How Low Can You go?
So, the press is finally getting around to noticing that Tom DeLay is slimy. Can I get a show of hands please, who is surprised that Tom DeLay is not on the up and up? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? No one? Good.
I have always thought the guy was just a great big Texas-sized talking head for the corpoate intertest. He is a long time buddy of George Bush with a donor list that includes RJ Reynolds, Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Exxon Mobil. So, I barely looked up from my copy of The Motorcyle Diaries when I heard the news talking about Tom DeLay's ethics problems. Of course the guy has ethics problems, look at his friends. iIf you lie down with dogs you are going to come up with fleas. That would be like the news reporting that water is wet. However, when the story didn't go away, I decided to look into it more, and wow, this guy doesn't have fleas, he is one! He is a blood sucking insect at its finest.
You see, what Tom DeLay has been doing is using his charitable organization, DeLay for Kids, which is supposed to help abused and neglected kids in the foster system, to get around fundraising regulations and ethics boards. You see, when people give money to a charity, they don't have to disclose it, whereas if they had given that money to a congressman, they would have to make the contribution public. This is generally a good rule since it lets big business give anonymus donations to good causes, and what's a better cause than abused kids, right?
Well, it just so happens that the board of directors for DeLay for Kids is filled with corporate donors and washington insiders, many of whom are well known corporate criminals and accounting frauds. Then you throw DeLay's stellar staff into the mix. These guys are pulling double duty since most of them work both for DeLay's fund raising PACs and the charity. They are often trying to raise money for the charity while at the same time raise money for legislative battles. For instance, if a bill were to come up in Congress that would might really help everyday citizens but would hurt phone companies, the DeLay staffers would call AT&T and ask them if they would like to pay 1 million dollars for a ticket to a DeLay for Kids charity event. Then they mention that at this event, all of the donors will have a chance to mingle with Congressman DeLay, maybe sit down and have a chat with him.
Now, never mind the fact that your average citizens can't afford a million-dollar meeting with their congressman. And never mind the fact that big business is cutting checks to DeLay's charity right before he votes on a measure that could save them billions. The money is going to abused kids, so we can forgive DeLay. He was just thinking with his heart, not his head.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this guy isn't stealing from rich to feed the poor. You see, it turns out that these million-dollar golf outings are raising large sums of money, over $7 million since 2000, yet only about $80,000 of that has gone to the kids. So where is the rest of it? Well, it seems that the "charity" has been paying for a Tom DeLay to do a lot of golfing. See, when these big events are held for donors to pay all this money and meet with DeLay, the charity pays for DeLay to fly down, stay in exlusive resorts, eat expensive meals and play several rounds of golf with all of the big wigs who, since they are giving the money to a charity and not a candidate can remain safely nameless.
When called out on this most recent scandals, DeLay said that the "charity" had to save up a lot of money in order to break ground on the new housing complex it is going to build for foster kids to live in permanantly. Nevermind the fact that the charity had enough money to break ground at the beginning of 2003. They just got started, so it's all going to be fair play from here on out, right?
Wrong again. You see, DeLay has hired Perry Homes Construction to run the project. For those of you who don't know, Bob Perry is the lovely man who brough you Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Yes, the guys that went on T.V. and lied about John Kerry's service to his country during Vietnam. Bob Perry has donated over $50,000 to DeLay and his legal defenses, and now he has been rewarded with a 26 million dollar housing contract. That's a pretty good investment, wouldn't you say?
Stealing from corporations for votes is bad enough, and DeLay has screwed over the average American more than once with this method of fund raising, but using money for abused kids to go golfing or paying off your defense donors, that's abhorent. President Bush still thinks he's a "really good guy," so that must make it all ok. Next time you get mad at seeing DeLay on T.V. talking about the sins of gay marriage or sex education, just try and remember all those foster kids he's been golfing for.
I have always thought the guy was just a great big Texas-sized talking head for the corpoate intertest. He is a long time buddy of George Bush with a donor list that includes RJ Reynolds, Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Exxon Mobil. So, I barely looked up from my copy of The Motorcyle Diaries when I heard the news talking about Tom DeLay's ethics problems. Of course the guy has ethics problems, look at his friends. iIf you lie down with dogs you are going to come up with fleas. That would be like the news reporting that water is wet. However, when the story didn't go away, I decided to look into it more, and wow, this guy doesn't have fleas, he is one! He is a blood sucking insect at its finest.
You see, what Tom DeLay has been doing is using his charitable organization, DeLay for Kids, which is supposed to help abused and neglected kids in the foster system, to get around fundraising regulations and ethics boards. You see, when people give money to a charity, they don't have to disclose it, whereas if they had given that money to a congressman, they would have to make the contribution public. This is generally a good rule since it lets big business give anonymus donations to good causes, and what's a better cause than abused kids, right?
Well, it just so happens that the board of directors for DeLay for Kids is filled with corporate donors and washington insiders, many of whom are well known corporate criminals and accounting frauds. Then you throw DeLay's stellar staff into the mix. These guys are pulling double duty since most of them work both for DeLay's fund raising PACs and the charity. They are often trying to raise money for the charity while at the same time raise money for legislative battles. For instance, if a bill were to come up in Congress that would might really help everyday citizens but would hurt phone companies, the DeLay staffers would call AT&T and ask them if they would like to pay 1 million dollars for a ticket to a DeLay for Kids charity event. Then they mention that at this event, all of the donors will have a chance to mingle with Congressman DeLay, maybe sit down and have a chat with him.
Now, never mind the fact that your average citizens can't afford a million-dollar meeting with their congressman. And never mind the fact that big business is cutting checks to DeLay's charity right before he votes on a measure that could save them billions. The money is going to abused kids, so we can forgive DeLay. He was just thinking with his heart, not his head.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this guy isn't stealing from rich to feed the poor. You see, it turns out that these million-dollar golf outings are raising large sums of money, over $7 million since 2000, yet only about $80,000 of that has gone to the kids. So where is the rest of it? Well, it seems that the "charity" has been paying for a Tom DeLay to do a lot of golfing. See, when these big events are held for donors to pay all this money and meet with DeLay, the charity pays for DeLay to fly down, stay in exlusive resorts, eat expensive meals and play several rounds of golf with all of the big wigs who, since they are giving the money to a charity and not a candidate can remain safely nameless.
When called out on this most recent scandals, DeLay said that the "charity" had to save up a lot of money in order to break ground on the new housing complex it is going to build for foster kids to live in permanantly. Nevermind the fact that the charity had enough money to break ground at the beginning of 2003. They just got started, so it's all going to be fair play from here on out, right?
Wrong again. You see, DeLay has hired Perry Homes Construction to run the project. For those of you who don't know, Bob Perry is the lovely man who brough you Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Yes, the guys that went on T.V. and lied about John Kerry's service to his country during Vietnam. Bob Perry has donated over $50,000 to DeLay and his legal defenses, and now he has been rewarded with a 26 million dollar housing contract. That's a pretty good investment, wouldn't you say?
Stealing from corporations for votes is bad enough, and DeLay has screwed over the average American more than once with this method of fund raising, but using money for abused kids to go golfing or paying off your defense donors, that's abhorent. President Bush still thinks he's a "really good guy," so that must make it all ok. Next time you get mad at seeing DeLay on T.V. talking about the sins of gay marriage or sex education, just try and remember all those foster kids he's been golfing for.
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