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From the Right by Ed Farnan

Senate Leader says "This is Almost Gangster Politics"

Posted on Monday, May 16, 2011 at 10:21 PM

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The hyperbole is getting heated as the President is expected to sign an executive order that would erase 70 years of efforts to get politics out of official federal business.

There are already safeguards in the system, perhaps they just need to be enforced, or tweaked. But this proposed executive order by the White house is drawing a lot of flak and many say deservedly so.

Under the order, all companies who do business with the government would be required to list their political donations as a condition to bidding for government contracts.

Senate minority Leader McConnell in an interview calls the order the "crassest" political move he's ever seen. "This is almost gangster politics, to shut down people who oppose them. . . . I assure you that this going to create problems for them in many ways—seen and unseen—if they go forward."

Democrats are claiming we deserve to know how federal dollars being paid to contractors are being spent in campaigns. The White House and Democrats tried to pass the Disclose Act last year. The legislation would have forced outside groups to disclose their donors, but it failed to pass Congress after stalling in the Senate.

The administration's argument that this is about disclosure is "a fraud,"says Senator Susan Collins. The order undermines decades of work by her and others to ensure federal business is free of corruption and political influence. It's the "equivalent of repealing the Hatch Act," she argues, the 1939 law designed to weed out federal pay-to-play.

Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Small Business Committee, said that asking for political contribution information from a company during a contract's bidding process disturbed him greatly.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the Oversight panel, said the draft order was "Chicago, hardball politics" that could have "a chilling effect" on contractors who want to participate in the political process. "This executive order is outside of the procurement process," Issa said.

Hans von Spakovsky at the Heritage Foundation said: “It is really amazing— they(Democrats) lost in the Supreme Court, they lost in Congress, they lost at the FEC, so now the president is just going to do it by edict.”

Why Does the Obama Administration Want to Know Your Political Beliefs Before They Give You a Job?
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/05/19/does-obama-administration-want-know-political-beliefs-job/

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snakehips | May 19, 2011, 04:26 PM EDT

I guess that some folks in politics don't think honesty is the best policy

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Monsoonman | May 18, 2011, 10:33 PM EDT

McNamara, good point. We have an unholy alliance of politicians/corps aligned against us. My answer would be to have severe penalties for politicians, life terms, even death penalty for betraying the public trust, as it is really treason. Have some sort of term limits. Really find out who they are before voting them in. The press is corrupt as well by protecting them. We are always left with the choice of lesser of 2 evils, we end up with evil of 2 lessers.

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McNamara31 | May 18, 2011, 07:57 PM EDT

Monsoonman..What is the answer when the everyday person is fighting the out greed of the oil companies on one hand, and the oil speculators on the other hand, and the politicians are in the back pockets of both?

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Monsoonman | May 18, 2011, 11:35 AM EDT

McNamara: You did learn when you were attending the "ol perfessers" class of economics 101, that corporations don't pay the taxes, the end product users do? It will just boost the price of fuel at the pump to you, perfesser and me....BTW: These so-called "subsidies" to the oil companies let them right off costs and risks associated with exploring and finding new sources of oil, so taxing them on that is a bit counter-intuitive don't you think?

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Monsoonman | May 18, 2011, 11:29 AM EDT

Ole perfesser: There is a set of checks and balances already, the whitehouse wants to get their hands on it and politicize it. Remember your messiah has only 2 more years in the whitehouse and then it will be a republican. Do you want the Republican President to have the power that you are willing to give up to "the one"? I surely hope you don't teach the children this sort of short term tom-foolery. Just what are you a perfesser of?

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McNamara31 | May 18, 2011, 09:47 AM EDT

Yesterday the GOP(Grand Oil Party)voted down a Democratic measure that would have ended the tax breaks for the five largest oil companies. These oil companies that last quarter, that`s just a quarter of a year made $32 billion in profits, not revenue, profits. ..Politicians bought and sold by corporate greed.

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TheOldPerfessor | May 18, 2011, 09:36 AM EDT

Bush did't need disclosure. His people read all of our emails and listened to all of our phone calls. Keepin us safe.

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Monsoonman | May 17, 2011, 02:05 PM EDT

So the Whitehouse will be the gatekeeper/last word and arbitrator of who is worthy of getting govt. contracts? You want 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue totally turned into Blago/Emmanuel pay for play politics? It's bad enough as it is. Just think through one chess move to see where this goes. What would you be saying if Bush tried to do this? Nuff said!

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seagreen | May 17, 2011, 01:26 PM EDT

Gabster politics!! How dare that they want us to disclose the millions of dollars that are being slipped under the table to "our kind of people"! How else are we going to control and use economic leverage to facilitate the kind of business and political atmosphere that should be the norm in this country. There is no reason why some scrub should know what is going on.... What is happening to this country..

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TheOldPerfessor | May 17, 2011, 09:52 AM EDT

Let's see now, this is the senate leader who said that the number one thing for his people to do is make sure that Obama is a one term president. If he'd get his hands out of the pockets of his corporate friends and look around this country, he might see that there are a lot of problems to solve here. If he thinks about it, he's a government employee paid to solve those problems. Since by his own admission he is only working for his party, he is ripping off America every time he cashes a pay check.

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Fran Connor | May 17, 2011, 09:47 AM EDT

I might consider going along with this if the news media were required to do the same thing.

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McNamara31 | May 17, 2011, 09:14 AM EDT

“This is almost gangster politics,” says McConnell. More low-life code talk from those who want to legislate by fear, and continue to serve corporate America rather than the American voter. The bill they are condemning as “gangster” will effectively request companies who do business with the government to list their political donations as a condition to bidding for government contracts. Sounds very fair and transparent to me. Eisenhower warned back then, about the growing industrial complex, their potential power, and how the use of that power would adversely affect the American way of life. Some politicians, whether they be, republican or democrat, are bought and sold by corporate America in order to raise money for reelection. We also need to be very aware of the new legislation passed by the Supreme Court that allows. for the first time, “corporate” money to enter upcoming presidential election. Why do you think corporate America needs to do campaign commercial? Do you think they are looking out for you; or their own desire to increase profits through manipulating the regulatory process?

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