Posted by D. Cupples | The Lexington Herald Leader reports:
"Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is pushing $25 million in earmarked federal funds for a British defense contractor that is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department....
"McConnell tucked money for three weapons projects for BAE Systems into the defense appropriations bill, which the Senate approved Oct. 3. The Defense Department failed to include the money in its own budget request, which required McConnell to intercede....
"McConnell has taken at least $53,000 in campaign donations from BAE's political action committees and employees since his 2002 re-election. United Defense Industries, which BAE purchased two years ago, pledged $500,000 to a political-science foundation the senator created, the McConnell Center at the University of Louisville....
"According to British media reports, BAE set up a slush fund with hundreds of millions of dollars in a Washington, D.C., bank to bribe Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan in order to win weapons contracts."
Do we expect less from a Senator who bravely faught to protect the flow of cash into our election system, arguing that campaign donations equate to free speech?
With my mind-reading skills still vacationing in New England, I don't know whether McConnell intended to steer millions of tax dollars to BAE in exchange for donations, but the coincidences certainly kicked my eyebrows half way up my forehead.
The only way to reduce money's influence on our public policy (and on government spending) is for Congress to enact solid campaign-finance reforms -- as opposed to merely Mickey-Mouse-ing around with lobbying reform and gift bans. As long as bundles of corporate cash infiltrate our election system, we'll keep reading about eyebrow-raising cases like McConnell's.
Memeorandum has other blogger reactions.
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