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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PROLIFE who wrote (14935)	3/11/2000 12:22:00 PM
From: greenspirit	Respond to of 769667

Pro, anyone who believes Al Gore and company are sincere in wanting the reform campaign finance, are naive in the extreme. Article... atr.org TWO PEAS IN A POD: AL GORE & TONY COELHO Al Gore recently named former-Rep. Tony Coelho (D-CA) to head his presidential campaign. Coelho was notorious for his ability to shake down any lobbyist with business before Congress. Author Brooks Jackson wrote a whole book, called "Honest Graft", about Coelho's ability to rake in campaign cash, especially from shady S&L execs. It was an association with some of these characters that ultimately led to his resignation in disgrace from Congress. We all know that Al Gore is no boy scout when it comes to raising money. What does the appointment of Coelho say about the direction the Gore campaign is taking? What does it say about campaign finance reform advocates who have suddenly fallen silent? Here is some background on Coelho: "Power, privilege and cutthroat politics-for Coelho, they're not a problem but a way of life." (Los Angeles Times, 8-16-94) "As the House Democrats' campaign chief, Coelho subordinated ideas to attacks: `My job is to be the hit man.'" (Los Angeles Times, 8-16-94) "Coelho had burnished his lifestyle considerably upon being elected to Congress, accepting approximately $80,000 per year in honoraria and speaking fees. Coelho used the money to make extensive renovations to his Alexandria home, which he proudly referred to as "the house honoraria built." "I'm earning more money than I ever dreamed of making," he gloated..." (New Republic, 12-25-94) "Influence peddling, it's recalled, was the Coelho political specialty as he rose in Congress from a back-bencher to party whip..." (Scripps Howard News Service, 8-24-94) "[Coelho] went so far as to sell access to the Democratic leadership of the House. He invented the Speaker's Club, which granted lobbyists and their clients the ability to meet socially with the speaker of the House and other top Democrats for $5,000 per year for individuals and $15,000 for PACS." (New Republic, 12-25-94) "[Coelho] made a name for himself by perfecting a shake-down racket that enriched Democratic campaigns by threatening businesses. The Democrats are going to be in the majority for a long time, Mr. Coelho was fond of telling businesses and their political action committees. Get on board with the Democrats or suffer the consequences." (Washington Times, 12-22-94) "As the House Democratic campaign chief in the 1980s, [Coelho] pioneered the political-donor shakedown. Businesses were told in effect that giving cash to House Democrats was an offer they couldn't refuse. In return they might get legislative protection, such as the costly free pass he gave to failing S&Ls." (Gigot, Wall Street Journal, 5-14-99) In 1989, Coelho ardently defended a congressional aide who had brutally assaulted a woman with a hammer and knife, but served only 27 months in prison. "Rightly or wrongly," Coelho said, the aide "owed his debt to society, not to this young woman." (Los Angeles Times, 8-16-94) Coelho at the 1988 Democratic convention: "When the titans of Wall Street were looting the small investors on Main Street, where was George Bush?" Coelho pledged that his party would fight "the corporate cannibals on Wall Street." After resigning from Congress, Coehlo became a New York investment banker. (Los Angeles Times, 8-16-94) READ THE BOOK... "The book [Honest Graft, by Brooks Jackson] documented how Coelho curried favor with and solicited large donations from shady savings and loan association owners, some of whom were ultimately convicted of fraud that cost the government millions of dollars."(New York Times, 5-15-99) "The book also showed how Coelho had threatened political action committees with retaliation if they did not donate money to Democrats, how he arranged lucrative speaking engagements for himself and his Democratic colleagues, how he fought against campaign-finance and tax-reform legislation that might have limited fund raising or worked to the disadvantage of Democratic donors and how, after soliciting money from the Teamsters Union, he tried to intervene with the Justice Department on behalf of the union's president, Jackie Presser." (New York Times, 5-15-99)

To: PROLIFE who wrote (14935)	3/11/2000 3:31:00 PM
From: E	Respond to of 769667

I just read Michael's comment about campaign finance reform, and agree with it, BTW. I do not praise those who do not deserve praise, I do not pretend twits are great men, I do not turn my face away from evil when I see evil. At least I try not to do these things. It may leave me in a bind when election day rolls around. But in the meantime, I can live with myself and hope for improvement. Improvement will never come if the electorate, like many here, praise mediocrity. My mother was an imperfect person in many ways. But I can say for her that I never heard her engage in cant, I never saw her claim a naked Emperor was clothed, I never observed her identify herself with a base position or demogogic speaker because she felt aggrandized in some emotional (or other) way by doing so. I hope I am like her in that regard. I try to be. In a democracy, everyone should try to be like my mother, in these ways, I think. We would probably have a better country and better choices on election day.