Jerry Lewis is dirty too! Can you stand some more?

[Sydnie]

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

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.

Rep. Jerry Lewis says Cerberus' fundraising efforts helped him win the House Appropriations' chair but insists he did nothing improper.
Gerald Herbert, AP
<snip>

In the early summer of 2003, Lewis said, he heard that "some business people in New York" were interested in giving money to his political action committee, the Future Leaders PAC. At the same time, the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, which Lewis led and which oversees Pentagon spending, was considering the 2004 defense budget.

On June 16, the Defense Appropriations subcommittee preserved the money for the Navy-Marine Corps network. Lewis said he changed his mind and supported full funding for the program because the Navy maintained that management of the program had improved. On June 26, the full committee followed suit.

On July 7, Lewis traveled to New York for a fundraising dinner with Cerberus executives and their spouses, lawyers and business associates. They gave the Future Leaders PAC more than $110,000 that night and more in the following weeks, bringing the total to nearly $133,000 that month.

<snip>

Much more at the link. It appears that Worldcom became MCI, raised some money for Lewis, won a great government contract days later. They then helped raise some money for Lewis to present to the RNCC, so he could be the golden boy and get the chair of Appropriations committee. It was a win/win for MCI and Lewis. Also note, MCI hired Dan Quayle as a top exec.

Lewis insists that he did nothing wrong at the same time that he admits that a trip to NY for fundraising was a very unusual thing for him to do.

Read the article. Add another to the playbook of "pants on fire" republicans coming to light these days.

Damn, we are going to need a deck of cards for these guys soon. Mug shots should do nicely!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

1. Just read this too. I love your idea about a deck of cards - BUT

aren't there only 52 cards in a deck? What about a pinochle deck? Are there more?

[Sydnie]

3. Canasta deck - that's two full decks with all the jokers too! n/t

[baldguy]

2. That's a 1454% return on the investment.

[newyawker99]

4. Sydnie

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