Reply #17: first, I'll tell you what I know...

[wyldwolf]

...concerning Dean.

Dean pushed aggressively for tax breaks for corporations that set up subsidiaries whose sole purpose is to provide insurance for the parent company.

One company that took advantage was Enron, creating a spinoff in 1994 called Gulf Company Ltd., which has been taken over by the state of Vermont since Enron's bankruptcy.

This was brought to light by Dick Gephardt, who was guilty himself of taking money from Enron. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee received more than $200,000 in Enron contributions since 1989. During much of that time, Gephardt was House Democratic leader.

One of Deans last acts as Governors was to auothrize the sale of the Vermont Yankee plant to Entergy/Koch Industries. He refused to sell Vermont Yankee to another company just months earlier who offered exactly the same deal. Entergy/Koch INdustries is, owned by the two riches contributors to the Bush Campaign in the United States, the Koch Borthers who founded the same Cato Institute that honored Dean with his conservative rating, as well as being the financial backers of virtually every neo-con think tank in D.C.

Among the largest and first contributors to Deans presidential campaigns were the executives of the energy companies in Vermont owned in one way or another by Entergy.

Three times in 2003, one Robert Crandall of Dallas, TX, contributed $2000. to the Dean campaign. Robert Crandall who, since the 1980 election cycle, has made political contributions as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Airlines and the Chairman Emeritus of AMR Corporation. The same Dallas-based Robert Crandall who serves on the Halliburton Board of Directors.

Dean aside, do you think it's a good idea for ANY Dem or Dem organization to take money from guys who founded rightwing think tanks with the intention of destroying Dems and their party?

Well, it looks bad when that is brought to light. But that doesn't mean the Dem or Dem organization is in on the plan to destroy the party.

Howard Dean took money from News Corp (FOX News) yet I don't think he's in on any Dem crushing conspiracy (well, I know some of his more passionate supporters believe they could take half the party with them if they left.)

Heh! Some Dems have been bold enough to take corporate money with no promises to do the corporation's bidding.