The Politico has broken, as an exclusive, the story of a conservative group’s pay-for-play scandal that makes the Washington Post’s efforts to cuddle up to the Obama White House and Capitol Hill look pretty minimal in comparison:
The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group’s endorsement in a bitter legislative dispute, then flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.
For the $2 million+, ACU offered a range of services that included: “Producing op-eds and articles written by ACU’s Chairman David Keene and / or other members of the ACU’s board of directors. (Note that Mr. Keene writes a weekly column that appears in The Hill.)”
The conservative group’s remarkable demand — black-and-white proof of the longtime Washington practice known as “pay for play” — was contained in a private letter to FedEx that was provided to POLITICO.
The letter exposes the practice by some political interest groups of taking stands not for reasons of pure principle, as their members and supporters might assume, but also in part because a sponsor is paying big money.
In the three-page letter asking for money on June 30, the conservative group backed FedEx. After FedEx says it rejected the offer, Keene signed onto a two-page July 15 letter backing UPS. Keene did not return a message left on his cell phone.
Go read the whole thing. It’s breathtaking and truly a nice piece of work by The Politicos‘ Mike Allen, a former WaPo reporter.
Bear in mind that the American Conservative Union is one of the true power hitters on Capitol Hill. Grover Norquist — who was one of the signers of an anti-FedEx letter the ACU put out — sits on their board. When they speak, people — including the TradMed reporters in DC’s media — listen. In fact, their reach among DC’s chattering classes is probably what will keep this story from being anywhere near as widely reported as was the WaPo’s attempts to use Obama Administration persons and various Congressional figures, many of whom had no idea what was happening, as dinner party fundraising bait; the AP’s picked it up — at least, they linked to it on their Yahoo page yesterday — but nobody else in the TradMed has. (Apparently pay-to-play is only a big scandal if Democrats are involved.)
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Ickle firsties!
Blowjob!
Gotta hand it to Politico lately.
Yeah, on this one especially.
Blowjob blowjob BLOWJOB! Oh, and XENU!
The intimation is that UPS coughed up the money – but…(not that I hold any brief for BigBrown) did they?
Steven D’s story on Booman Tribune says they did, but I don’t know for sure.
Mornin’ Phoenix Woman and Firedogs,
color me surprised at actual journalism breaking out, esp from Allen
although PW, the villagers love them some court intrigue
gonna head over to the rightie sites – just to see if there’ anything other than rather large, loud crickets on this
So who do you think the Insurance companies are paying for support? For sure, the ACU but I’m wondering about Rush, Beck etc. And, of course our esteemed leaders.
Is the ACU a tax exempt organization? Who else is on the ACU’s board anyone we know? This is illegal right/
per Free Republic – over zealous staffer defense #28746, ‘cept of course the staffer is Keene.
Isn’t this the kind of thing that should get you banned as a lobbyist,columnist or Washington Think Tanker?
I went and looked too. Nada. So then I tried google, only on blogs.
Why isn’t it extortion?
Good angle if we can prove Rush and Beck take money to support certain issues Bwahahaha!
Think Armstrong Williams and ‘no child left behind’. I’d bet they are, but how to prove it?
Shannyn Moore notes that Sarah Palin was for Cap and Trade during the Presidential Campaign explains why its good for Alaska
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..38280.html
and then after reading PW I’m wondering if Sarah was paid to change her mind?
Malkin characterizes it as “David Keene’s sordid Pay-For-Play Scandal”
Finks the Press and the GOP are letting people go they might want to talk for cash. Plus there are always lobbyists getting busted for something who might be willing to trade for a lighter sentence.
Also Fox News got busted in England for spying on famous people and Government Minister’s cell phones.
If we were to bust Fox News People for that I’m sure Fox has people who will fink about anything to avoid jail.
I don’t know how folks can spend any time at the reichwing sites. Too much vitriol and venom for me. We rant and bitch and carry on but nothing like the uberreichwingnuts. These people live for violent solutions to everything.
This is such a corrupt nation.
Also look for times when GOPers in politics or Press have publicly changed their minds and then look at the period both before and after and look for any new sponsor with a reason to want them to change their mind.
Like Jon McCain he was against torture but suddenly he got the GOP nomination even though his campaign was running out of money, people were leaving, he had no message, didn’t do that good in the debates.
But a Senator with his experience being tortured becoming pro torture that was worth gold to the Bushies.
I like to think we are debating ideas, tactics, and who should implement them in the Socratic tradition of Moe, Larry and Curly.
LOL, oh, so true.
For you lawyers: why isn’t this extortion? Is there no law that would cover this?
so it was something like if you pay us, then we’ll support you, or else we’ll support an opponent of yours.
has a certain logic, doesn’t it?
Simply selling their PR services to those willing to pay for it. They’d have taken Bernie Madoff’s money to pimp his firm, no questions asked. Nothing personal, strictly business, as Don Corleone would say.
FedEx is hardly a progressive organization, at least as far as their labor practices go. ACU is shaking down their own here.
just looked up extortion. The key thing is ‘threat of violence’ so this doesn’t meet that standard.
just watched the Godfather trilogy again. Corleone found corruption the higher up he went.
Only the faces have changed.
I think Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, has that kind of alert, wary look of reserved, lethal power that Pacino portrayed so well. speaking of faces.