“Pay to Play” keeps getting better everyday:
President-elect Barack Obama took big money from a man at the center of a federal probe that has forced one of Obama’s top Cabinet picks to withdraw.
Financial records show the Obama campaign got more than $30,000 from California financier David Rubin, the target of an investigation into donations and possible “pay-to-play” deals involving New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Obama’s pick for commerce secretary.
~~~In late September, Rubin attended an exclusive Los Angeles fundraiser for Obama, held at the Beverly Hills’ Greystone Mansion. Attendees gave tens of thousands of dollars which the campaign split between its own coffers, the Democratic National Committee and state-level campaign groups supporting Obama and Democratic candidates. The technique helps campaigns take in from individuals far more than the $2,300 maximum they are allowed to give to a single campaign fund.
Rubin’s money went to a joint Obama-DNC fund ($28,500), the DNC itself ($26,200), and to the Obama campaign ($2,300), according to the database of campaign donations at OpenSecrets.Org. News of the federal investigation into Rubin’s New Mexico dealings had broken less than three weeks earlier.
According to Entertainment Weekly’s coverage of the event, Rubin sat at Table 17 – one table away from Leonardo DiCaprio, “Survivor” producer David Katzenberg and comedian Chris Rock.
Check out the bolded portion. Rubin was invited THREE WEEKS after the scandal broke out. Still, the DNC and Obama had no problem whatsoever with this guy attending and giving some cash.
Wonder what kind of favors he was hoping to get from Obama and Richardson?
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what about all the bogus credit card camp funds?? Remember that? Why did Rubin put his name to ANY cash?
gotta love how the money trail always leads back to obama and comes from criminals. i guess his money was very good and and he had lots of it also. when will the media get their shit together and get to really digging at obama? could be interesting what they find and how deep it goes.
I have to question Obama’s mettle and whether or not he’ll have the backbone to not only stand up to fundamentalist abroad, but in this country.
This scandal is a Democrat Culture of Coruuption
Here is a just a sample:
CDR and the Democrats
The withdrawal of Bill Richardson recently made the headlines. In his case CDR gave money to Si SE Puede, a PAC formed to help pay Richardson’s expenses at the 2004 Democratic Convention. In exchange its argued that CDR received favorable treatment in regards to bids to do business for GRIP (Govenor Richardson’s Investment program), bid rigging in short.
Another aspect of pay for play, and one more likely to land a politician in jail is CDR’s tactic of finding friends, fundraisers and associates of elected Democrats, and hiring them as “Consultants”. In New Mexico it was Richardson friend Mike Stratton who was hired by CDR. On a side note the Director of Si Se Puede Fred Duval was hired by UBS ,a Swiss bank, as a consultant. UBS was also one of several banks that ended up receiving a cut of the GRIP pie. The collusion of CDR, elected Democrat, and consultants that occurred in New Mexico is similar to other CDR linked scandals. In Philadelphia it was Ron White (now deceased) who received money and super bowl tickets from the company and was hired as a consultant. He was also an associate and fundraiser for Philly Mayor Sharpe. In Pennsylvania as a whole it was Alan Kessler who was the chief lobbyist for CDR and a top fundraiser for Ed Rendell. The most egregious example would be Mayor Larry Langford of Birmingham Alabama, who is accused in a 101 count indictment of using his friend William Blount and lobbyist Albert LaPierre to funnel money, jewelry, cloths, and watches into his hands in exchange for government favors while he was President of the Jefferson County Commission. Jefferson County, which includes Birmingham is on the precipice of the greatest municipal bankruptcy in history. There are also questions of CDR’s actions in Atlanta and several of municipalities and CDR is currently being sued by over 20 school districts and cities in addition to the criminal investigations.
A full Summary of the Scandal
http://46in08.blogspot.com/2009/01/cdr-david-rubin-bill-richardson.html