Bucks Repug Patronage At Work

post from The Liberal Doomsayer on 25 September 2007 02:23:00 PM. © The Liberal Doomsayer

Jenna Portnoy of the Bucks County Courier Times reports here some rather interesting revelations about the awarding of contracts under commissioners Jim Cawley and Charles Martin dating back to 2000 that came to light in their debate with Dem challengers Steve Santarsiero and Diane Marseglia last night. Portnoy also communicates some rather illuminating quotes from GOP campaign manager Mike Walsh that I?ll get to a bit later.

First, though, I want to go back to this story from Portnoy last week and point out the following?

In 2006, when Santarsiero and two other Democrats took control of the Lower Makefield supervisors for the first time ever, they replaced one engineering firm with three new ones. By a 3-2 vote, which fell along party lines, the township hired general engineer Schoor DePalma to replace Pickering, Corts and Summerson of Newtown.

PCS had worked for the township for nearly 20 years and charged $87 per hour. Schoor DePalma, which is based in Manalapan, N.J., but has an office in Falls, charges $90 per hour.

Firm Chairman Stephen DePalma donated $15,500 to the county Democratic committee from May 2003 to May 2005, according to an analysis by county GOP campaign manager Mike Walsh. He also donated $11,800 to the county Republicans from 1998 to 2005, Walsh said.

Santarsiero said the township chose Schoor DePalma because the firm was better qualified than PCS. Since the hire, the company's hydrologist and grant-writing department have benefited the township, he said.

?I don't mean to disparage anyone at [PCS],? he said, ?but there's no question that Schoor DePalma is a firm with much greater resources and a much wider breadth of experience.?

So we find out here that Schoor DePalma has contributed to both the Democratic and Republican parties. OK.

Now, I would ask that you compare that to the following from the story about last night?s debate?

The Langhorne firm of Begley, Carlin & Mandio, which gave $142,000 to county Republicans and commissioner campaigns in the past seven years, represents several county agencies, including the community college, the housing authority, the water and sewer authority, the conference and visitor's bureau and the county treasurer's office. The firm also acts as special counsel to the county.

On Dec. 20, 2006, Martin and Cawley decided to pay the firm $200 an hour for legal services. That same day, six of the firm's attorneys contributed $9,000 to the county GOP, according to an analysis by the Democrats.

That?s a $54K contribution to the party in a single day, for those of you keeping score at home. And was there any donation to the Bucks Democratic Party in the bipartisan manner of Schoor DePalma?s donations? Do you even need to ask?

GOP campaign manager Mike Walsh said the contract renewal raised one Begley attorney's fee from $125 to $200 an hour and represented the first raise in two years.

Wow.

And I would ask that you note the difference of $3 in the rate charged by Schoor DePalma vs. PCS agreed to by Steve and the LMT board of supervisors versus $75 as noted above. And how many billable hours were generated at that suddenly greatly inflated rate, I wonder?

And it gets better?

Democrats went on to say that on May 21, 2003, the firm was hired to prepare loan documents and the next day firm attorney Jeffrey P. Garton gave the party $500. Garton represents the water and sewer authority, the community college and is chairman of the Bucks County Conservation District.

Walsh chalked up the same-day awarding of contracts and acceptance of contributions to pure coincidence.

?It does seem like an odd coincidence,? he said. ?So odd that I can't imagine anyone would take it seriously.?

The only quote I can think of that is stupider than that one from Walsh is this one.

And finally?

?Walsh pointed to a January 2003 comment by Marseglia as proof that the Democrat considers party affiliation. In reference to Middletown's retention of a Begley, Carlin and Mandio attorney, she said:

?I'm just uncomfortable with the political underpinnings in that firm. I'd be more comfortable with a firm that was more politically neutral, or maybe contributed equally to both the Republican and Democratic parties.?

Walsh said she's in no position to criticize Republicans.

?This is very tenuous soap box on which she stands,? he said.

I don?t know, Mike. It sounds like this ?soap? is solid enough to be impervious to everything (except perhaps your ?crocodile tears?).

I think the quote from Diane illustrates perfectly that she and Steve place bipartisan cooperation and representation higher than the gross patronage of the Repugs under Cawley and Martin, and thus need to be elected in November.

And to imply that Cawley and Martin would advocate for us and suddenly empty this pay-to-play trough from which their benefactors have been feeding for all these years is a truly odd notion.

So odd, in fact, that I can?t imagine anyone would take it seriously.

Read The Full Article:
http://liberaldoomsayer.blogspot.com/2007/09/bucks-repug-patronage-at-work.html

Digg this

CLIPS: MSNBC's Scarborough highlighted O'Reilly's
comments about Sylvia's in Harlem

post from Media Matters for America on 25 September 2007 02:21:30 PM. © Media Matters for America

On the September 25 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough, co-anchor Mika Brzezinski, and guest host Willie Geist discussed Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's recent comment, documented by Media Matters for America, that he, in Scarborough's words, "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between a black restaurant and a white restaurant," after a recent trip to Harlem's famous restaurant Sylvia's. Scarborough twice played audio clips of[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://mediamatters.org/items/rss/200709250004

Digg this

The Very Serious Joe Lieberman

post from Eschaton on 25 September 2007 02:17:00 PM. © Eschaton

Would someone please just buy him a penis pump or something.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/bRuz/~3/161180289/2007_09_23_archive.html

Digg this

The Revolt of the Generals

post from Crooks and Liars on 25 September 2007 02:02:48 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Rudy Giuliani recently argued that U.S. military generals, by virtue of their service, necessarily have more credibility than practically anyone else. With that in mind, I wonder what Giuliani and others who share his approach to foreign policy have to say in response to the 20 generals who have defied tradition and rejected the Bush [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/09/25/the-revolt-of-the-generals/

Digg this

BlogAds For Real

post from Ezra Klein on 25 September 2007 02:01:00 PM. © Ezra Klein

I can't figure out if this Bill Richardson ad featuring bloggers talking about his withdrawal plan is actually aimed at bolstering flagging support in the netroots or is something rather more interesting: The first ad based off the assumption that...[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://ezraklein.typepad.com/blog/2007/09/blogads-for-rea.html

Digg this

BuzzFlash Mailbag for September 25, 2007

post from BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash on 25 September 2007 01:59:28 PM. © BuzzFlash.org - Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash

BUZZFLASH MAILBAG

Want to join the conversation? Share your thoughts with other Mailbag readers by clicking here.

Subject: The GM Strike

Bookmark/Search this post with:

buzzflash |

delicious | digg

digg |

technorati

Technorati Tags: BuzzFlash Mailbag Ahmadinejad Insurgents Mandela HR 1585 Iraq Impeachment Betrayal Free Speech Insanity

Read The Full Article:
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/mailbag/462

Digg this

MSNBC asks about "GOP hypocrisy" in
denunciations of MoveOn but silence on Limbaugh's "Senator Betrayus" comments

post from Media Matters for America on 25 September 2007 01:51:29 PM. © Media Matters for America

As the blog Crooks & Liars noted, on the September 24 edition of MSNBC's Tucker, guest host David Shuster began an interview with Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) by noting that there was a "Republican outcry" over MoveOn.org's September 10 advertisement headlined "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" that appeared in The New York Times." Shuster suggested that "there's a bigger question ... of hypocrisy when it comes to political attacks," and asked Blackburn: "Where was the[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://mediamatters.org/items/rss/200709250003

Digg this

Law firm of Bush's AG pick represents Iranian
group "suspected" of being a "'front' for Iranian espionage and anti-American activities"

post from AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth on 25 September 2007 01:48:00 PM. © AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

Well, well, well. The GOPers have been apoplectic about Iran this week. It's not quite a state secret that Cheney wants to start a war with Iran. Today, Senators Kyl and Lieberman are pushing a dangerous Senate resolution that could move the U.S. closer to a war with that country. Giuliani, McCain and Romney have been in a frenzy about Iranian's president speech at Columbia. Duncan Hunter, who is easily one of the biggest buffoons in Congress (no small feat), wants to cut all federal funding for Columbia.

Now comes word from ABC's "The Blotter" that Bush's pick to be our nation's chief law enforcment officer has represented an alleged Iranian "front" group:

For more than 25 years, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement authorities say they have suspected the New York-based Alavi Foundation is a "front" for Iranian espionage and anti-American activities.

For more than 25 years, court records show the foundation has been publicly defended and represented by the New York law firm where attorney-general nominee Michael Mukasey is a partner: Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.

The foundation says the firm continues to represent it.

Mukasey personally handled at least one matter in court for the foundation.

Just review the rhetoric of McCain, Romney, Giuliani, Duncan Hunter and the rest of the GOP knuckleheads eviscerating Columbia University for allowing Ahmadinejad to speak one time at the school. Yet, could our next A.G. have been making money from that terrorist regime?

McCain accused Columbia of "rank hypocrisy." Let's see who the hypocrites are now. And just imagine the howls from the right wing if a Democrat had these kinds of links to an alleged Iranian "front" group.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Americablog/~3/161262198/law-firm-of-bushs-ag-pick
-represents.html

Digg this

Media Matters"'>O'Reilly told CNN that Harlem restaurant comments
were "hatchet job by Media Matters"

During the September 24 edition of CNN's Out in the Open, host Rick Sanchez and CNN contributor Roland Martin discussed Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's statement during the September 19 edition of his radio program -- which Media Matters for America documented -- that he was surprised there was "no difference" between Sylvia's restaurant in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan and other New York restaurants, even though Sylvia's is "run by blacks." Sanchez reported that during[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://mediamatters.org/items/rss/200709250002

Digg this

Extraordinary Hubris

Democracy Now has the transcript up from an extraordinary interview with Alan Greenspan — wherein author Naomi Klein and Greenspan have a sort of mini-debate on a number of issues. Really extraordinary stuff, because the backtracking and[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/09/25/extraordinary-hubris/

Digg this