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Hillary On BushCo "Crisis For Cronies" Program

Hillary Clinton writes today:

There appears to be no crisis, tragedy or disaster immune from exploitation under the Bush administration. The examples of the waste, fraud and abuse are legion -- from KBR performing shoddy electrical work in Iraq that has resulted in the electrocution of our military personnel according to Pentagon and Congressional investigators, to the firing of an Army official who dared to refuse a $1 billion payout for questionable charges to the same company. In another scam, the Pentagon awarded a $300 million contract to AEY, Inc., a company run by a 22-year-old who fulfilled an ammunition deal in Afghanistan by supplying rotting Chinese-made munitions to our allies.

[More . . .]

But the fraud and waste are not limited to the war. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, for example, FEMA awarded a contract worth more than $500 million for trailers to serve as temporary housing. The contractor, Gulf Stream, collected all of its money even though they knew at the time that its trailers were contaminated with formaldehyde.

While touting fiscal responsibility, President Bush and his administration have lined the pockets of political cronies like Halliburton and Blackwater. While calling for earmark reform, the president has allowed no-bid and questionable contracting throughout the federal government to dwarf earmark spending by a 10-to-1 ratio.

Read the whole thing.

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  • Display: Sort:
    I love me some Hillary Clinton.... (5.00 / 12) (#1)
    by PssttCmere08 on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 12:45:16 PM EST
    What a mess has been made of our government...

    thanks for high-lighting this BTD, (5.00 / 9) (#2)
    by NJDem on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 12:45:48 PM EST
    it's a great article.  Oh how I miss that old fashioned thing called accountability...

    Won't cronies still be part of a BO adminstration? (5.00 / 5) (#3)
    by Shainzona on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 12:50:46 PM EST
    For example:  Senator Obama voted for the 2005 Energy Bill, written in secret by Vice President Cheney and the energy lobby. Thomas Friedman referred to the bill as "the sum of all lobbies." U.S. PIRG noted that the bill's "heavy tilt toward big oil companies reflects the influence of Exxon Mobil and other oil companies on policy-makers in Washington, DC."

    The bill also included (5.00 / 4) (#9)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:02:15 PM EST
    subsidies for nuclear energy and provisions for biofuel requirements, both of which Obama heartily supports.

    Parent
    And I imagine that he has cronies... (5.00 / 0) (#11)
    by Shainzona on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:10:43 PM EST
    in those industries, too.

    SSDD  (in this case, same s*&t, different cronies")

    Parent

    As Much Money as He Gets from those Industries He (none / 0) (#12)
    by Richjo on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:11:04 PM EST
    should support them, but that doesn't exactly answer the charge of cronyism.

    Parent
    Depends on what you define as a crony... (5.00 / 0) (#24)
    by Shainzona on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:41:51 PM EST
    I consider big lobby campaign contributions to be crony-payments.  It's been reported that the "small donation" line of BS is, well BO BS.  So he's been pulling in millions from his cronies - in all areas, energy, health care, Chicago real estate, Palestine illegal donations, etc.  He doesn't care where it comes from - his money bag is open and ready to be paid-off.

    So SSDD.

    Parent

    Apples & Oranges (none / 0) (#28)
    by BackFromOhio on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 02:09:34 PM EST
    Having worked for the Federal Government during the Clinton years, I thought it would be helpful to inject some details here.  The issues raised here seem to me to involve 2 levels -- 1, who is given government contracts and the other, how that work is oversee by the government once a contract is awarded.  There are federal contracting rules, and there are agreements entered into with contractors that lay out what is paid for, what is not, what constitutes reimburseable expenses, etc. --  At least there used to be; but I think these "rules" and contract provisions are the basis of the various Inspector General's reports on contract abuses.  
    Rules used to require competitive bidding, and there was oversight of bills submitted.  It seems to me the government is not exercising oversight of amounts billed, nor quality of work done, etc. once contracts are granted.

    Parent
    Blackwater (5.00 / 7) (#4)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 12:52:47 PM EST
    After Obama's Afghan/Iraq trip, he decided that Blackwater is getting a bad rap:

    Link

    Hillary needs to get the memo.

    Actually an Obama/Kerry bill closing a KBR tax (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by beachmom on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 03:51:38 PM EST
    loophole passed and was signed by the President.

    Perhaps you missed it:

    President Bush on Tuesday shut a loophole that defense contractors had been using to avoid paying millions of dollars in payroll taxes.

    Bush signed into law the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act, which provides tax relief for military families. Included in the legislation is a provision that would treat foreign subsidiaries of U.S. government contractors as American employers. That means they now have to pay the taxes that finance Social Security and Medicare programs.

    Defense companies such as Combat Support Associates and KBR Inc. set up shell companies in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens to avoid paying those taxes on their American workers.

    More about it here:

    Included in the bill is a tax provision written by U.S. Sens. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., that will provide revenue for the tax breaks for members of the Armed Services and their families by sewing up a tax loop that allowed defense contractors, in particular, KBR (formerly a Halliburton subsidiary known as Kellogg, Brown & Root), to avoid paying their full share of payroll takes by creating shell companies in the Cayman Islands.

    The practice allowed contractors to short-change their taxes by $100 million to Social Security and Medicare, according to Kerry's staff.

    With the passage of the bill, Kerry said, "thousands of military families in Massachusetts will receive the benefits they deserve and big companies will pay their fair share of taxes rather than leaving hard working Americans with the bill."

    Obama said that for "the sake of transparency and fairness in our tax system, we cannot allow federal contractors to set up shell corporations in tax shelters and shirk their responsibility to pay payroll taxes for their American employees."

    The idea that Obama has "cronies" like the Bush Administration is patently false, and frankly, no one has any evidence of it.  As to Blackwater, they provide all security for the State Department and all VIPs going to Iraq.  I wish it would go back to the military doing that job, but for now, Blackwater (and some British & South African private companies) are the only game in town.

    Parent

    obama advisors (5.00 / 1) (#38)
    by Nettle on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 04:30:29 PM EST
    like Susan Rice, his go-to talking head on foreign policy and, shudder, potentially Sec. of State, don't seem to have a problem with privatizing the military.  In the '90s Susan Rice was the State Dept. lead for Africa and wanted private contractors sent into Darfur, I believe it was.  She did little for the Niger Delta people, either, looking the other way as Condi's Chevron itself had a murderous security team that worked with the Nigerian govt.

    The whole scary, deeply disconcerting private soldier thing is pretty new really, but with orgs like Rumsfeld and Perry's BENS, who've been drooling over military contracts for ten years and insisting on a whole new makeover at billions of dollars for their corporations -pushing and pushing they got a taste of what they wanted with the Bush Admin and their pal Rummy at the helm.  
    We had the chance to bring this stuff into public discourse in the 90s and didn't so couldn't stop it during the Bush admin, either.  Its time for the dialogue to start and the fraud and scary mercenaries for hire who aren't accountible to anyone to have their toys taken away.  Whether Obama and Rice II agree or not.  What's to stop the IMF or World Bank or WTO from unleashing their own mercenaries in this funky new world of no borders and no democracy?

    Parent

    take paul bedard (none / 0) (#8)
    by Turkana on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:01:29 PM EST
    with an asteroid-sized grain of salt.

    Parent
    Private Security includes BW (5.00 / 2) (#25)
    by waldenpond on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 02:04:08 PM EST
    This was a difference that came up in the debates.  In March Clinton supported legislation to get rid of security contractors in Iraq... Obama did not support it.  Obama has been very clear he will not rule out private security companies like Blackwater in Iraq.  It seems that Clinton may be off Obama's message, but he can agree that security contracts should not be no bid.

    Parent
    Cautionary approach on this. (none / 0) (#13)
    by wurman on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:13:10 PM EST
    USNWR's Paul Bedard "D.C. gossip column" may not be the most reliable source for such things--even the apparent quotation.

    First, it is substantially likely that a combination of Sen. Obama's secret service detail & the US State Dept & the respective commanding generals of US Forces in both Afghanistan & Iraq made those particular decisions.

    Second, the Blackwater employees that Mr. Prince might assign to a presidential candidate / senator would very likely be of a different skill level than the folks assigned to a reporter or to a poobah with another sub-contracting firm.

    Third, many or most or all of the other "for hire" security firms are non-US operations--seems as if Phillipine, Romanian, Kyrgiz, Uzbek, Jordanian, & Kurdish Third Country Nationals are somewhat commonly available.

    Parent

    And, logically speaking... (none / 0) (#26)
    by Mike H on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 02:07:36 PM EST
    If Blackwater WERE handling part of your security detail, continuing to badmouth them while they were handling your security wouldn't exactly be a wise move anyway.

    If I were in that situation and Blackwater was handling my security, I might very well be saying the same thing... at least until I was safely away!

    Parent

    "Discretion is the better. . . ." etc. (none / 0) (#35)
    by wurman on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 03:46:33 PM EST
    Wow: (5.00 / 0) (#5)
    by oculus on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 12:55:21 PM EST
    Of course, we need far more than a Truman Committee. We need the Truman spirit in the White House, where the buck finally stops.

    Obama campaign receives lots of $$ from trial lawyers, many of whom, in my experience, have off-shore accounts.

    In googling to confirm Rumsfield went through the revolving door to become an contract overseer re wrongdoing on no bid contracts in Iraq, I found this letter:

    Oversight

    And what she didn't say? (none / 0) (#41)
    by lambertstrether on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 06:18:43 PM EST
    That Obama had Truman's spirit.

    Of course, Hawaii wasn't even a state when Truman was President, so maybe that accounts for it.

    Parent

    Now Lambert (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by Steve M on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 09:38:33 PM EST
    Are you conceding that Obama was born in Hawaii?!?

    You might upset some people with that apostasy.

    Parent

    Wow, indeed. (none / 0) (#42)
    by oldpro on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 06:25:17 PM EST
    Great find, that letter.

    And over 4  years old.

    I think the word we could use to  describe the Bush administration's fical policy is "loot" in all it's forms...noun, verb, etc.

    Parent

    Once again many ask (5.00 / 12) (#6)
    by DJ on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 12:58:30 PM EST
    can we have Hillary back now?

    hillary seems to have been (5.00 / 4) (#7)
    by Turkana on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 12:59:58 PM EST
    reading some naomi klein.

    She Sure Does (5.00 / 4) (#16)
    by BDB on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:17:56 PM EST
    But then everyone should read Naomi Klein.  

    Parent
    Oh...Yes. (5.00 / 4) (#20)
    by Stellaaa on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:22:45 PM EST
    remember Naomi also made the point, that BTD and Jeralyn were making, not to be cheerleaders during the primary.  

    Parent
    Shouldn't Our Presumptive Nominee (5.00 / 6) (#10)
    by Richjo on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:08:04 PM EST
    be spending his time highlighting issues like this instead of getting offended every time someone calls attention to one of his percieved weaknesses?

    Place a hold on that for now. (5.00 / 0) (#18)
    by wurman on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:20:32 PM EST
    Rest assured that Sen. Obama, or one of his not-yet-ready-for-prime-time players will get back to you after the Hawaiian vacation.

    And no, there is no truth to the rumor (started by me) that not-quite-a-US-senator Lamont plans to join the Obama troupe during the vaction for some major campaign strategy sessions, hosted by various netrootz experts on national politics--all gratis, of course.

    / snark / all rags & tags /

    Parent

    Isn't Congress just as guilty... (5.00 / 3) (#14)
    by kdog on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:15:30 PM EST
    as Bush..if not more so?

    I mean...Congress controls the purse strings, right?  They've given Bush all the funding he's needed, and knew exactly where it was going to go.  They can't play dumb now and expect us to buy it...can they?

    Don't be fooled....two parties are/were in on this treasury draining scam.

    Bush Is The Leader Of The Country (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by flashman on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:31:20 PM EST
    When the administration is corrupt, as this one it, the POTUS bears most of the responsiblity.  He has the most influence, and should provide leadership.  The buck stops there!

    Parent
    Bush bears responsibility.... (5.00 / 2) (#29)
    by kdog on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 02:19:03 PM EST
    for signing the checks...Congress bears responsibility for filling the account to cover the checks.

    Blaming the executive branch alone is kidding ourselves.

    Parent

    Using Congress As An Excuse (none / 0) (#31)
    by flashman on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 02:47:32 PM EST
    is also kidding ourselves. Not matter what, Bush is the leader.  He sets the agenda.

    Parent
    No excuses.... (5.00 / 1) (#33)
    by kdog on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 03:11:33 PM EST
    both Bush and Congress, working together to achieve a common goal, are responsible for the looting of the treasury.

    Congress has/had the power to put the kibosh on it at anytime...Congress chose not to.  That doesn't tell you something?

    Parent

    Yes it tell me (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by flashman on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 03:28:38 PM EST
    that Bush's mouthpieces can that the heat for his failed policies and rampant corruption and lay it at the Congress's door.  And that's exactly what the'll do when the are called to account.

    Parent
    Incorrect (5.00 / 4) (#32)
    by Steve M on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 02:50:33 PM EST
    Unless funds are earmarked, Congress does not know exactly where it is going to go.  They give each Cabinet department however many billions a year, they earmark some small percentage of that amount, and the rest is spent at the Executive Branch's discretion.

    If this weren't the case, Congress would have to micromanage each and every arm of the federal government, which isn't doable.

    Parent

    Good To See (5.00 / 6) (#15)
    by BDB on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:17:01 PM EST
    I think this means that Clinton is not just going to go away, but is determined to use the amplified voice she gained in the primaries.  First on the birth control issue and now this. Glad to see it.  We need as many of those as we can get.  

    Energy and Infrastructure also (5.00 / 6) (#19)
    by nycstray on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:22:39 PM EST
    since she suspended. And I think she sent a letter to the Armed Services Committee call for an investigation of the lost billions in Iraq (or something along those lines).

    I'm likin' some Hillary power  ;)

    Parent

    She took it right to the house (5.00 / 3) (#23)
    by Lahdee on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:35:27 PM EST
    with
    In the past few years, the number of corporations flocking to places like the Cayman Islands to evade U.S. taxes has exploded.
    Bet that got the attention of some high powered WSJ readers.
    We should put in place safeguards so that contracts are awarded to responsible companies that abide by the law...
    (emphasis added) Do Democrats use code words too?

    Bush & Co... (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by desertswine on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 02:32:11 PM EST
    make Gotti look like a Cub Scout.

    Good for Hillary. This will be an excellent area (5.00 / 0) (#37)
    by beachmom on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 03:53:44 PM EST
    for her to pursue as a member of the Armed Services Committee.  

    I want this lioness (none / 0) (#45)
    by weltec2 on Thu Aug 07, 2008 at 02:45:04 AM EST
    in the Senate! No VP spot under someone who is not qualified to be her VP. She is right where she belongs... for now. For now.

    Parent
    holy cow! (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by cpinva on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 05:10:16 PM EST
    i love it! finally, the presumptive democratic nominee just reams the bush administration! i am duly impressed, there may be hope for him yet.

    oh, wait, sorry, that was sen. clinton, not sen. obama. "sigh"

    corruption at the DOJ in Philly (5.00 / 1) (#44)
    by American Amicable whistleblower on Thu Aug 07, 2008 at 12:25:22 AM EST
    Martha Stewart went to jail for violation of 18 usc 1001.making a false statement to the goverment. Two Waco Texas companies American Amicable life insurance and Central National Bank violated the same statue a hundred times ripping off servicemembers for $200 million dollars for over 30 years and recieved not a single mandatory penalty(no fines). Talk about having friends at the DOJ. They skipped mandatory jail time as well, but poor Martha went to jail. I guess its who you know from Texas and the DOJ? Even ENRON served jail time and paid a servere penalty. whats up with that US Attorneys Michael Blume,Jim Sheenen and Patrich Meehan? coruption or favortism?

    rhetoric vs action (5.00 / 1) (#46)
    by Bornagaindem on Thu Aug 07, 2008 at 07:15:09 AM EST
    Ah yes I miss the days of having a presidential candidate that actually does things rather than one that has never held a full time job and once he gets that office is perpetually running for the next one.

    One who has her own ideas and agenda rather than one who just takes credit for the hard work of other people because he is a pretty face and can "say" it better.

    This is positioning herself perfectly for 2012 because we are going to need the best candidate to run against McCain.  

    Bush is such a corrupt irresponsible crony (none / 0) (#17)
    by ajain on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:19:48 PM EST
    Its hard to believe that such outrageous stupidity exists anywhere, much less in the man who claims to be the leader of the free world.

    It isn't stupidity, though. (none / 0) (#21)
    by oculus on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 01:25:10 PM EST
    Couldn't be done without Congress (none / 0) (#27)
    by Prabhata on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 02:09:27 PM EST