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Digging
for Old Bones
February
20, 2002
by kentuck
The Washington Times has editorialized that the "DNC chairman
has two Enrons." It is a pitiful attempt to deflect attention
from the Republican scandal known as Enron. It is a wide stretch
to compare DNC chair Terry McAuliffe to Ken Lay.
As Jennifer Palmieri, spokeswoman for Mr. McAuliffe has said,
he "did not meet the business associates from Telergy or Global
Crossing through political connections. In the case of Global
Crossing, he met Gary Winnick through an investment banker,
and he and the Telergy CEO were childhood friends."
She also said that Mr. McAuliffe "never contacted the government
on behalf of these companies. That's the difference between
his relations with those companies and the Bush administration,
which gave Enron unparalleled access to the White House on
energy and tax policy."
It should also be noted that so far, no state pension funds
have been decimated by the bankruptcy of Global Crossing or
Telergy. We know of no major deregulation bill passed specifically
for these two defunct companies. Also, we have no letters
written to the chief executive of the country lobbying him
for specific legislation.
Furthermore, we have no proof as of yet that the Cabinet
of Bill Clinton was over-loaded with lobbyists and executives
from those two bankrupt companies. And we know of no tax cuts
designed to pay off either of them, as was the case with Enron.
So, it is safe to say, "We knew Enron. This was no Enron."
Even if found to be a scandal, it cannot compete. I say "even
if," but there is no reason to believe anything criminal happened
in these two bankruptcies. The Washington Times and the conservatives
are whistling past the graveyard - searching for a shovel
to dig up old bones. However, their little game has been discovered,
as has their petty attempt to escape responsibility once again.
It is unfortunate that the conservatives have chosen this
political strategy. And that is exactly what it is, a political
strategy. Their polls have shown that Enron could be a disaster
for them at the polls if they do not counter it. So we have
all the nation's talk radio spinmeisters doing their duty
- spinning the White House line of the day - like good little
soldiers.
But, let them spin. They will be dizzy before this is over.
It ain't gonna sell. People see the difference. They insult
the intelligence of the average American with their awkward
attempt to say, "See, they all do it." No, they all don't
do it. But the ones that do are going to pay. They cannot
talk their way out of it. Sorry Rush.
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