|
Edited on Tue Oct-03-06 06:25 PM by MaineDem
Bush Continues The West Coast Swing Of His Smear And Fear Tour
Washington, DC - Today, in the second day of his west coast swing, President Bush continues his Fear and Smear tour of distortions about his Administration’ s failed policies. Yesterday, he engaged in more partisan election year rhetoric to deflect attention from his own disastrous record on the war on terror, and a White House spokeswoman confirms that he'll do more of the same today in California.
"This has been a bad week for President Bush and his Republican Congress, but it's still no excuse for using fear and smear tactics in hopes of misleading Americans to boost your party's political prospects," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "President Bush should stop ignoring the fact that under his watch America is less safe. The national intelligence community confirms that the war in Iraq is hurting our efforts to fight and win the war on terror, Secretary Rice can't seem to get her story straight about her meetings on al Qaeda threats before 9/11 and now the President is fundraising today for two lawmakers mired in the Republican culture of corruption. President Bush and his Republican Congress have lost all credibility with the American people. Rather than blustery rhetoric and election-year attacks, Democrats are offering a new direction that includes policies that are both tough and smart."
DOOLITTLE, POMBO AND THE GOP CULTURE OF CORRUPTION
RICHARD POMBO (R-CA)
Pombo Took Campaign Contributions from Abramoff & Tribes, then Refused to Investigate Them. Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist at the center of an influence- peddling investigation involving Native American gambling interests, gave $7,500 total to Pombo's campaign and RICH PAC shortly after the congressman became chairman of the Resources Committee in 2003. In December 2005, Pombo gave $7,000 in Abramoff contributions to charity but still has a $500 contribution given by Abramoff in 1996. During the 2004 election cycle, Pombo received $41,750 from Indian gaming interests, making him the 8th highest recipient in the House. In addition, while Pombo received no money from tribes just a few years ago, he took at least $35,000 this quarter alone. Costa Times, 5/1/05; Associated Press, 4/14/05; Modesto Bee, 12/19/05; www. opensecrets.org; www.fec.gov]
Pombo Lobbied Against Guidelines Opposed by Wind Power Industry, But Failed to Disclose His Family Had a Personal Stake in Wind Power. In 2004, aides to Pombo lobbied the U.S. Department of the Interior to suspend environmental guidelines opposed by the wind-power industry without disclosing that Pombo's family had a substantial financial stake in wind energy. The 2003 guidelines sought to reduce the number of birds killed by the spinning blades of wind turbines. In the letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Pombo asked that draft guidelines be suspended because of the harmful effect they would have on existing operations. Following Pombo's letter, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representatives subsequently withdrew from talks with environmentalists, wind operators and local regulators. When asked if he felt any obligation to disclose his family's income when dealing with wind-power issues, Pombo answered: "Disclose what? That somebody in my family makes money?” Times, 4/7/05; Contra Costa Times, 4/21/05; Fresno Bee, 4/8/05]
Pombo's Parents Own a 300-acre Ranch In Altamont Pass And Have Received Thousands in Wind Power Royalties. Just east of Oakland, Pombo's parents own a 300-acre ranch in Altamont Pass and have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from wind-power turbines on their land over the last 17 years. According to price and production records obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Pombo's parents' royalties for the most recent year available, 2001, topped $125,000. That was at the peak of the California energy crisis when prices were unusually high. Pombo Used Taxpayer Dollars to Pay for Family Vacation. In August 2003, just after becoming House Resources Committee chairman, Pombo took a two week vacation in an RV with his family. "This August, my family and I rented an RV and set out to explore the West," Pombo wrote in a 2003 article posted on the Resources Committee's Web site. "We spent two weeks on vacation, stopping along the way to enjoy the splendor of many of our national parks." Pombo was reimbursed $4,935.87 to rent the RV and spent $1,500.51 on a government credit card for "travel subsistence" during a two-week span from July 27 to Aug. 11, 2003, according to a Resources Committee spending ledger. House rules dictate "official travel may not be for personal ... purposes," but allows for members of Congress to bring family members along on official trips. A Committee spokesman defended Pombo's expenses. He said Pombo spent those two weeks visiting and meeting with officials at 10 national parks, over which his committee has jurisdiction.
JOHN DOOLITTLE (R-CA)
Doolittle’s Office Described Abramoff as a “Close Friend,” Took $14,000 from Abramoff and Used His Skybox and Restaurant. According to the Sacramento Bee, “ Doolittle’s office has described Abramoff as a ‘close friend’ of the congressman.” John Doolittle took $14,000 from Jack Abramoff on 5/29/00, 11/27/00, 5/23/01, and 12/28/01. As recently as December 24, 2005, Doolittle said that he would keep the money. In 1999, Doolittle used the luxury MCI sports box of Jack Abramoff for a fundraiser and neither paid to rent the box or reported its value as an in-kind contribution. Six years later, the undisclosed fundraiser was revealed which then prompted Doolittle’s office to file the fundraising event. According to the New York Times, former employees of Abramoff’s restaurant Signatures, “Say Representative John T. Doolittle* was given free meals at the restaurant. But his spokeswoman, Laura Blackann, said Mr. Doolittle did nothing wrong. ‘To his recollection, any meal the congressman had at Signatures was either paid for personally or paid for in compliance with House rules by someone with whom the congressman was dining,’ Ms. Blackann said.” The Sacramento Bee, also reported that, “Doolittle also used a popular Capitol Hill restaurant that Abramoff once owned, Signatures, for fundraising events.” Sacramento Bee, 2/9/05; New York Times, 7/6/05; Sacramento Bee, 11/30/05]
Doolittle Received Contributions From Wilkes and ADCS. Doolittle had a close relationship with defense contractor Brent Wilkes who has been implicated in the Duke Cunningham lobbying scandal. According to the San Diego Union- Tribune, “Between 2002 and 2005, Wilkes and his associates and lobbyists gave Doolittle's campaign and political action committee $118,000, more than they gave any other politician, including Cunningham.” Wilkes held a fundraiser for Doolittle at the headquarters of his company, ADCS. According to the Union- Tribune, “The 15 guests on Wilkes' invitation were all ADCS employees or partners on projects Wilkes was trying to get funded, together with their spouses. Over the next four months, members of the group gave a total of $50,000 to Doolittle's political action committee.” According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, “Doolittle has publicly admitted that he helped Wilkes get the $37 million in federal contracts for PerfectWave through the ‘earmark’ process, in which legislators pencil in funding for specific projects. In October 2002, as Doolittle pushed for funding for PerfectWave, Wilkes and his associates donated $7,000 to his campaign and $10,000 to his political action committee."
###
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats. org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
|