Nominations for congressional repubs to be taken down w/DeLay

[salin]

get your memories in check, fire up the search engines... link congressional reps who have, over the years, been linked to DeLay's Pay to Play/Slushfund politics. Why now? Because the media has such a short attention span - time to put some stuff together.

[salin]

1. Joe Barton - westar $$ for attempted favors...

http://www.citizensforethics.org/activities/campaign.php?view=39

CREW Demands DeLay Bribery Investigation
WASHINGTON, DC -- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today sent a letter to all members of the House of Representatives requesting the House Ethics Committee open a formal investigation into serious allegations of criminal activity by Reps. Tom DeLay (R-TX), Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Joe Barton (R-TX). The complaint stems from allegations that Delay, Tauzin and Barton may have extorted payments from Westar executives in return for favorable consideration of legislation to benefit the company.

[salin]

2. DeLay, Doolittle and Pombo - Strike Again

http://whpsocal.blogspot.com/2006/01/delay-doolittle-and-pombo-strike-again.html

The LA Times details how Tom DeLay disciples, John Doolittle (CA-4) and Dick Pombo (CA-11) helped blow-up the government's case against Houston millionaire, Charles Hurwitz. Hurwitz, a profligate contributor to conservative Republicans, was under investigation for his role in the collapse of a Texas savings and loan in which he owned a controlling interest. The failure of Hurwitz's United Savings Association of Texas, cost taxpayers $1.6 billion and triggered a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation investigation that attempted to recover $300 million in restitution from Hurwitz.

[MuseRider]

3. Westar execs were sentenced yesterday

http://cjonline.com/stories/040406/loc_wittig1.shtml

[salin]

4. not registered...

can you give us a few snippets?

Had no idea of the timing. Interesting, no? Did the trial touch on the Barton/DeLay angle?

[MuseRider]

8. Oooh sorry.

I forgot this sorry excuse for a paper required that. Early on there was a mention of the Delay angle but that was several years ago. I can look later on today and see what I can find but I have to leave pretty soon. Here are some snips from yesterday and today.

**David Wittig stood -- shackled in leg irons -- before a federal judge Monday when he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for looting Westar Energy of millions of dollars. (sorry, I had to add that because it was my favorite part)

U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson fined Wittig and Lake $5 million each. Robinson ordered Wittig to pay $14.487 million in restitution and Lake to pay $2.785 million in restitution.**

It was actually a very light weight story, par for the course for this paper these days. Too much information might confuse people you know. There is more in the archives and as I said I will go look later for it.

[salin]

11. Would love to put the current looting story along side

with the giveaway (after recieving $$ from) that Barton and DeLay tried to give to Westar... b/c it would suggest that Barton was working to help the execs LOOT MORE. Interesting angle.

[MuseRider]

15. Here is a link from CBS

June 2003

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/06/06/politics/main557368.shtml

[MuseRider]

17. Another

http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/004282.html

**A May 8, 2002, memo from Maloney to DeLay's daughter, Dani DeLay Ferro, who organizes fund-raisers for her father, said energy companies that had confirmed attendance at the golf event were Reliant Energy of Houston with $50,000; and Williams Energy of Oklahoma, Mirant Corp. of Georgia and Westar, with $25,000 each.

As for Westar, "the company has a unique problem that was addressed in the House bill."

[salin]

19. Great stuff...

hope that Ronnie Earle is digging on some of these angles...

[salin]

18. some tidbits... (great find!)

"You probably didn't get a copy of the memo sent internal mail on Friday about the current legislative issue in Washington," a Westar executive wrote. "Right now, we have $11,500 in immediate needs for a group of candidates associated with Tom DeLay, Billy Tauzin, Joe Barton and Senator Richard Shelby."

The e-mails described Shelby as "our anchor on the Senate side."

Among the beneficiaries were a DeLay fund-raising committee that got $25,000; Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who got $1,000 from a Westar executive; and Tom Young, Shelby's former chief of staff whose unsuccessful run for Congress attracted at least $7,200 in Westar executives' donations on May 31, 2002, just 11 days after the e-mail was written.

----snip for the payoff to westar (attempted) --------

Barton was one of the lawmakers assigned to the House-Senate conference committee that finalized President Bush's energy plan in 2002, and the exemption the congressman introduced would have freed Westar from unwanted regulatory oversight.

The provision was a critical component of Westar's plan to split its regulated utility from the rest of its businesses. Having two publicly traded companies might enable Westar to transfer more than $3 billion in debt to the utility. The utility then could try to pass those costs to its customers through rate hikes.


Pay to Play - very clear in this instance. Time to get local press in the involved districts/states to revisit the story.

[MuseRider]

20. One more article

from CommonDreams

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0606-02.htm

**One executive of Westar Energy Inc. told colleagues in an e-mail that "we have a plan for participation to get a seat at the table" of a House-Senate conference committee on the Bush administration's energy plan. The cost, he wrote, would be $56,500 to campaign committees, including some associated with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Tex.), Rep. Joe Barton (Tex.), Rep. W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (La.) and Sen. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.).

The e-mail said Tauzin and Barton "made this request" for donations, and Shelby "made a substantial request" for another candidate. It not specify a direct request from DeLay.**

[salin]

5. DeLay and Tom Feeney (Fla)

Remember ole Feeney ... big in the 2000 election drama?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/05/AR2005060501223.html

Another Republican in the Democrats' sights is Rep. Tom Feeney (Fla.), who as a state official was an aggressive advocate for Bush during the presidential election recount fight of 2000, and has been a key DeLay supporter. Like DeLay, Feeney accepted a trip to South Korea from a group that later declared itself a foreign agent, which would have made the group ineligible to fund trips for lawmakers. Like DeLay, Feeney traveled to Scotland and played golf, accompanied by Abramoff.

[HeeBGBz]

6. Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and son Governor Matt "Baby" Blunt (R-MO)

Connected to both Delay and Abramoff

http://www.beyonddelay.org/summaries/blunt.php

[salin]

7. related (probably some of the same links) per Blunt

http://www.davidsirota.com/2005/09/blunts-record-shows-hes-as-corrupt-as.html

long list - and this little tidbit: BLUNT USES LOBBYISTS AS DE FACTO WHIPS TO PASS CORPORATE TAX CUT: "Blunt's mobilization of the lobbying community proved crucial in winning passage" of a massive special-interest tax cut bill in 2004. Though the public opposed the bill, Blunt had a "solution to breaking the logjam: Every major lobbying interest got something... The task of rounding up the votes was delegated by Blunt's whip operation to a coalition of lobbyists, all of whom had clients with huge stakes in the outcome." – Washington Post, 5/17/05

[HeeBGBz]

9. Matt Blunt trashed social services in MO

He's a total neocon Bush bitch. As is the father.


http://www.bluntwatch.info/

[acmejack]

10. Don't forget how Tauzin ran off to PHarma as soon as Medicare D passed!

He is lining his pockets big time! This sorry excuse for an ex-public servant needs to jpoin Tom in the clink!

[salin]

13. I bet that it would be very easy to demonstrate

pharma industry language inserted by Pharma - in conjunction with Pharma gifts just prior to his resignation (as in - money for campaigns - if a member has held office for a certain amount of time - can be converted to personal use when they retire - after all outstanding debts from campaigns are paid.)

[Dr.Phool]

12. Ninny Brown-Waite (R-FL)

The antidote:
www.johnrussellforcongress.com

[salin]

14. don't know much about her... can you tell us a little bit about her?

and best wishes to Russell.

[salin]

16. Story I completely missed: Chris Chocola of Indiana

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/13/19381/584

one hundred thousand armpac related dollars - (illegal?) - for five congressmen in the last minutes of their campaigns...

[cascadiance]

25. Send Chocola back to managing his inherited pool supply business...

from his pop that made him one of the more wealthiest congress critters on Capitol HIll.

I know that's what he used to do, as I used to do yardwork with him right before he got into High School back in Michigan. His family was filled with spoiled rich kids then, and they are now too.

[Swamp Rat]

21. Nah nah naaah naaah, nah nah naaah naaah! Hey hey hey! Goodbye Tom!

[salin]

22. Hey Tom... take the rest of the rubbish with you on the way out the door.

[Swamp Rat]

23. And all his six-legged pals too!

Eat cockroaches DeLay! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[salin]

24. Hal Rogers of Kentucky

on the surface just more pork. But, we have recently seen a similar story where it turns out the "biggest campaign contributor" to a california congressman who pushed through the privatization of a local airport - in order to sell it to developers - was also a "business partner."

So here is Hal's story - wonder how many there are - and how many times as in the recent story listed above, the big contributor is also a business partner (and thus potentially the financial benefit is spread back to the legislator.)

http://www.campaignmoney.org/blog/2005/01/19/paved-paradise-put-up-a-parking-lot