CO Senate Race: Abramoff & Schaffer's '99 fact-finding trip = "palm-studded beach resort"

[L. Coyote]

The Corrupt Bastards Club still has lots of holes to fill in their sinking flagship, the Republican Party :rofl:
This guy seems more like a heavy anchor now, than a viable candidate. :rofl: He has Abramoff written all over himself! :rofl:

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Abramoff ties cloud Schaffer's '99 fact-finding trip
Bob Schaffer's campaign says the ex-lobbyist didn't sway a look at factories in the Mariana Islands.
By Michael Riley - Denver Post - 04/10/2008 - http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8872607


Just before boarding a plane to the Mariana Islands in 1999, then-Congressman Bob Schaffer announced he was embarking on a fact-finding mission to get to the bottom of repeated allegations of labor abuse in the American protectorate.

..... What he didn't say was that the trip was partly arranged by the firm of now-jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who represented textile factory owners fighting congressional efforts to reform labor and immigration laws on the islands and who was being handsomely paid to keep the islands' cherished exemptions.

Schaffer and his wife stayed for free at a palm-studded beach resort ........

..... the Republican candidate for Colorado's open Senate seat described the protectorate's guest-worker program as a "model" lawmakers could use as they overhaul the U.S. immigration system. ....

[ck4829]

1. These idiots don't know how to do a fact-finding mission

Leo Ryan, that congressman went on real fact-finding missions.

For example:
He actually took up a job as a substitute teacher to investigate conditions in the Los Angeles area
He became an inmate of Folsom Prison to see how Congress could bring about prison reform

You're supposed to do this to find FACTS, not use it as a front for a nice vacation.

[L. Coyote]

2. Denver Post: Schaffer twice endorsed Abramoff ally

Schaffer twice endorsed Abramoff ally
He was in ads for the Northern Mariana Islands' governor, who led that government to hire the lobbyist's firm.
By Michael Riley - 04/11/2008 - http://origin.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_8884479


At two key moments in the political life of Benigno Fitial — governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and a powerful former ally of now-jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff — then-Congressman Bob Schaffer was among several Republican U.S lawmakers who stepped in to lend their support, according to a copy of advertisements posted on a national blog and another obtained by The Denver Post.

The first was in 1999, when Fitial, who supported the islands' garment industry, was preparing an underdog run for House speaker of the Commonwealth Legislature. The second came two years later, when Fitial was running for governor of the islands.

The two instances, in which Schaffer endorsed Fitial in ads in island newspapers, show that Schaffer has had close and enduring ties with key politicians on the American protectorate, extending relationships he developed while on a fact-finding mission there in August 1999. They also show that Schaffer was part of a concerted and public campaign by Republicans on the House Committee on Natural Resources to boost Fitial's public career when he became key to extending a multimillion-dollar lobbying contract for Abramoff from the island's government.

.................

[L. Coyote]

5. CHENEY at Fundraiser, Schaffer 'disgusted' with articles exploring lobbyist links

Schaffer 'disgusted' with articles exploring lobbyist link
By Nancy Lofholm - Denver Post - 04/11/2008 - http://www.denverpost.com/nationalpolitics/ci_8894599


GRAND JUNCTION — Senate candidate Bob Schaffer brushed off questions today ... during a press conference following Cheney's visit about Denver Post reports that link him to an effort by jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff to quash labor reform in the Mariana Islands .... Schaffer ... described the protectorate's guest-worker rules as a "model" for the U.S. immigration system.

Schaffer was visibly angry. "I am really disgusted with the tone and tenor and direction of The Denver Post stories. I have had no contact with the individuals in the story, particularly Jack Abramoff," Schaffer said. "It's a matter of fiction. That's all I'm going to say about it."

After deflecting one question ... Schaffer turned back to ... a private conversation he had with Cheney, Cheney told him he was impressed with the growth and construction he saw from the window of his limousine ....

Protesters lined part of the Vice President's route waving signs and holding out hands painted red to symbolize Cheney's part in the Iraq War ....

[L. Coyote]

3. visibility kick

[L. Coyote]

4. "From 1997 until 2003, he represented Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District in the United States

Colorado State Board of Education
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeboard/bdbobschaffer.htm

Bob Schaffer (R)
Fourth Congressional District,Fort Collins
Terms of Office: January 2006 - January 2013

Bob Schaffer is vice-president for business development at Aspect Energy, Inc., of Denver, Colorado where he is involved in a variety of energy, mining and education projects. He also serves as president of the Parental Alliance for Choice in Education, a non-profit corporation promoting reform in Colorado’s public education system and leading the state’s transformation to a market-driven education system.

From 1997 until 2003, he represented Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Prior to serving in Congress, Mr. Schaffer served nine years in the Colorado State Senate, where he was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, chairman of the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, and vice-chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Mr. Schaffer is chairman of the Leadership Program of the Rockies, a corporation providing economic and political leadership training in Colorado. He also serves as Commissioner of the Eighth Judicial District Nominating Commission; was elected Republican National Committeeman for Colorado; and is the Colorado Chairman of the Judicial Confirmation Network.

Mr. Schaffer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Dayton majoring in Political Science. ........

[L. Coyote]

6. Alan Franklin: Marianas questions dog Bob Schaffer

Marianas questions dog Bob Schaffer
By Alan Franklin - Apr 8th, 2008 - http://www.progressnowaction.org/page/community/post/al/Cqfb


.... Schaffer expressed support for a "guest-worker" program of some description, and acknowledged the impossibility of simply deporting millions of people from the United States. So far so good.

Then Schaffer makes a truly breathtaking and unexpected statement:

"He pointed to the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. protectorate that imports tens of thousands of foreign textile workers, as a successful model for a guest-worker program that could be adapted nationally. ...."

.... Here's what we know about Schaffer's involvement in the CNMI scandal:

In August of 1999, the Denver Post reported then-Rep. Schaffer took a trip to Saipan (capital of the Northern Marianas Territory) to "investigate" reports of labor abuses ....

.........