVER - our reporters are getting better.... in this case the key snippets are later in the article that show a direct proactiveness on Lewis's part (he wrote the legislation favoring the company) and timing with the money (prior to the gift and vote, the company had never previously given to Lewis - exing out the ole... we give to folks over time because we agree with their stands... as there is no track record) read this snip:

None of the people connected to Cerberus had ever given money to either Lewis or his political action committee before the fundraiser or the vote on the bill Lewis sponsored, a USA TODAY analysis of their political contributions shows.

also of note - earlier in the article:

Both Lewis and the investment company, Cerberus Capital Management, benefited from the relationship. Eighteen months after the fundraiser and the House vote, Lewis won the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee. He acknowledges that the fundraising efforts of Cerberus "played a very significant role" in winning the post. The ties between Cerberus and Lewis, a 14-term congressman from Redlands, Calif., have not been publicly examined before.

That is a big part of the game... raise a whole lot of money for yourself (showing potential for raising for party) and for paty (as Ney did - remember the $ just before inserting pro SunCruz verbage into the congressional record - was a donation to the RCCC in his name) - and get a plum chairmanship - and if you are really good the chairmanship will give you bigger access to doling out more $ to potential new donors to be able to raise more GOP money.

Thank you nice lobbyist, with the himminy ho what in the hey. Lobbyist. Pretty lobbyist!



...okay I'm done.

BIG kick!

The qualifications are;
1. Nice clothes and personal appearance
2. Speak well
3. Nice Office
4. Believe in Jesus
5. Willing to take hit for the party (even prison)
6. Good liar
7. Make people believe you're for all Americans
8. Know how to sound like a moral person & honest person

1.a: Must have hair hat. Toupee is requirement.

9. Blame everything on the poor. The poor are the root cause of all problems in the US.

Expect that at least one of them will use the novel defense that their immediate family was being held hostage by poor people, thus forcing them into their crimes.

10. Must have stock phrases handy at all times, such as: "Clinton did it, too;" And also show off your mastery of Latin with: "There was certainly no quid pro quo."

Dan Quayle, "potatoe" - hired as Cerberus top executive

Jake Garn, former Senator R-Utah - $400,000 for lobbying in the same period

Marcus Dunn - Legislative Director and Military Legislative Assistant to Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL).

National Republican Congressional Committee - The NRCC got $70,000 in Cerberus-related donations during the first two weeks of April 2004, including $25,000 from Cerberus founder Stephen Feinberg

Patton Boggs - In April 2002, members of congress objected to a video prepared by Patton Boggs promoting exploration for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, hosted on the U.S. Interior Department's web site. The Department's distribution of the video was in apparent violation of a law forbidding federal agencies to engage in PR activities "designed to support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress." The Department is becoming "a cinema house for lobbyists," says Massachusetts Congressman Edward Markey. "The Interior Department should not be spreading oil company propaganda any more than the Department of Energy should be promoting Enron stock," he said. "It's not their job."<8>

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Patton_Boggs

Of course it's their job. Their job is too suck up to corporate interests so they can later cash in their accumulated years of influence -- gained over lunches and cocktail parties -- with one of the firms they sold out to in the form of a cushy $400K a year job as an "executive."