what will they say about the NYTimes' "smear" attempt? http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/u...fd&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink [rquoter]Clinton Donor Under a Cloud in Fraud Case By MIKE McINTIRE and LESLIE WAYNE Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign said yesterday that it would give to charity $23,000 it had received from a prominent Democratic donor, and review thousands of dollars more that he had raised, after learning that the authorities in California had a warrant for his arrest stemming from a 1991 fraud case. The donor, Norman Hsu, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Democratic candidates since 2003, and was slated to be co-host next month for a Clinton gala featuring the entertainer Quincy Jones. The event would not have been unusual for Mr. Hsu, a businessman from Hong Kong who moves in circles of power and influence, serving on the board of a university in New York and helping to bankroll Democratic campaigns. But what was not widely known was that Mr. Hsu, who is in the apparel business in New York, has been considered a fugitive since he failed to show up in a San Mateo County courtroom about 15 years ago to be sentenced for his role in a scheme to defraud investors, according to the California attorney general’s office. Mr. Hsu had pleaded no contest to one count of grand theft and was facing up to three years in prison. The travails of Mr. Hsu have proved an embarrassment for the Clinton campaign, which has strived to project an image of rectitude in its fund-raising and to dispel any lingering shadows of past episodes of tainted contributions. Already, Mrs. Clinton’s opponents were busy trying to rekindle remembrances of the 1996 Democratic fund-raising scandals, in which Asian moneymen were accused of funneling suspect donations into Democratic coffers as President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore were running for re-election. Some Clinton donors said yesterday that they did not expect the Hsu matter to hurt Mrs. Clinton unless a pattern of problematic fund-raising or compromised donors emerged, which would raise questions about the campaign’s vetting of donors. Mr. Hsu’s legal problems were first reported yesterday by The Los Angeles Times; The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday about his bundling of questionable contributions. “Everyone is trying to make the implications that it’s Chinese money, that it’s the Al Gore thing all over again, but I haven’t seen any proof of that,” said John A. Catsimatidis, a leading donor and fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton in New York. Some donations connected to Mr. Hsu raise questions about his bundling activities, although there is no evidence he did anything improper. The Wall Street Journal reported that contributors he solicited included members of an extended family in Daly City, Calif., who had given $213,000 to candidates since 2004, even though some of them did not appear to have much money. A lawyer for Mr. Hsu, E. Lawrence Barcella Jr., has said that Mr. Hsu was not the source of any of the money he raised from other people, which would be a violation of federal election laws. On his own, Mr. Hsu wrote checks totaling $255,970 to a variety of Democratic candidates and committees since 2004. Even though he was a bundler for Mrs. Clinton, his largess was spread across the Democratic Party and included $5,000 to the political action committee of Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois. Last month, Mr. Hsu was among the honored guests at a fund-raiser for Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island, given by Stephen A. Schwarzman of the Blackstone Group at the New York Yacht Club. Al Franken, a Democratic Senate candidate in Minnesota, said he would divest his campaign of Mr. Hsu’s donations, as did Representatives Michael M. Honda and Doris O. Matsui of California and Representative Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, all Democrats. Mr. Hsu’s success on the political circuit was not always matched by success in business. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Mr. Hsu came to the United States when he was 18 to attend the University of California, Berkeley, as a computer science major. He later received an M.B.A. at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, according to a brief biography that appeared in apparel industry trade publications in 1986. With a group of partners from Hong Kong, Mr. Hsu started a sportswear company in 1982 called Laveno that went bankrupt two years later, not long after he left the company. From that, he cycled through several other enterprises, mostly men’s sportswear, under the Wear This, Base and Foreign Exchange labels. Mr. Hsu’s career hit a low in 1989, when he began raising $1 million from investors as part of a plan to buy and resell latex gloves. Ronald Smetana, a lawyer with the California attorney general’s office, said Mr. Hsu was charged with stealing the investors’ money after it turned out he never bought any gloves and had no contract to resell them. When Mr. Hsu was to attend a sentencing hearing, he faxed a letter to his lawyer saying he had to leave town for an emergency and asking that the court date be rescheduled, Mr. Smetana said. He failed to show up for the rescheduled appearance, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest. That was the last that prosecutors saw of Mr. Hsu. “We assumed he would go back to Hong Kong, where he could recede into anonymity,” Mr. Smetana said. The California attorney general’s office declined to comment on how it intends to pursue Mr. Hsu. Mr. Hsu issued a statement yesterday, saying he was “surprised to learn that there appears to be an outstanding warrant” and insisting that he had “not sought to evade any of my obligations and certainly not the law.” “I would not consciously subject any of the candidates and causes in which I believe to any harm through my actions,” he said. At some point, Mr. Hsu resurfaced in New York, where he was connected to several clothing-related businesses, according to campaign finance records, which list his occupation variously as an apparel consultant, clothing designer, retailer or company president. He also began to donate to the Democratic Party, and arranged for friends to do the same. He has been referred to in news accounts of campaign fund-raising events as an “apparel magnate” and his quick rise in the New York political and social scene — as well as his open checkbook — catapulted him into the big leagues. He became a trustee at the New School and was elected to the Board of Governors of Eugene Lang College there. He endowed a scholarship in his name at the college and was co-chairman of a benefit awards dinner in 2006 that featured Mrs. Clinton, who had secured a $950,000 earmark for a mentoring program at the college for disadvantaged city youths. Asked yesterday about Mr. Hsu, Brian Krapf, a spokesman for the New School, said in a statement that “it is inappropriate to talk about a matter involving one of our trustees, particularly while we are still gathering all the facts.” [/rquoter]
and the LATimes too: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/08/breaking-news-b.html [rquoter]Big Dem fundraiser wanted on swindling charges The Los Angeles Times reports on this website tonight and in Wednesday's print editions that a major Democratic Party fundraiser named Norman Hsu is wanted by authorities for skipping out on an agreement to serve up to three years in prison after pleading no contest to grand theft swindling charges. In a story by Chuck Neubauer and Robin Fields, The Times reports that for three years Hsu has been carving out a place of political and financial influence by funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions into Democratic Party coffers, much of the money earmarked for Sen. Hillary Clinton. He has earned the ranking of Hillraiser for pledging to raise at least $100,000 for her. In just the last 36 months Hsu has been involved in raising more than $1 million for Clinton and other Democrats. Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, confirmed today that Hsu had been a "longtime and generous supporter" of the party including Clinton. "We have no reason to call his contributions into question or to return them," Wolfson added. Hsu has developed a specialty of bundling hefty campaign contributions from obscure citizens who live modest lives and have never before given money to campaigns. Many are not even registered to vote. Over the years other recipients of Hsu donations have included Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Edward Kennedy. Hsu's lawyer confirmed today that his client was the one involved in the California case but said he did not remember pleading to a criminal case nor facing jail time. "He is a fugitive," said Ronald Smetana of the California attorney general's office. "Do you know where he is?"[/rquoter]
and looks like Hill knows she's got a problem: [rquoter]Clinton to donate contributions from fugitive fundraiser WASHINGTON (CNN) — New York Sen. Hillary Clinton will return $23,000 in donations from a fundraiser who has an outstanding arrest warrant in California. Norman Hsu, a well-connected Democratic fundraiser, has come under scrutiny in recent days after news reports called into question some of his fundraising and also revealed a criminal record. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that six members of the family of a San Francisco mail carrier have donated a total of $45,000 to Clinton since 2005. The Journal also reported that those donations closely track donations made by Hsu. Then, the Los Angeles Times reported that Hsu is wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant because he failed to appear for sentencing in a criminal case in which he had pleaded no contest to a single felony count of grand theft in 1991. Several Democratic candidates across the country have decided to purge their campaigns of Hsu's contributions in light of these revelations. Comedian Al Franken, a U.S. Senate candidate in Minnesota; Rep. Michael Honda of California; and Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania have all said they would return contributions from Hsu. "In light of the new information regarding Ms. Hsu's outstanding warrant in California, we will be giving his contributions to charity," said Clinton spokesman Phil Singer. In a statement issued Wednesday, Hsu said he was "surprised to learn that there appears to be an outstanding warrant — as demonstrated by the fact that I have and do live a public life." In the statement, Hsu added, "I have not sought to evade any obligations and certainly not the law." On Tuesday, Hsu's attorney disputed any suggestion that his client had improperly directed contributions.[/rquoter] http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/
I'd rather let the campaign finance reformers speak for themselves: The former senator from Tennessee, Fred Thompson, who championed McCain-Feingold, promised that it would "help challengers reach a threshold of credibility when they want to challenge us in these races."
GEORGE: Now, listen closely. I was at the unemployment office and I told them that I was very close to getting a job with Vandaley Industries and I gave them your phone number. So, when now when the phone rings you've got to answer "Vanadaley Industries". JERRY: I'm Vanadaley Industries? GEORGE: Right. JERRY: And what is that? GEORGE: You're in latex JERRY: Latex? And what do I do with latex? GEORGE: Ya manufacture it. ELAINE: Here in this little apartment? JERRY: And what do I say about you? GEORGE: You're considering hiring me for your latex salesman. JERRY: I'm going to hire you as my latex salesman? GEORGE: Right. JERRY: I don't think so. Why would I do that? GEORGE: Because I asked you to. JERRY: If you think I'm looking for someone to just sit at a desk pushing papers around, you can forget it. I have enough headaches just trying to manufacture the stuff.
And the lack of campaign finance reform has allowed 3rd parties into the bi-partisan elections? Ideally, any sort of public funding of campaigns would include provisions for a third party at first, then any party that had candidates receiving a certain percentage of the popular vote. Again, this is ideal ... because neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are going to vote to allow the public to have better options. Like I said, it may already be too late, but a good start would involve making these thinly-veiled bribes (wearing the 'donation' mask) illegal. Unfortunately, the foundation of our nation may very well be beyond repair.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/u...9e&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink [rquoter]Democrats Turn From Big Donor Who’s Fugitive By MIKE McINTIRE and LESLIE WAYNE From $62,000 for Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York, to $10,000 for the Tennessee Democratic Party, the full extent of fund-raising by Norman Hsu came into focus yesterday, as campaigns across the country began returning his money in light of revelations that he is a fugitive in a fraud case. Beyond the hundreds of thousands of dollars he raised from others for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Mr. Hsu personally contributed more than $600,000 to federal, state and municipal candidates in the last three years, a review of campaign finance records shows. It was a startling amount of money for someone whose sources of income remained far from obvious yesterday, as visits to addresses he has provided for his businesses found no trace of Mr. Hsu. In interviews with Democrats, a picture emerged of Mr. Hsu as a valued and reliable rainmaker, someone who was frequently tapped at all levels of politics to make a contribution, bundle checks or hold an event. In addition, Mr. Hsu donated about $100,000 to the New School, where he is a board member and where a scholarship is offered in his name, according to Bob Kerrey, the former Democratic senator from Nebraska who is president of the university. John Liu, a New York City councilman who said he last spoke to Mr. Hsu a few months ago at a gathering of Asian-American Clinton supporters in Washington, said Mr. Hsu “certainly had a strong reputation” for being able to raise lots of money. “He actually told me he doesn’t get involved in municipal elections the first time I met him, but then he went ahead and gave to my campaign, and others,” Mr. Liu said, adding that he refunded Mr. Hsu’s $4,950 donation yesterday. The Clinton campaign has said it will give to charity $23,000 that Mr. Hsu contributed, and yesterday representatives of Mr. Spitzer and Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, who received $50,000 from Mr. Hsu, said they would do the same. A spokesman for Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat who is a rival of Mrs. Clinton for the party’s presidential nomination, said Mr. Obama intended to give away $7,000 that Mr. Hsu contributed to his committees. Mrs. Clinton appeared with Mr. Spitzer yesterday at an event in Manhattan, where she made her first public comments on the matter, saying revelations of Mr. Hsu’s past criminal problems were “a big surprise to everybody.” “When you have as many contributors as I’m fortunate enough to have,” she said, “we do the very best job we can based on the information available to us to make appropriate vetting decisions.” Mr. Hsu’s rapid fall was precipitated this week when the California attorney general’s office said there was an outstanding bench warrant for his arrest dating from 1992. Mr. Hsu was facing up to three years in prison after pleading no contest to a charge that he had defrauded investors, but he skipped out on a court appearance and was never seen again. E. Lawrence Barcella, Mr. Hsu’s lawyer, said that Mr. Hsu was getting a California lawyer to represent him before the state attorney general. Mr. Barcella declined to comment on where Mr. Hsu was, or on the status of any bench warrants issued against him in that state. “On that matter, he will be represented by California counsel,” Mr. Barcella said. Investigators believe that after Mr. Hsu skipped his court appearance in 1992, he went to his native Hong Kong and then continued working in the garment trade. At some point, Mr. Hsu, a naturalized American citizen, returned to New York and in 2003 made the first of what became hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to Democratic campaigns around the nation. People who met him said they knew only that he ran an apparel business. Efforts to learn more about his trade hit dead-ends yesterday. Visits to companies at addresses listed by Mr. Hsu on campaign finance records provided little information. There were no offices in buildings in New York’s garment district whose addresses were given for businesses with names like Components Ltd., Cool Planets, Next Components, Coopgors Ltd., NBT and Because Men’s clothing — all listed by Mr. Hsu in federal filings at different times. At a new loft-style residential condominium in SoHo that was also listed as an address for one of his companies, an employee there said that he had never seen or heard of Mr. Hsu. Another company was listed at a condo that Mr. Hsu had sublet in an elegant residential tower in Midtown Manhattan just off Fifth Avenue, but an employee there said Mr. Hsu moved out two years ago, after having lived there for five years. The employee, who was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about residents, said he recalled that Mr. Hsu had received a lot of mail from the Democratic Party. Mr. Kerrey said he was introduced to Mr. Hsu about two years ago, and shortly thereafter Mr. Hsu joined the board of governors at the Eugene Lang College for liberal arts at the New School. He joined the university’s board of trustees last July. “So much of the university is about the immigrant culture, and I liked his personal story, coming from China, and he had an interest in fashion as well,” Mr. Kerrey said. “It all intrigued me.” He said that the university did not do background checks of prospective trustees, and that he saw no reason to ask Mr. Hsu to resign from its board.[/rquoter] i believe you said something about a "smear campaign" mc kerry- do you still stand by that characterization?
Bout time you got one right! I'm off and heading for Martha's Vineyard for two weeks today! Don't get too bored without me.
The campaign finance reform that we have has certainly restricted the third parties' and independents' access. Look back at the elections from 100 or more years ago, there were far more significant third parties then. You could argue that those politicians were even more subject to bribes, but because the nation then had a clear view of the purpose of government, those bribes didn't do nearly as much damage to the nation. It's not just the third parties that incumbent protection, excuse me, campaign finance reform, affects. It's any challenger. In politics, money is just the means to the end that is publicity and media access. Except for the rare circumstance where the challenger is a celebrity, the incumbent starts out with 100s of times more publicity and access than the challenger. When you remove campaign finance restrictions, a person with broad enough or strong enough support will be able to make up that difference and get his/her views heard. Campaign finance reform, and moreso publicly funded campaigns, will ensure that the incumbent always has more publicity and access than the challenger.
