-Caveat Lector- http://www.msnbc.com/local/boshld/M5176.asp?cp1=1 Ted K flies on wings of high rollers Sen. Edward M. Kennedy often flies corporate or private jets to events, paying first-class fare, a fraction of the actual cost, to the owners. -- Tara Bricking Andrew Miga WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 - Frequent flier Sen. Edward M. Kennedy accepted 11 cut-rate campaign trips over the past two years aboard private jets owned by wealthy backers and companies with key issues before the Senate. KENNEDY (D-MASS.) FLEW corporate jets provided by defense giant Raytheon, a major health insurer and a powerful Texas trial lawyer with a huge stake in bills limiting liability lawsuits. Kennedy, a Herald review of federal campaign records found, also took flights on jets owned by a large labor union and two prominent Boston businessmen, Thomas H. Lee and David Mugar. Under a well-known campaign law loophole, Kennedy was able to use the luxury jets for a fraction of their actual cost - a practice public watchdog groups allege is a backdoor means for special interests to curry favor with politicians. The difference for a cross-country jaunt can easily run into tens of thousands of dollars since executive jet charters can cost upward of $3,000 per hour, according to industry sources. "It's a huge help to the candidate - a favor that these companies hope the candidate will remember," said Stephen Weiss of the non- partisan watchdog group, Center for Responsive Politics. "The average working person certainly can't do it." The senior senator, who spends considerable time campaigning nationwide on behalf of fellow Democrats, said he only uses the private aircraft as a last resort to meet the demands of his busy Senate schedule. "In certain situations Senator Kennedy's participation in events would not be possible without the use of private planes," said Kennedy spokesman Will Keyser. "He's used privately owned planes when commercial flights could not meet the needs of his schedule." Kennedy's office, like those of many other senior members of Congress, keeps a list of familiar corporate and private jet owners for its scheduling needs. During a western fund-raising swing last year, Kennedy hitched a ride aboard a jet provided by prominent trial lawyer John Eddie Williams Jr., whose successful Houston firm has been a leader in the high-stakes tort reform fight on Capitol Hill. The firm funneled an eye-popping $250,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in April as key bills limiting lawsuits headed to the Senate floor. Kennedy, like many other Democrats, has sided with trial lawyers in the fight. Trial lawyers fighting Republican efforts to curb lawsuits have been among the biggest donors to Democrats this past election season. American Family Life Assurance Co.'s Falcon 50 jet ferried Kennedy, a Senate leader on health care reform, to a Southeastern Massachusetts economic summit in 1999. AFLAC waged a major lobbying battle in Congress to sell cancer insurance. When Kennedy needed an early-morning flight from D.C. to his family's Hyannisport compound for a "60 Minutes II" interview April 20, the International Union of Bricklayers made its jet available. Two days later, records show, Massachusetts-based Raytheon's executive jet whisked Kennedy from D.C. to a speech at Boston's Suffolk University. "We had the flexibility to provide the jet to accommodate the senator," said Raytheon spokeswoman Amy Hosmer, noting the company abides strictly by Senate ethics rules for the flights. Raytheon, the Bricklayers, the trial lawyers and AFLAC each run strong lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill seeking to sway influential lawmakers, including Kennedy, on major issues. But Keyser said: "Senator Kennedy's record is unaffected by these trips. His agenda has been clear and consistent for decades. Nothing changes that." A campaign law loophole allows politicians to solicit and accept flights aboard private and corporate jets as long as they pay the equivalent first-class commercial fare - a small fraction of what the flights are actually worth. The law essentially allows wealthy contributors, corporations and other special interests to subsidize campaign travel, a practice that watchdog groups sharply criticize as a de facto campaign contribution. The Center for Responsive Politics considers the practice "one of the biggest scams in Washington," noting many lawmakers take full advantage of the loophole. The non-partisan Campaign Study Group, in a study last May, found Kennedy's $18,730 spending on private jets since 1995 was second in the Senate only to Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who paid $101,029. Candidates turning to private jets avoid the hassles and mind- boggling delays plaguing the traveling public, enjoying the luxury touches such as oversized seats, faxes and phones featured on executive aircraft. Kennedy in recent years used jets from Ness Motley Loadholt Richardson and Poole, whose partners have been active in the liability lawsuit battle, reimbursing the firm $4,856. President Clinton's former roommate and Las Vegas Sun newspaper executive Brian Greenspun made his jet available to Kennedy for a 1999 fund-raising trip out West. Kennedy in past years has also hitched rides on corporate jets owned by Coca-Cola and Federal Express, which maintains a fleet of executive jets it regularly makes available to leading members of Congress. -- God is dead, but fifty thousand social workers have risen to take his place. -- J. D. McCoughey <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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