republicans are not a race of people . they are a group ! On Feb 10, 5:49 pm, Ohio mark <[email protected]> wrote: > ah murky the racist. > > On Feb 10, 7:13 am, "liberal mike532 !" <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > Is GOP Party Chair Michael Steele confused about jobs and campaign > > money? BF's Account of His Checkered Political History. > > Submitted by meg on Mon, 02/09/2009 - 1:01pm. Analysis > > A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS > > by Meg White > > > Jobs are on everyone's mind right now. Spokespeople for every party > > and organization in the country are weighing in on the subject, > > whether they have any idea what they're talking about or not. > > > So it is with newly-minted GOP National Committee Chair Michael > > Steele. On Sunday, Steele got into a confusing argument with George > > Stephanopoulos on This Week. He declared that people employed by the > > government don't really have "jobs" per se: > > > "If you got a government contract that's a fixed period of time it > > goes away. The work may go away. There's no guarantee that there's > > going to be more work when you're done with that job." > > > Watch a snippet of the interview here: > > > When Stephanopoulos noted that private sector jobs are not any more > > stable than government ones, Steele said cryptically that "they come > > back." > > > Steele's argument willfully ignored the existence of millions of > > teachers, police officers and other federal and state employees, who > > are by no means temporary workers. Steele also ignores the fact that > > much of the work that will come out of the stimulus bill will go to > > private companies in the form of government contracts. > > > Essentially, Steele would rather the government give private > > companies > > tax breaks than contracts, so he makes a nonsensical argument to try > > to bolster his party's flawed line of reasoning on the stimulus > > package. He calls the work temporary, but tax cuts are an even more > > short-lived solution. > > > Steele's lack of a coherent argument about employment goes back > > further than Sunday, however. He has been living off his party and > > the government for years, so it is ironic that he still denies that > > the government can produce jobs. Steele's story is proof that his own > > argument about government jobs is wrong, with a hint of corruption > > thrown in for good measure. > > > Steele started out as a Republican Party regular in Maryland. When he > > was tapped to run for lieutenant governor in 2002, his private sector > > job wasn't cutting it, so the GOP paid Steele $5,000 a month to run > > for the office. Though the arrangement was unusual, and called > > "obscene" by the opposition at the time, it is legal for a party to > > pay a candidate to run. > > > The real question is, if Steele truly thinks the private sector is > > the > > key to the success of this country, why did he close down his legal > > consulting firm and accept an allowance from the GOP to run for > > office? > > > It seems that the party stipend and the years of being on the state's > > payroll as lieutenant governor weren't enough for Steele. > > Contemplating a future run for governor as his term as lieutenant > > governor ran out in 2007, he instructed an aide to transfer more than > > $500,000 from his lieutenant governor campaign funds to another bank > > account so that the GOP could not distribute the funds to other > > candidates. > > > Such a transfer of funds is legal, but only because Steele planned to > > use it to run for state office, not spend it on his failed 2006 > > Senate > > race, which would have been a national office. The accusation of > > illegality, contained in a confidential court document accidentally > > mailed to The Washington Post, is based on the fact that the transfer > > was carried out by an aide and not Steele himself. > > > Steele contends that the transfer was legal. In fact, Steele insists > > that every accusation levied against him by his former finance chair > > for his 2006 Senate run is false. Alan Fabian was convicted on > > unrelated fraud charges and made several accusations against Steele > > in > > a failed effort to get a reduced sentence. > > > Fabian also accused Steele of making improper campaign fund payments, > > both to his own sister for more than $37,000 and to a law firm to the > > tune of $75,000. Fabian alleged the services for which the payments > > were made were never rendered. Furthermore, The Washington Post > > notes > > that Steele's sister's company had been dissolved for 11 months by > > the > > time the payment was made. > > > These payments may be, as Steele insists, perfectly legal. But the > > fact that Steele is being investigated by the FBI suggests that this > > is more than just a convicted felon naming names in order to get out > > of jail sooner. > > > Furthermore, Fabian's story makes more sense in historical context. > > As > > part of a failed bid for state comptroller in 1998, Steele owed > > $35,000 in campaign debt, mostly to his sister. Also, he's been fined > > twice for missing campaign reporting deadlines. The overall situation > > suggests a lack of good judgment, a worrisome pattern of ethical > > problems and sketchy motivation for Steele's entire political career. > > > Steele's brand new job is to get members of his party elected to > > Congress. His history of problems with campaign finance shouldn't > > inspire much confidence. Moreover, he doesn't seem to think the > > government provides real jobs. In keeping with his twisted logic, he > > axed a slew of jobs as one of his first acts as GOP chair. Steele > > seems to be saying that only he and his family should be allowed to > > live off of party and government money. > > > As we noted last week, Steele fits quite nicely into the > > characteristic GOP hypocrite frame. Not only is he duplicitous for > > promising change but delivering more of the same, but he's > > hypocritical in his desire to live off the taxes and political > > contributions of others, at the same time that he criticizes the idea > > that the public sector could be a source of employment. > > > Steele is just one more contradiction showing that the GOP's economic > > arguments fail to pass the common sense test. It looks to us like > > Steele is not in government to serve the public, but to enrich > > himself > > and his own friends and family, while working to reduce the > > government > > itself to drowning size.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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