Posts Tagged ‘corruption’

GM is Using Your Money to Reward Politicians That Gave GM Your Money

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010

According to The Wall Street Journal

The Detroit company gave $90,500 to candidates running in the current election cycle, Federal Election Commission records show…The beneficiaries include Midwestern lawmakers, mostly Democrats, who have traditionally supported the industry’s legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) and Rep. John Dingell (D., Mich.).”

Don’t you feel honored that a company owned by the Federal government is using your bailout money to reward those that supported a bailout?

According to WSJ, that list includes Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Republican Whip. Mr. Cantor should know better, and should make it a point to give the money back. ObamaMotors shouldn’t be trying to bribe our elected officials with our own money.

(Hat tip Don Surber.)

Rep. John P. Murtha, RIP

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Since I’ve slagged him fairly mercilessly in this space, I would be remiss not to mention the passing of Rep. John P. Murtha. Murtha served his country honorably in Vietnam, and then dishonorably in Congress, where he became the poster child for earmark corruption, doing everything in his power to steer pork patronage to his friends and relatives. The fate I wanted for Murtha was seeing him defeated and indicted, not dead. He’s now beyond the reach of any earthly justice, but the endemic congressional culture of cronyism and corruption he helped create and perpetuate survives him.

Evidently you can’t go a day without another John Murtha corruption story

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Today’s Rep. John Murtha (D-ollars)-related corruption story involves outright kickbacks from Kuchera Defense Systems Inc.:

A defense contractor with ties to Rep. John Murtha has been suspended again from bidding on government contracts, this time for paying more than $200,000 in kickbacks to another contractor turned government witness.

If you look at that CREW chart I linked to yesterday, you’ll see that Kuchera Defense Systems Inc. is part of the circle of corruption (one of several circles of corruption on that chart) for the Ervin Technical Associates lobbying firm. And which Ervin would they be technical associates of? That would be Jim Ervin, who you may remember from yesterday’s post about PharmAthene, the company to which the Obama Administration (personified by Tara O’Toole, another Murtha friend) awarded a no-bid contract for anthrax vaccines. And needless to say, just about everyone associated with Kuchera Defense Systems are heavy Murtha campaign contributors. (So many backs to scratch, and so many taxpayer dollars needed to scratch them.)

Bonus: Owner Bill Kuchera is a convicted drug dealer.