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Edited on Sat Aug-08-09 03:04 PM by Judi Lynn
than he does from the people who allegedly elect him. He really rakes it in from the Cuban "exile" community in Florida. Just looked in his Wiki., which is looking really ugly these days: On March 29, 1995, during congressional hearings on the US War on Drugs, Burton proclaimed that the US military "should place an aircraft carrier off the coast of Bolivia and crop dust the coca fields." It was later pointed out to him that a) Bolivia is landlocked and has no coast (Burton was chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee); b) the Bolivian coca fields (in the yungas and Amazon lowlands) are beyond the reach of any carrier-borne crop-duster, being separated from the nearest coastline (the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile) by the 20,000+ feet high peaks of the Andes; and c) F-18s cannot crop-dust. While criticism of this mis-statement was muted in Washington, it sparked a major anti-American backlash in Bolivia, derailing the same War on Drugs that Burton purported to be speaking for. <26> <27> Investigation of Democratic Party fund-raising
Main article: House Government Reform and Oversight Committee investigation of alleged campaign finance abuse
In 1997, Burton headed an investigation into possible Democratic Party campaign finance abuse, focusing on the 1996 Presidential election. The committee investigation ran for several years and issued over 1,000 subpoenas of Clinton administration officials and cost over $7 million.<28>. The committee, and Burton's leadership, were labeled a "farce"<29>, a "travesty"<30>, a "parody"<30>, and "its own cartoon, a joke, and a deserved embarrassment".<31>
In March 1997, as the investigation began, Burton was accused of demanding a $5,000 contribution from a Pakistani lobbyist. The lobbyist said that when he was unable to raise the funds, Burton complained to the Pakistani ambassador and threatened to make sure "none of his friends or colleagues" would meet with the lobbyist or his associates.<32>
In May 1998, Burton apologized for releasing edited transcripts of prison audiotapes of Webster Hubbell, a former associate of President Bill Clinton. The edited transcripts omitted substantial information and differed significantly from the original recordings. Burton was harshly criticized by members of his own party, including Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who called the investigation a "circus" and chided Burton for initially refusing to admit any error.<33>.
David Bossie, the staff member who arranged the editing and release of the tapes, resigned on Burton's request. Noting that Burton had personally released the tapes and had supported Bossie's plans over the objections of other committee staffers and attorneys, Democrats urged Burton to step down as well. Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt said, "A committee staff member should not be made the scapegoat for Chairman Burton's mistakes, missteps, and misdeeds."<33> Burton said, "I take responsibility for those mistakes," but never resigned nor faced any consequences for his actions<33>.
~snip~
Birther
On June 7, 2009, Burton signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1503, the bill claimed to be introduced as a reaction to conspiracy theories which claimed that U.S. President Barack Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen.<34> Critics have claimed that the bill further perpetuates the theories.
Personal
Burton's first wife, Barbara (Logan) Burton, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993<35> at the age of 56. She died on in 2002 after battling breast and colon cancer. They had three children: Kelly, Danielle and Danny. His brother, Woody Burton, is a member of the Indiana House of Representatives.
In September 1998, Burton admitted to fathering a son, born in 1983, with a former state employee.<3><2> After the admission, one report claimed, "During part of the 1970s and '80s, Dan Burton was known as the biggest skirt-chaser in the Indiana legislature ... Privately, some of his fellow Republicans expressed embarrassment. Lobbyists whispered about the stories of Burton's escapades. Statehouse reporters joked about him. Yet no one ever wrote about, or probably thought about writing anything. To the people who sent him first to the legislature and then to Congress, Burton was Mr. Conservative, the devout husband and father who espoused family values."<2>
In August 2006, Burton remarried to Dr. Samia Tawil in Park City, Utah.<3> She was the internist who cared for Burton's wife, Barbara, during her battle with cancer. Tawil and her first husband had divorced in 2005.<36>
In June 2007, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reported that during the 2001-2006 period, Burton's campaign fund had paid $143,900 to his daughter Danielle Sarkins, who manages his campaign office. It is not illegal for federal candidates to pay family members for political work, as long as they are paid fair market value, the Federal Election Commission has ruled.<37[br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Burton
~~~~~~~~~~
Burton, the Republican for All Seasons.
All this, and Lugar and Bayh, too. Looks as if Indiana is living under a curse! Good grief. |
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