Vegas Free-for-All - Obama promised us transparency

Obama promised us transparency

alanleroyII

Mar 22, 2016
11:00am

Quote

Originally posted by: pjstroh

Quote
Originally posted by: Boilerman
Does PJ believe that Trump is accepting legal or illegal bribes, monetary or otherwise?

The egregious nature of money is that it buys political favor. Trump has already admitted to granting political favor to a very specific request from a dark-money-special-interest group.

Did he grant that favor in exchange for a bribe? ..or a promise?.....or did he do it for free? Does it matter?

Does it matter? He wants to prove to Republican Conservatives that he will appoint a conservative justice to the supreme court. What better way than to ask one of the preeminent conservative think tanks to give him a list of the 10 most qualified conservative potential candidates? It's brilliant, open, transparent and gives voters more information. He didn't ask for their "guy". He wants a choice of 10. Now when Ted says 'Donald's a liberal...He's going to appoint another Kagan to the supreme court'...Donald can just point to his list and say 'Lyin' Booger Ted the Canadian' Again.

Now, is that different than taking millions in campaign contributions from the same organization which might then expect something in return? Of course it is. Because he's not owned by them. He's not beholden to them. He doesn't owe them anything. That's why there are laws about money that can be donated to campaigns and no laws about who you can ask for advice. Duh. Talk about the King of False Equivalence.

Boilerman

Mar 22, 2016
11:06am

Block User

I'm not familiar with the situation that you're addressing. Can you be a bit more specific? If it's a "quid pro quo" situation, then I'd be disappointed. If it's not, then I'm not disappointed. Every move by government is going to help some special interest, but I'm "hoping" for a politician who will make a decision solely based on what's best for America............which is a moving target of course.

I'm not certain if Trump would accept bribes as president, but I am certain that Hillary has, does, and will.

Quote

Originally posted by: pjstroh

Quote
Originally posted by: Boilerman
Does PJ believe that Trump is accepting legal or illegal bribes, monetary or otherwise?

pjstroh

Mar 22, 2016
12:06pm

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: alanleroyII

Quote
Originally posted by: pjstroh
Quote
Originally posted by: Boilerman
Does PJ believe that Trump is accepting legal or illegal bribes, monetary or otherwise?

The egregious nature of money is that it buys political favor. Trump has already admitted to granting political favor to a very specific request from a dark-money-special-interest group.

Did he grant that favor in exchange for a bribe? ..or a promise?.....or did he do it for free? Does it matter?

FACT: Trump has outsourced his leadership to a dark-money lobbiest group that gave him a list of their Supreme Court nominees fitting the profile desired by their undisclosed funders.

Trump may not be "owned" by scumbag lobbyists...but he's embracing their leadership anyway - and I'll have to let AlanLeroy explain how that somehow results in different policy. My IQ isn't low enough.

alanleroyII

Mar 22, 2016
12:20pm

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: pjstroh

Quote
Originally posted by: alanleroyII

Quote
Originally posted by: pjstroh
Quote
Originally posted by: Boilerman
Does PJ believe that Trump is accepting legal or illegal bribes, monetary or otherwise?

The egregious nature of money is that it buys political favor. Trump has already admitted to granting political favor to a very specific request from a dark-money-special-interest group.

Did he grant that favor in exchange for a bribe? ..or a promise?.....or did he do it for free? Does it matter?
Does it matter? He wants to prove to Republican Conservatives that he will appoint a conservative justice to the supreme court. What better way than to ask one of the preeminent conservative think tanks to give him a list of the 10 most qualified conservative potential candidates? It's brilliant, open, transparent and gives voters more information. He didn't ask for their "guy". He wants a choice of 10. Now when Ted says 'Donald's a liberal...He's going to appoint another Kagan to the supreme court'...Donald can just point to his list and say 'Lyin' Booger Ted the Canadian' Again.

Now, is that different than taking millions in campaign contributions from the same organization which might then expect something in return? Of course it is. Because he's not owned by them. He's not beholden to them. He doesn't owe them anything. That's why there are laws about money that can be donated to campaigns and no laws about who you can ask for advice. Duh. Talk about the King of False Equivalence.

Well if you can't see the difference between seeking the advice of a highly regarded conservative think tank and stuffing your campaign coffers with millions of dollars from a Political Action Committee then there's no hope for your IQ anyway.

Boilerman

Mar 22, 2016
8:03pm

Block User

Again, I'm not familiar with this lobbyist group..............honestly. Can you provide details? What are they lobbying for?

Quote

Originally posted by: pjstroh

Quote
Originally posted by: alanleroyII

Quote
Originally posted by: pjstroh
Quote
Originally posted by: Boilerman
Does PJ believe that Trump is accepting legal or illegal bribes, monetary or otherwise?

The egregious nature of money is that it buys political favor. Trump has already admitted to granting political favor to a very specific request from a dark-money-special-interest group.

Did he grant that favor in exchange for a bribe? ..or a promise?.....or did he do it for free? Does it matter?
Does it matter? He wants to prove to Republican Conservatives that he will appoint a conservative justice to the supreme court. What better way than to ask one of the preeminent conservative think tanks to give him a list of the 10 most qualified conservative potential candidates? It's brilliant, open, transparent and gives voters more information. He didn't ask for their "guy". He wants a choice of 10. Now when Ted says 'Donald's a liberal...He's going to appoint another Kagan to the supreme court'...Donald can just point to his list and say 'Lyin' Booger Ted the Canadian' Again.

Now, is that different than taking millions in campaign contributions from the same organization which might then expect something in return? Of course it is. Because he's not owned by them. He's not beholden to them. He doesn't owe them anything. That's why there are laws about money that can be donated to campaigns and no laws about who you can ask for advice. Duh. Talk about the King of False Equivalence.

Don

Mar 22, 2016
8:29pm

Block User

Uh-Oh !

The list of possible Supreme Court nominees has already been leaked:

Ref: The New York Daily News

It looks pretty good to poor old DonDiego.

Don

Mar 22, 2016
9:33pm

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: pjstroh
Yep, and he [Mr. Trump] got his list from the biggest GOP special interest pac.

The Heritage Foundation is not a Political Action Committee.

Quote
Originally posted by: Boilerman
Again, I'm not familiar with this lobbyist group..............honestly. Can you provide details? What are they lobbying for?

The Heritage Foundation is an American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.

According to the 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report (Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, University of Pennsylvania), Heritage is number 17 (of 150) in the "Top Think Tanks Worldwide" and number 9 (of 60) in the "Top Think Tanks in the United States".

On November 22, 2011, The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute co-hosted the Republican Party presidential candidates' debate on foreign policy and national defense held at Constitution Hall. The event was the first presidential debate to be sponsored by either Heritage or AEI. During the debate, Heritage fellows Edwin Meese and David Addington were among those who questioned candidates on policy. The debate was praised by The New York Times for putting "pressure on candidates to show their policy expertise". According to conservative commentator Michael Barone, the debate was "probably the most substantive and serious presidential debate of this election cycle."

Although falsely reported to be a "PAC" by pjstroh, Heritage is, in fact, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization as well as a BBB Wise Giving Alliance accredited charity funded by donations from private individuals, corporations and charitable foundations.
As a 501(c)(3), Heritage is not required to disclose its donors and donations to the foundation are tax-deductible. According to a MediaTransparency report in 2006, donors have included the John M. Olin Foundation, the Castle Rock Foundation, the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation and the Bradley Foundation. Heritage is a grantee of the Donors Trust, a nonprofit donor-advised fund. As of 2010, Heritage reported 710,000 supporters.

Heritage Action for America, a sister organization of The Heritage Foundation, is a conservative policy advocacy organization, founded in 2010. It works with citizen activists nationwide to generate support for legislation in the U.S. Congress. The organization was launched primarily as a response to The Heritage Foundation's growing membership, and the fact that The Heritage Foundation is not allowed to back legislation due to its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. Heritage Action fulfills this role and provides a link between the think tank and grassroots conservative activists. Heritage Action has been called a "powerhouse in a new generation of conservative groups" and "perhaps now the most influential lobby group among Congressional Republicans."

Ref:
The Heritage Foundation - wiki

Heritage Action for America - wiki

pjstroh

Mar 22, 2016
11:30pm

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: DonDiego

Although falsely reported to be a "PAC" by pjstroh, Heritage is, in fact, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization as well as a BBB Wise Giving Alliance accredited charity funded by donations from private individuals, corporations and charitable foundations.
As a 501(c)(3), Heritage is not required to disclose its donors and donations to the foundation are tax-deductible. According to a MediaTransparency report in 2006, donors have included the John M. Olin Foundation, the Castle Rock Foundation, the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation and the Bradley Foundation. Heritage is a grantee of the Donors Trust, a nonprofit donor-advised fund. As of 2010, Heritage reported 710,000 supporters.

Thank you, DonDiego, for explaining how scumbag special interest groups avoid paying taxes and disclosing their donors by calling themselves 501(c)'s - a status their dark-money influence has awarded them in our corrupt federal establishment that Donald Trump pretends to run against.
Examples of other 501(c) groups:
- Club for Growth
- Crossroads GPS (karl Rove)
- MoveOn.org

But if it makes DonDiego more comfortable to call such groups a "think tank" then so be it.

But the fact remains....The "think tank" called Heritage Foundation is not a democratically elected body of government. They donate money to political campaigns and other political pacs. They do not disclose their funders. And they are handing off policy (and in this case Supreme Court Justice nominees) to the Washington establishment - which now includes Washington outsider, Donald Trump.

drmilled

Mar 22, 2016
11:54pm

Block User

I doubt that P.J. will ever be pleased no matter what method of choosing a Supreme Court Judge is utilized - his I.Q. is just too high.....

Don

Mar 22, 2016
11:55pm

Block User

Quote

Originally posted by: pjstroh
[But the fact remains....The "think tank" called Heritage Foundation is not a democratically elected body of government. They donate money to political campaigns and other political pacs. They do not disclose their funders. And they are handing off policy (and in this case Supreme Court Justice nominees) to the Washington establishment - which now includes Washington outsider, Donald Trump.

__The Heritage Foundation is not a democratically elected body of Government. Correct.
"Governed by an independent Board of Trustees, The Heritage Foundation is an independent, tax-exempt institution. Heritage relies on the private financial support of the general public—individuals, foundations, and corporations—for its income, and accepts no government funds and performs no contract work. Heritage is one of the nation’s largest public policy research organizations. Its hundreds of thousands of individual members make it the most broadly supported think tank in America."

The heritage Foundation is a "charitable organization" as defined by the IRS.

DonDiego opines it is a good thing to not be a body of Government.

__The Heritage Foundation does not donate money to political campaigns or PACs.
"The Heritage Foundation combines the three key elements necessary to achieve conservative policy successes -- effective research, superb communications, and first-rate advocacy. The Research, Strategic Communications, and Policy Promotion teams, supported by the Development Team and working with the leaders and advocates at Heritage Action for America and its team across the country, pursue conservative policies to help Americans build for themselves a better life."

__DonDiego does not know what "handing off policy" means. Mr. Trump and his advisers are consulting with a charitable "think tank", a "research and educational institution", to determine 10 potential Supreme Court nominees likely to be acceptable to Conservative Republicans from which Mr. Trump will select if he is ever empowered to do so.

DonDiego opines it is a good thing that Mr. Trump is not an insider.

DonDiego sees an open process, openly described, and certainly with no criminal intent. An alternative, f'rinstance, would be to gather a bunch of old cigar-smoking politicians in a back room somewhere and decide on the perfect nominee without the dumb public being any the wiser as to what motivated those doing the deciding. This is known to politicians as the "good old days".

Ref: About Heritage

IRS

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