The “Caucus of Corruption” Lives On
June 15th, 2008 at 03:15am Mark Noonan
Another Democrat getting preferential treatment on a loan:
Senator Kent Conrad said he was given preferential treatment on a mortgage from Countrywide Financial Corp. and will write a $10,500 check to charity.
“It appears Countrywide waived one point on my mortgage,” Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, said in a statement today in Washington. “Although I did not ask for or know that I was receiving a discount, and even though I was offered a competitive loan from another lender, I do not want to have received preferential treatment.”
Conrad said he also received a loan from Countrywide on an eight-unit apartment building in Bismarck, North Dakota, even though the lender typically serves properties that have four units or less. He said he had decided to refinance that loan with another institution.
Conrad and Senator Christopher Dodd, who oversees the U.S. mortgage industry as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, were among those who received loans through Countrywide’s “V.I.P.” program, which waived points, fees and borrowing rules for prominent people, Portfolio magazine reported June 12. Dodd has denied receiving preferential treatment.
“He never expected, asked for or was aware of any special treatment,” Conrad’s spokesman, Chris Thorne, said. “He is paying this to make absolutely clear he will not partake in any preferential treatment.”
As there is more than one way to skin a cat, there is more than one way to bribe a politician. The fact that there is such a thing as a VIP program is disturbing enough (full disclosure: the very large financial institution I work for has one, too, and it annoys me no end, though I’ve never noted a politician in the mix, but I’m also not nearly privy to the full scope of the program), but to see an elected official not making 100% certain that he doesn’t benefit from such a program gets any “clean government” advocate rather upset.
You see, the problem here is that its too large an opening for outright corruption - we don’t know if Conrad was actually being bribed, but the plain fact of the matter is that such a thing can very easily become a bribe. Like this - one of the things Matt and I discovered in writing Caucus of Corruption is that while a politician can’t use political donations to enrich himself, he can put his wife on the campaign payroll and pay her (and, therefor, himself) a hefty paycheck out of donated funds…and more than once Matt and I found that the politician doing this sort of thing had no or token opposition to his re-election bid (meaning he was taking in vast amounts of money for no actual purpose, and shovelling it over to his wife for alleged work on a nearly un-necessary re-election effort). Very easy for Countrywide - or any bank - to turn special treatment of a loan into a bribe; “ok, Senator, you vote the way we want and we’ll ensure that you get a very low cost loan to buy that property you have your eye one” - the savings in such a transaction could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars, more than enough to get a corrupt pol to do one’s bidding.
And, once again, this brings me back to the theme of Caucus - that unless and until Democrats start holding their own side accountable for corruption, this sort of shady practice will continue unabated. Conrad might be squeeky clean, but does anyone want to bet me that a program like Countrywide’s VIP program has never been misused? Back in 2004, Democrats were urging any Republican even remotely connected to shady practices be forced out of office…I won’t hold my breath waiting for Democrats to start demanding the same level of accountability for their side.
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Congress, Corruption, Democrats, Senate
15 Comments
1. bagni | June 15th, 2008 at 9:17 am
markruption:
sorry….cosmically confused again
countrywide’s v.i.p. program?
you make it sound like they only service democratic terra firma types?
are you saying no republicans are on the v.i.p. list?
please inform us interstellar idiots?
2. neocon | June 15th, 2008 at 9:39 am
bagni,
Isn’t it the Democrats that are outraged at corruption and strive to be the “change” agents and above the fray?
Yes I think it is. So you’re deflection back to the GOP is just sadly disappointing. Do you strive to be change we can believe in, or not?
Please inform.
Have a nice day
peace, neocon
3. neocon | June 15th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
No cosmic rebuttal bags?
Have the interstellar KOS masters got your tongue?
Can you recite all of the Star Trek episodes?
peace, neocon
4. 42 | June 15th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Isn’t it the Republicans that are outraged at corruption and strive to be the “change” agents and above the fray?
Yes I think it is. So you’re deflection to the Democrats is just sadly disappointing. Do you strive to be change we can believe in, or not?
How much was McCain’s 0% LOAN from Amex?
Wasn’t it 6 figures?
Please inform.
Have a nice day
peace
5. neocon | June 15th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
42,
Obviously void of any argument, you choose to parrot my post.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Thank you. I will school you again someday.
Have a nice day
peace, neocon
6. 42 | June 15th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
so are you going to inform me on that 0% loan and prove the culture of corruption is only on the left, or are you just a troll?
7. neocon | June 15th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Please provide for me the post wherein I asserted that corruption only exists on the left.
I then might take you seriously and not consider you to be a complete idiot.
Then again, maybe not.
Have a nice day
peace, neocon
8. 42 | June 15th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
“Please provide for me the post wherein I asserted that corruption only exists on the left.”
I never said you did, I only gave you the opportunity to prove McCain wasn’t corrupt and an opportunity to put the corruption solely on the left..
so where is it? You’ve replied twice and avoided the topic both times
9. neocon | June 15th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
42,
Once again, I have never attempted to absolve McCain, nor any member of the GOP from corruption. IMHO, it’s pervasive throughout DC.
But your desperate deflection to McCain in light of your unwavering support of a man that deems himself to be above politics as usual, is astonishingly hypocritical.
Have a nice day
peace, neocon
10. Tractatus | June 15th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
while a politician can’t use political donations to enrich himself, he can put his wife on the campaign payroll and pay her (and, therefor, himself) a hefty paycheck out of donated funds
So you’re anti-Tom Delay, then?
Oh no, that’s right…you’re a hypocrite.
11. neocon | June 15th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Let’s see where is Tom Delay now?
Oh that’s right, yet to be convicted and out of Congress. Isn’t that where all representatives with alledged misconduct should be Tractatus?
How do feel about Harry Reids and Nancy Pelosis children?
Oh that’s right, you’re a hypocrite.
12. Cavalor Epthith, Esquire, D.S.V.J. | June 15th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
11. neocon | June 15th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Still neocon you never saidf anything about that 0% AMEX loan of John McCain’s. . .
How many Middle Class humans on Terra get those just by asking? That is how different from preferential treatment by mortgage brokers? Just answer the bloody question is it fair that Mccain by virtue of his wife’s wealth deserves better loan terms that the average American in the Middle Class with a good credit score?
13. hermie | June 15th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
All a Dem has to do when he is caught red-handed is to ‘give’ the dirty money to ‘charity’. Then he or she is automatically absolved of the fact they took the money in the first place.
Much like Obama and the ever-increasing amounts that convicted briber Tony Rezko raised and gave to him.
14. js | June 15th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
the very image of improprieties should have made all of these guys go the other way…and a company like this to offer a VIP program to select individuals is a direct example of prejudice against anyone else of equal credit worthyness when it is denied them….problem is….its more important for congress to play who’s taking steroids than it is for them to serve the peoples interests and protect things like this from happening to start with….unless that is that its all part of a bigger, yet unknown, conspiracy and we are only glimpsing the tip of the iceburg….because lobbiest working together can insure benefits where no words need to be pandered to senators and congressmen to accomplish the same goals….which in its own right lies in the corrupt nature of lending institutions in this nation…like the huge credit card institutions that end up raking americans for up to 80% usery rates while they testify before congress that nothing is wrong….
15. bagni | June 15th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
neo
sorry about the interstellar delayed response…
agreed, the democrats do the corruption spin right
however, the black hole buddies and i
are non partisan when it comes to political corruption accusations
you must admit both parties are masters at it
my orbital observation weren’t trying to deflect
it’s just that markruption made it sound
like corruption was a lunar left wing exclusive
the planetary problem is both parties are filled with galactic gerrymanders
btw…thanks for talking directly to the spock posse we love the astro-attention