Democracy Has Prevailed.

October 5, 2008

Jack Kelly Sunday

Interesting.

As one of Sarah Palin's truest boosters (he was boosting Palin back in June), you'd think that Jack Kelly would have had something - anything - to say about this week's debate. The debate was Thursday evening, right? Surely on such an important occasion he'd want to get something on the record as soon as possible.

But check out his column this week - nothing. No chest thumping histrionics supporting the wingnut notion that Palin wiped up the floor with Joe Biden. No whiny allegations of "bias" about Gwen Ifill's book. No self-righteous charges of media sexism for bringing up Palin's many misstatements, distortions and lies.

No, this week Jack's on to Senator Obama's campaign contributions. It's always interesting what Jack doesn't say. Sometimes it says more than what Jack actually says.

While I could be wrong, this week's column seems to be a rehash of this column from Newsmax.com. (Note: Jack quotes from it so this is not a case of plagiarism.)

But Newsmax? Since when is Newsmax a credible source for P-G columnists?

For those who don't know, Newsmax's CEO is Christopher Ruddy. He's the "Vince Foster was killed" guy who also asserted that Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, whose body was found in a plane crash in Croatia, was actually killed by a gunshot wound to the head. No explanation for what happened to the gunman who would have conceivably died in that plane crash, as well.

Yea, That Newsmax.

This is how the rightwing noise machine works. Some goofy, half-baked (at best) idea gets burped up in the wingnut media and then conservative pundits complain that the story's NOT being picked up in more mainstream media outlets and then those outlets cover the controversy and BAM! the story's on everyone's desktop.

You can tell that that's what's going on when Jack writes:
If Mr. Obama were a Republican, the news media would be demanding he disclose the names of all of his donors...
He then points out that the McCain has already disclosed the names of all his donors (we'll get to this in a bit).

Let's start with the closest things to facts in Jack's column. The first:

Mr. Good Will -- who lists his employer as "Loving" and his profession as "You" -- has contributed 1,000 times to the Barack Obama campaign.

All the contributions have been in amounts of $25 or less. But they add up to $17,375 -- far more than the legal limit of $4,600 ($2,300 each for the primary and general election campaigns).

Jack tried directory assistance and found no info on Mr. Will. And the second:
Mr. Doodad Pro made 786 contributions for a total of $19,500. Like Mr. Good Will, Mr. Pro lists his employer as "Loving" and his profession as "You." Mr. Pro said he is from Nunda, N.Y. Directory assistance found no listing for him, either.
Michael Isikoff (a real reporter) also did some digging. Here's what he found:

"Good Will" listed his employer as "Loving" and his occupation as "You," while supplying as his address 1015 Norwood Park Boulevard, which is shared by the Austin nonprofit Goodwill Industries. Suzanha Burmeister, marketing director for Goodwill, said the group had "no clue" who the donor was. She added, however, that the group had received five puzzling thank-you letters from the Obama campaign this year, prompting it to send the campaign an e-mail in September pointing out the apparent fraudulent use of its name.

"Doodad Pro" listed no occupation or employer; the contributor's listed address is shared by Lloyd and Lynn's Liquor Store in Nunda. "I have never heard of such an individual," says Diane Beardsley, who works at the store and is the mother of one of the owners. "Nobody at this store has that much money to contribute." (She added that a Doodad's Boutique, located next door, had closed a year ago, before the donations were made.)

Gee, who would have thought that "Good Will" might mean "Goodwill"? Apparently not Jack Kelly. Isikoff follows that with this most important stuff:
Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said the campaign has no idea who the individuals are and has returned all the donations, using the credit-card numbers they gave to the campaign. (In a similar case earlier this year, the campaign returned $33,000 to two Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip who had bought T shirts in bulk from the campaign's online store. [emphasis added]
No where in the column does Jack even imply that the donations have already been returned. Don't you think he should have? I mean, isn't that was kinda important for the fabric of the whole column? Then Jack quotes Timmerman's column directly:
"In July and August, the head of Nigeria's stock market held a series of pro-Obama fund-raisers in Lagos," Mr. Timmerman said. "At one event, a table for eight went for $16,800. Nigerian press reports claimed sponsors raked in an estimated $900,000."
Uh-oh. In a column on illegal fundraising, we're left with the implication (aren't we?) that that $900,000 was funnelled into the Obama Campaign. Jack doesn't say it was and he doesn't say it wasn't. But the implication is there. That the seemingly fraudulent fundraisers took place in Africa and Senator Obama is an African-American must simply delight, uh, certain constituencies within Senator Obama's critics, no doubt.

Too bad the question of where that money went was answered a full month ago:

Hundreds of the city's high-society elite and business leaders paid up to £11,000 for a table at the glitzy fundraiser, but police intervened when it became clear that US laws prohibit overseas donations.

Staff from Barack Obama's campaign team said the Democratic presidential hopeful was in no way connected with the "Africans for Obama" organisation and added that no money from the group would be accepted.

The organiser of the August 11 event, Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, chair of the Nigerian stock exchange, was questioned by corruption investigators but was cleared of any wrongdoing on Sunday because no Nigerian laws were broken.

Oh well. In fact this pargraph follows directly:
She said in a statement that the money had never been intended as a direct donation to Mr Obama's campaign, but was to "mobilise and sensitise Africans" about his policies.
Something Jack doesn't tell you.

So Good Will's money's already been returned. Doodad Pro's, as well. The two brothers in Gaza and the Nigerian funds have all been returned.

Tell me again what Jack was talking about? And why he decided to write about THIS as opposed to cheering for Sarah Palin's debate performance?

The world is filled with mysteries.

9 comments:

John K. said...

John K: But he did take money from Fannie Mae.

Anonymous said...

And Rick Davis was hired by Freddie Mac because of his ability to provide access to Senator McCain. And Mr. Davis, McCain's chief campaign advisor, was STILL BEING PAID by Freddie Mac as of last month, despite the McCain campaign insisting that Mr. Davis had no connections to Freddie Mac since 2005.

What else you got? You wanna play guilt by association, John?

Then let's play:

G. Gordon Liddy - personally washes McCain's balls, that's how close the two are. Liddy is known not only for having been involved in the Watergate Break-in and breaking into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, for which he served 4 1/2 years in prison, but Liddy was also implicated in:

"plotting to murder journalist Jack Anderson; plotting with a "gangland figure" to murder Howard Hunt to stop him from cooperating with investigators; plotting to firebomb the Brookings Institution; and plotting to kidnap "leftist guerillas" at the 1972 Republican National Convention -- a plan he outlined to the Nixon administration using terminology borrowed from the Nazis."

And on his radio show during the '90s, Liddy told his listeners that if an ATF agent came on their property that they should shoot for the neck, because they don't wear armor there.

G. Gordon Liddy loves his country so much, he advises his listeners on how to kill Federal agents.

Classy.

Or...

How about Charles Keating?

"The Keating Five became synonymous for the kind of political influence that money can buy. As the S&L failure deepened, the sheer magnitude of the losses hit the press. Billions of dollars had been squandered. The five senators were linked as the gang who shilled for an S&L bandit.

S&L "trading cards" came out. The Keating Five card showed Charles Keating holding up his hand, with a senator's head adorning each finger. McCain was on Keating's pinkie."

Or what about...

John Singlaub:

"John McCain sat on the board of a very right-wing organization, it was the U.S. Council for World Freedom, it was chaired by a guy named John Singlaub, who wound up involved in the Iran contra scandal. It was an ultra conservative, right-wing group. The Anti-Defamation League, in 1981 when McCain was on the board, said this about this organization. It was affiliated with the World Anti-Communist League – the parent organization – which ADL said “has increasingly become a gathering place, a forum, a point of contact for extremists, racists and anti-Semites.”

But it doesn't end there:

Todd Palin - member of fringe extremist Alaska Independence Party that calls for making Alaska separate and independent country.

That's just a little shy of fitting in w/ mainstream American values.

And we have Sarah Palin's Witch Doctor,

Thomas Muthee:

"The pastor whose prayer Sarah Palin says helped her to become governor of Alaska founded his ministry with a witchhunt against a Kenyan woman who he accused of causing car accidents through demonic spells."

and:

"...implored Jesus to protect Palin from "the spirit of witchcraft." The video archive of that startling sermon was scrubbed from Wasilla Assembly of God’s website, but now it has reappeared."

Yeah...that's just a little disturbing.

And there's the 170 lobbyists McCain employs on his campaign staff.

You wouldn't think that such a Team of Mavericks would be so beholden to lobbyists. I guess that's another Palin/McCain lie they expect people to swallow.

And then there's the 100s of billions in new tax cuts he's proposing for corporations and the super rich. I guess we know whose side John McCain is on - NOT Main Street's, because he can't seriously expect people to accept the GOP middle-man in tax policy - "Trickle Down"(ie corporations, the super rich) - over putting that money directly in the pockets of the Middle Class families who need it.

And, of course, we have Palin's own racially tinged remarks today, indicating that in a final signal of just how desperate McCain is, he's willing to run a racist campaign.

Racists, anti-semites, successionists, witch doctors, people who advocate killing Federal agents...these are just a few of the people that John McCain and Sarah Palin associate with.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to also add:

Bobby May: McCain's racist campaign operative in Virginia.

Rev. John Hagee: I don't think much needs to be said about this fruitcake.

Jack Abramoff: We all know the deal with Jack.

Ralph Reed: Helped Jack ripoff Native Americans while McCain's committee looked the other way.

Ahmed Chalabi: Again, the name speaks for itself.

billrott said...

Seriously, this guilt by association crap has to stop. It is inane and insane to keep dwelling on it. The facxt McCain would even attempt such a move is troubling. McCain is very open to a counter punch which Jaywillie has provided.

As for Palin, she will have the Troopergate story come up at weeks end. She won't be much of an attack dog after that and will end up being the albatross on the neck of McCain and the party.

Palin still the worst pick ever.

Anonymous said...

Oops! I forgot one. There are so many sleazy McCain connections to keep track of:

Richard Quinn: publisher of Southern Heritage magazine and champion of the Confederate Flag. Here's a snippet of some of Quinn's beliefs:

"Quinn’s articles have called Nelson Mandela a “terrorist” and King a man “whose role in history was to lead his people into a perpetual dependence on the welfare state, a terrible bondage of body and soul.” In another piece, Quinn said of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, “What better way to reject politics as usual than to elect a maverick like David Duke?"

Wow! John McCain has someone working for his campaign that supported David Duke?!? That's unreal...

But there's more:

George Wallace Jr.: He's the son of the former governor, only Junior never had his "Road to Damascus" moment like his father, as Junior is active with the Council of Conservative Citizens. John McCain has helped Junior Wallace raise money.

Who is the Council of Conservative Citizens? It's made up of former members of the segregationist Citizen Councils of America, otherwise known as the White Citizen's Council.

The Anti-Defamation League describes the CCC(gee, that's pretty close to another 3 letter acroynm) as a "white supremacist organization."

Even the Conservative Political Action Conference regards the CCC as a "racist and homophobic" group.

Why was John McCain helping a person who belongs to a hate group raise money?

Anonymous said...

Bill -

Embrace McCain's decision to play the "guilt by association" card - it's a sign of how desperate he is; it's the sing of a campaign that knows it's going to lose.

The more McCain brings this crap up, the bigger opening for Obama to slam him as "out of touch," that McCain just doesn't "get it."

The more McCain tries to distract from the economy, the more opportunities for Obama to hit him hard for avoiding the issues, for behaving erratcially, for cowering in the face of a crisis by trying to change the subject.

That McCain has decided to renew attacks that failed against Obama in the primaries, failed against Obama when McCain launced them at the end of the summer, is just another sign that John McCain is gonna crash hard on Nov. 4.

Embrace it, Bill.

It means we're winning.

billrott said...

Jaywillie,

People are hurting out there in our nation and the discussions now are about guilt by association. Simply put, the politics of distraction won't assist voters. I understand though that this unfortunately is how these campaigns play out.

I'm glad to see obama is taking the best approach today. He is bringing up Charles Keating. Now everytime the McCain camp pushed Ayers of the media reports Ayers, Keating will also be discussed. Keating 5 is a heck of a lot worse than Ayers passing connection to Obama. McCain was an idiot for going down this road.

John K. said...

John K: Jaywillie, in that list did you leave off Sen Dodd. Oh yah Hussein Obama took gobs of money from Fannie Mse. Even sued the City of Chicago on behalf of ACORN so they would provide sub prime housing with loans guaranted from Fannie Mae. LOL LOL You folks hate being reminded of that. LMAO

John K. said...

John K: Jaywillie, by the way, Jack Abramoff gave money to Sen Reid on behalf of gambling interests in the State of Nevade. LOL LOL Keep bringing them up. LMAO