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February 15, 2005

Bribery by any other name

A big Republican donor goes to his governor and senator, saying he was told by President Bush's chief fund-raiser he'd be getting a plum ambassadorial appointment but it wasn't delivered. The senator takes his case right to the top of the White House.

Nothing happens for two years.

The donor then helps stage a fund-raiser for Bush. A week later, the donor lands an appointment as the chairman of the federal board overseeing billions of dollars of student loans.

This is the story of Duane Acklie, a Nebraska businessman and a 2000 Bush Ranger ($200,000) and 2004 Bush Super Ranger ($300,000) as revealed by an AP reporter. The story is "detailed in the Nebraska gubernatorial files of new Agriculture Secretary (and former Nebraska Governor) Mike Johanns."

The actual letter in PDF format can be found here.

Of course Democratic Presidents have done the exact same thing with mega-donors. Clinton rewarded at least five 1992 $100,000 donors with diplomatic posts. Consistent with his entire record, Bush far exceeded Clinton's largesse by rewarding at least two dozen of his 2000 "Pioneers" ($100,000) or their spouses with diplomatic posts. Still, it's unquestionable that Democrats are as guilty of this as Republicans are, even if on a demonstrably lesser scale. Stealing a candy bar versus robbing a bank. Both are theft. Both are unethical and immoral. Dems don't deserve a pass for doing it to a lesser scale, IMHO.

The pisspoor ethics of it all aside... what struck me about this story was how eloquently it underscores how the wealthy have significantly greater access to the Halls of Power in this nation.

( cross-posted at Indie Castle )

Posted by Kevin at February 15, 2005 01:38 PM