The Culture Of Corruption: Taking Harry Reid To The Woodshed
The Washington Post has some harsh words for the Senate Minority Leader:
THE BEST CASE for Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is that he was sloppy about financial disclosure rules in accounting for a real estate deal on which he made a $700,000 profit. The more unattractive case is that the senator’s inaccurate description of the investment was an effort to disguise his partnership with a Las Vegas lawyer who’s never been charged with wrongdoing but whose name has surfaced in federal investigations involving organized crime, casinos and political bribery since the 1980s. As of now, the evidence points toward sloppiness; Mr. Reid’s friendship with Jay Brown isn’t exactly a secret in the state. But either way, an Associated Press report about Mr. Reid’s dealings doesn’t cast the senator in an attractive light. Neither does his response to the AP story, which indicates a casual disregard for the importance of accurate reporting of lawmakers’ financial affairs.
…Mr. Reid’s professions of transparency and full disclosure are transparently wrong. His investment was not reported in a manner that made clear his partnership with Mr. Brown. It’s true — under the inadequate financial disclosure rules — that even if Mr. Reid had listed the newly formed corporation, Patrick Lane LLC, that wouldn’t have by itself demonstrated Mr. Brown’s involvement. Nonetheless, that Mr. Reid no longer owned the land, but instead had sold it for an interest in the Patrick Lane corporation, was not some mere “technical change,” as the senator would like to brush it off. It’s an essential element of financial disclosure rules, the purpose of which is to know how and with whom public officials are financially entwined.
Well put…
It doesn’t shock me that Republicans are trying to make a big deal about this Reid thing. But I must say, I find this Post editorial totally inane. Don’t they have any tax or real estate attorneys they can talk to before publishing stuff like this? Based on what’s been reported so far, this is, at worst, the most trivial of offenses. Transferring ownership of a large piece of real estate to an LLC is a totally routine thing, and it doesn’t even have any tax consequences in most situations. It’s not a “sale” in any meaningful sense of the term. Reid’s staff appears to have in good faith thought that they reported this stuff correctly, and probably did under prevailing rules. Reid continued to report his ownership of the land, and did not use his position to affect the land’s value. All this talk about hiding his connection to Brown doesn’t seem to have any merit. Everyone knew they were friends and associates. This is, at worst, a trivial reporting error.
Contrast that with land deals that have made headlines involving Republican leaders. Hastert, for instance, bought a parcel of land and then used legislation to greatly increase its worth (by putting a highway right next to it). He then sold it for an obscene profit. That totally unethical behavior and made only small headlines (no Post editorial). And there’s nothing even remotely equivalent in the Reid story.
This is a desperate attempt to create false equivalence.
“It doesn’t shock me that Republicans are trying to make a big deal about this Reid thing.”
If this was being reported at redstate.org, or by ken mehlmen…
It is reported by the AP. The WaPo wrote the editorial. I don’t think the gop is trying, I think reality bit harry in the ass.
“Mr. Reid’s professions of transparency and full disclosure are transparently wrong.”
failing to mention that he made 1.1 million dollars on his ethics form, just slipped his mind?
The post was kind to him, as they have been kind to hastert. Hastert’s son is a lobbyist. Even this reality is hardly new to DC. Tom Daschle’s wife lobbied for the airline industry after Sept 11, in efforts to obtain govt funding to prevent companies going into bankruptcy.
The post unwilling to open the real can of worms in DC, avoided reporting that Reid’s sons are all lobbyists.
“In 2003 Reid was embarassed by a Los Angeles Times article on his son and son-in-law lobbying his office. In 2002 Reid introduced a bill, “The Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002,” which was ostensibly aimed at boundary shifts, land trades and other arcane matters in Nevada. The Times article explains that the bill would provide “a cavalcade of benefits to real estate developers, corporations and local institutions that were paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in lobbying fees to his sons’ and son-in-law’s firms”.
Abramoff? funny how Reid is tied to him as well:
“According to a February 9, 2006 Associated Press story, Reid wrote letters and had “routine contacts” with lobbying partners and clients of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.[17] (http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_3494483) Reid’s actions aided the interests of Abramoff’s Native American clients. Reid has acknowledged receiving $61,000 from clients or collegues of Abramoff, much of which was given to Reid by indian tribes after Abramoff was hired.[18] (http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Feb-03-Fri-2006/news/5696811.html) Reid collected donations around the time of each action he took to help Abromoff’s clients. Ethics rules require senators to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in legislative matters regarding campaign donors. While some politicans have returned contributions they received from Abramoff or his clients, Harry Reid has steadfastly refused claiming the Abramoff matter “is a Republican scandal.”[19]
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060211/ap_on_go_co/abramoff_reid)
This isn’t a question of who is dirtier, they are all dirty. Which begs the question-why would the dems try and run on a platform of integrity, transparency, and honesty?
Sex and Money Scandals or National Security
Does this mean that Harry boys indiscretions should cast a light on the whole Democratic party? In light of how adamantly the Democrats have postured about investigating Hastert for Foley’s emails and instant messages, the answer would be yes.
politics as a texas barbecue:
secrets of a good barbecue? don’t cook the meat until you are near the time you serve it. spread the coals around and work the fire before you put the meat on it. don’t put the meat on until the accelerant smell burns off, or the meal will taste bad. don’t try and cook the whole meal of of one ‘hot spot’. patience and preparation…
I’m watching rove masterfully distributing the coals around, and he hasn’t begun their ‘seasoning and tenderizing’.
Wonder what cut of donkey meat the ‘berger coals’ will cook.
reid’s problem is not a national problem for dems. It is all local. I notice that rcp has two nv congressional races in the top 40. In July 06, Reid was at 49% in approval rating. Before this story just broke, he was at 54%. Sad if were to drop back down below 50, right before an election.
“Currently, he’s trying to explain a land deal in Nevada on which he made a pile of money and which may not have been properly disclosed.”
which may not have been? He has already sought to refile the ethics report, and admits to making the money.
btw-this was from Altlanta journal constitution. and guess what? 2 more congressional seats that are in rcp’s top 40 are also in Georgia. hmmm…should the gop go for the democratic playbook and rush to front of the capital steps and demand an inquiry now, or wait until the papers keep this tenderizing going, let the coals fire up, and then a week before the election cook a slab of Harry?
dems are working with plato, gop with machiavelli.
From AL, “Contrast that with land deals that have made headlines involving Republican leaders. Hastert, for instance, bought a parcel of land and then used legislation to greatly increase its worth (by putting a highway right next to it). He then sold it for an obscene profit. That totally unethical behavior and made only small headlines (no Post editorial). And there’s nothing even remotely equivalent in the Reid story.”
And how is this not just another way of skinning the cat of political influence & corruption? So he ‘sold’ the land before using multiple attempts to insert obscure legislation to effect profit? How about BLM pushed into doing a landswap outside the purview of their congressional charter/regulations? ? ???
Give me a break, why can’t you just agree that most incumbents of both sides are scamming and spinning to stay in power?
If a GOP had tried to flip land involving endangered species, the eco-freaks would have gone ballistic.
One way to end this culture of corruption. Term limits for both the electees and the unelected bureaucracy — by that I mean key leadership. By all means, stagger it or whatever, but no one should be in it for more than 12 ~ 15 years. While we’re at it, include Chiefs of staffs, congressional support staff and anyone else where longevity translates to undue influence.
We may end up muddle-ing our way thru the nuances of politics, but so what, fresh faces & approaches should more than make up for the “way-it’s-always-been-done” mindset. Certainly would lead to applying Lean Six Sigma/5S to the byzantine world that is politics.
Come to think of it, why is it that most ‘rightroots’ when presented with a plausible tale of corruption from one of their own–be it politico, pundit or in-between– tend to beat him/her about the head for being stupid, greedy or whatever and gennerally setting back their cause a notch or two. Ask Hastert, Foley, Delay, McCain, Cunningham, William Armstrong, The writer from NRO etc, etc
But the nutroots rally to bend anything to protect one of theirs? Kos? Nope. Josh? Nope. Reid? Nope. Ted (hic) Kennedy? Nope. Krugman? Nope. Rich? Nope. MoDo? Who, oh that schizofem? Nope. Stubbs? Nope. Jefferson? Nope. Sheehan? Nope. And the list goes on and on and on
So you ran Lieberman out and gave ole Zeb the raspberry? How magnificient. How courageous. And how short-sighted.
If one was to compare politics to the stock markets, the nutroots would be akin to the investors motivated only by short-term profits to the exclusion of long-term viability & growth. The same types that the Libs love to demonize as capitalist pigs. For both, the mantra is; “Who cares about the long-term. Will I cash in this next quarter?”
“Give me a break, why can’t you just agree that most incumbents of both sides are scamming and spinning to stay in power?”
it is only 20% of america, at least by perot.
Even though they lack a party, they are where elections are won. Not off year elections as much as presidential, but 3% here or there breaks elections.
The gop is corrupt. They stink of lobbyist money. They raised non-miltary spending 7% in the time of war. They have conrad burns, ted stevens, and even hastert has his son out there lobbying. I’m disgusted by them and their hypocrisy and cannot support them this election.
but AL cannot look at his own party with the same scrutiny and pretends that they are more ‘honest’.
both parties are bags of crap, but decidng between eating a 4 oz ‘sh*t sandwich, and a 16oz’er…I’ll take the smaller one. They already gave me the tax cut til 2008, and seeing as they have done sqaut for spending, I’ll vote again in 08. (The dems would have been better off in extending its sunset provision another 3 years, becuase its is 5-8 pts waitng to go off in the next presidential.)
Have you seen Capt’n Ed’s latest expose on the cabal of corruption regarding Reid? Seems Reid, Jr is a county commissioner responsible for that tract of land from which daddy just netted $700K. What’s more, is that he’s pushng to build a Walmart in his district.
Walmart?
1) Isn’t that the same Walmart that Lamont places his stock in?
2) Isn’t that the same Walmart that cHillary served on the board of and profited hansomely thereof?
3) Isn’t that the same Walmart that is the whipping boy of the donks, including #1 & 2? Something about paying below avg wages, extorting the poor, yaddi, yadda?
Oh vey.
ok. maybe it was more like the 32oz, jumbo.
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