The Obama Chicago Mafia Strikes The IG
by Big Dog on Jun 14, 2009 at 07:59 Political
When George W. Bush fired a handful of attorneys, something he is allowed to do, there was a big uproar because of claims that he fired them for political reasons. The attorneys serve at the president’s discretion but the appearance of impropriety is often enough to cause problems. Bush’s mistake was not firing them all. Bill Clinton fired them all in order to get rid of one investigating a political friend and nothing was said about it.
Remember, it is often the appearance of impropriety that causes the problem. Of course in the case of Republicans the left will keep spreading falsehoods to perpetuate and exaggerate the issue. Look at how they trumped up the Plame issue and look how they claim the economic downturn was all Bush’s fault when the record clearly shows that Democrats developed and defended the very programs that caused the problem. They paid their buddies lots of money to run businesses into the ground but they continue to blame it on Bush.
How will the media handle the firing, by Barack Obama, of an inspector general, Gerald Walpin? Walpin was fired by Obama and the trumped up reasons say that Obama needed someone he could trust. Does he mean someone he can trust to help cover up crime and corruption, the Chicago way? You see, Walprin was investigating and had discovered fraud in AmeriCorps. Particularly, one of Obama’s supporters was at the heart of the investigation and he been shown to have misappropriated money. Obama released Walprin saying he had lost confidence in him but this is not in accordance with the law which states that Congress must be given reasons that an inspector general is fired in order to prevent removal for political reasons. This appears to be the case with Walprin:
Obama’s move follows an investigation by Walpin finding misuse of federal grants by a nonprofit education group led by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star. Johnson and a nonprofit education academy he founded ultimately agree to repay half of $847,000 in grants it had received from AmeriCorps. [emphasis mine]
An Obama supporter is involved in misuse of federal grant money and agrees to pay half of it back and the guy who found the problem is fired. Why did Obama lose confidence in him? Was he looking for someone who could help cover up the crimes? Even if there were plenty of reasons, the appearance is of a political firing. It appears as if they played politics, the Chicago way.
The inspector general found that Johnson, a former all-star point guard for the Phoenix Suns, had used AmeriCorps grants to pay volunteers to engage in school-board political activities, run personal errands for Johnson and even wash his car.
In August 2008, Walpin referred the matter to the local U.S. attorney’s office, which said the watchdog’s conclusions seemed overstated and did not accurately reflect all the information gathered in the investigation.
“We also highlighted numerous questions and further investigation they needed to conduct, including the fact that they had not done an audit to establish how much AmeriCorps money was actually misspent,” Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence Brown said in an April 29 letter to the federal counsel of inspectors general.
Walpin’s office made repeated public comments just before the Sacramento mayoral election, prompting the U.S. attorney’s office to inform the media that it did not intend to file any criminal charges.
In settling the case, the government agreed to lift its suspension of any future grants to the academy and Johnson agreed to immediately repay $73,000 in past grants. The academy was given 10 years to repay the remaining $350,000.
Brown said at the time of the settlement that prosecutors determined there was no fraud, but rather a culture of “sloppiness” in St. HOPE’s record-keeping.
Kevin Hiestand, chairman of the board of St. HOPE Academy, said in a statement it was “about time” Walpin was removed. “Mr. Walpin’s allegations were meritless and clearly motivated by matters beyond an honest assessment of our program,” he said. Yahoo News
There appears to be a difference of opinion in this matter but Walprin found money that was misspent. Brown calls it sloppiness but that is what all politicians and other criminals do when they get caught. They claim to have made a mistake, they claim to have been sloppy, they claim that it is all an unfortunate misunderstanding.
Assuming that it was just an oversight, do we want people this sloppy with our tax dollars actually having access to them?
They called the allegations meritless but it seems to me Walprin found enough that this was not meritless and it was not sloppy. It was corruption at its finest and the guy who found it was fired for political reasons.
That is how it looks to me and appearance is often reality.
If this were on the up and up Obama would have provided Congress with the reasons. Losing confidence is not one because, as it applies to this case, it looks political.
Expect to see more of this as people who fail to toe the line for Obama are kicked out of their jobs.
UPDATE: Ms Underestimated has a great video with more about the Obama Chicgo Mafia. Part of the transcript:
Robert Manzo, Chrysler restructuring expert: “I hope you think it’s worth giving this one more shot.”
Matthew Feldman, attorney on the President’s Auto Task Force: “I’m now not talking to you. You went where you shouldn’t.”
Manzo: “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say the wrong thing and I obviously did. I was trying to make sure that if we had to contribute to the solution you knew we had some room. Sorry I did not realize the mistake!!”
Feldman: “It’s over. The President doesn’t negotiate second rounds. We’ve given and lent billions of dollars so your team could manage this properly….And now you’re telling me to bend over to a terrorist like Lauria? That’s B.S.”
I’m sorry Godfather, please give me one more chance. Godfather Obama does not give second chances. Put your feet in the cement…
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Tags: chicago way, inspector general. illegal firing, Obama, political cronyism
This will probably just get swept under the rug. Lucky for Obama he has a “D” after his name.
“Obama’s move follows an investigation by Walpin finding misuse… by a nonprofit education group led by… an Obama supporter.”>>
DAR
But most people are Obama supporters. So he already has a greater than 50% chance of getting one of those when he takes any action.
Talk about a thin reed.
Hye, if you want to see wrongful activity, here is the mother lode. I was nosing around and found this:
“Republican Offenders dot com” has produced a list of 272 Republicans charged with criminal activity, 60 of which are pedophiles (just 1998-2008). Each name is linked to a group heading of the type of crime. (Among the categories are rape, bribery and “assorted felonies”.)
http://www.republicanoffenders.com/
Wow.
Demo’s are fallible people too. They make mistakes once in a while. But don’t ya think they have some serious catching up to get any where near the level of you guys!
D.
Here are about 80. There are plenty more, crime is not relegated to one party. The point is, when Bush fired attorneys it was about “politics” according to the Dems. Obama did the same thing and it is ignored.
I give you 272 referenced examples of leading republican criminals (60 of them pedophiles), in just the last ten years, and you have to go back at least 40 years to find 80, completely unreferenced, “scandals” on the Demo side?
One including a car accident.
Thanks for making my case.
D.
I did not go back 40 years. I provided a list to show there are bad guys in both parties. Unreferenced? They are common knowledge. You are not stupid so you know that it is unnecessary to refernce Kennedy or Clinton. There have been plenty of sex scandals with Democrats and some have been with children. But why are you obsessed with child molesters. YOUR party applauds them and thinks they are OK. Your party allowed one to remain in Congress.
I don’t have time to look up the criminal activity of Democrats but if you think there are not as many you are a kool aid drinking moron.
Bigd: “I did not go back 40 years.>>
DAR
Second on your list is chappaquiddick, which occurred in 1969. Do the math. Oh, I just noticed first on your list is Clinton, which includes not a single example of criminality (impeachment = indictment, senate did not convict). Dumb.
BIGD: I provided a list to show there are bad guys in both parties.>>
DAR
Of course there are bad guys in both parties. Your list doesn’t hold a candle to mine.
BIGD: Unreferenced?>>
DAR
100% unreferenced with no links. Mine, 100% referenced with links. There is a difference.
Bigd: “it is unnecessary to refernce Kennedy or Clinton.”
DAR
It’s telling that they would even have to stoop to use these as examples. One a car accident, the other, no conviction (and quite ridiculous). And that’s the first two!
Bigd: “But why are you obsessed with child molesters.”>>
DAR
I’m not. But I do like to point out hypocrisy.
Bigd: I don’t have time to look up the criminal activity of Democrats…”
DAR
Of course you don’t.
D.
————-
“I was feeling sorry for you and thinking I was doing my Christian duty by making love to you.”
–Republican senator, Bob Packwood, quoted from his diary, speaking to someone other than his wife.
What is this? Does Dog have to come up with as many as you D? If we did the research we probably could, but as He said, there’s crooks on both sides- it is just you celebrate or ignore those on your side, claim that they are “misunderstood”- yea right.
But most people are Obama supporters. So he already has a greater than 50% chance of getting one of those when he takes any action.
No, he had the majority of the people who voted. That cannot be extrapolated to most people. We can only demonstrate that about 54% of those WHO VOTED supported him.
The four June polls of Obama’s job approval rating give him an average of 62%.
Polling Report
In this sense, most people are certainly Obama “supporters.”
His current favorability rating is closer to 70%. (ibid)
On 10/8-9/08, FOX News polling (ibid) gave Obama a favorability rating of 60%.
Now, on 6/9-10/09, it’s 64%.
That’s gotta hurt. Apparently the stuff you throw at Obama isn’t working.
D.
Most people polled are Obama supporters.
His numbers are actually dropping and if the media had been doing its job they would be lower. It is not me throwing stuff, like the Nazis he has his own propaganda machine but things will sour. He has lost the majority of those polled on the stimulus and he will soon lose a lot more once inflation gets here.
Once he tanks the economy people will lose the happy feelings they have over having a shiny new president. They are still on a high because the first half black guy got elected but it won’t take long for them to turn.
Jesus arrived in town to cries of Hosanna and was crucified a week later.
People are fickle.
The reasons most people polled are Obama supporters, is because most people, are Obama supporters.
You keep wishing for America to fail, to save your failed and disreputable ideology. True patriots love their country more than their ideology, not the other way around.
When Bush won, I wanted him to succeed because I wanted the country to succeed and my interests/investments in my life and the country to succeed. Those who wish for the president to fail, which will only be judged by the failure of America to be successful, are truly dogmatic, cultlike, followers of ideology. It’s childish, it’s immature and it’s really pathetic behavior to see in an adult. Unfortunately, it’s very common in the US.
Bigd: “[Obama] has lost the majority… and he will soon lose a lot more…”>>
DAR
That’s what republicans said about Clinton as they (for 8 years) threw everything including the kitchen sink at him.
And he left office with: “the highest end of office rating of any president since World War II.”
Link
D.
Most polls are fixed in that it is mainly dems that respond to polls- conservatives have more than goats to tend to.
Hiz popularity will soon slide- just as soon as he tries to come up with all the taxes he will need for all the programs he wants, and people find not only can they not get ahead, they are doomed to be poor forever,
I wonder (and doubt) if the “Pay Czar” will limit Husseins pay, or that of Congress.
More people polled are Obama- rama supporters because they have time on their hands to talk to pollsters, while they wait for their entitlements.
Most Republican offenders are out of office- most dems are still in office, because the dems never clean house- they are ok with criminals in their midst. It suits their mindset.