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On Heels of 9/11, Clinton Fundraiser Raises Eyebrows
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ShareSeptember 11, 2007 12:02 PM
Just days after the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Hillary Clinton and several Democratic lawmakers will be getting uncomfortably cozy with moneyed interests who have stood to reap billions in post-9/11 homeland security spending, watchdog groups say.
On the sixth anniversary of the attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is slated to attend a sober memorial service near Manhattan's Ground Zero.
One week later, the junior New York senator is scheduled to speak at a homeland security-themed, $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for her campaign in the downtown Washington, D.C. offices of a powerful legal firm.
"Being a week after 9/11, it appears unseemly and politically opportunistic," said Steve Ellis, a former Coast Guard officer who is now vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington, D.C. good government group.
Clinton's fundraising audience is expected to include many of the government contractors and lobbyists whose fortunes have soared in the years since the attacks, which triggered a massive government reorganization and billions in new government spending.
But that's not the only objectionable feature of the event, critics say.
For the price of a ticket -- from a $1,000 personal donation to a $25,000 bundle –- attendees will get a special treat after the luncheon: an opportunity to participate in small, hour-long "breakout sessions" hosted by key Democratic lawmakers, many of whom chair important subcommittees on the Homeland Security committee.
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"It's an outrage," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Washington, D.C. good-government group Project on Government Oversight.
"You never want to see lawmakers trading on their national security credentials...to people making large donations," Ellis concurred.
The break-out sessions include:
First Responders, with Reps. Henry Cuellar, Texas (chair, Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response Subcommittee of Homeland Security Committee) and Nita Lowey, N.Y. (Appropriations, Homeland Security Committee)
Intelligence and Information Sharing, with Reps. Jane Harman, Calif. (chair, Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment Subcommittee of Homeland Security Committee) and C. A. "Dutch" Ruppersburger, Md. (chair, Technical and Tactical Intelligence Subcommittee of intelligence committee)
Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism, with Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas (chair, Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee of Homeland Security Committee) and Jerrold Nadler, N.Y. (Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Judiciary Committee)
Science and Technology, with Reps. Jim Langevin, R.I. (chair, Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, Science and Technology Subcommittee of Homeland Security Committee; intelligence committee) and Ellen Tauscher, Calif. (chair, Strategic Forces Subcommittee of Armed Services Committee)
National Security, with Reps. Kendrick Meek, Fla. (Armed Services Committee) and Joseph Sestak, Pa. (Armed Services Committee)
"Political fundraising should have no relationship to policy recommendations," said Brian, a former policy analyst for Congress. "Most of these [participants] are seasoned policymakers. How can they not see this as wrong?" It only made things worse, she said, that the event was centered around so sensitive and vital a topic as homeland security.
The Clinton campaign and most lawmakers participating in the event did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
One participant, Rep. C. A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, D-Md., said he didn't see anything wrong with the event.
"I very strongly feel that it's time we get politics out of national security," he said in an interview Monday. "It's more important than ever that we keep discussing national security."
"The unfortunate part of our [political] system is that to get your message out, you have to raise money," Ruppersberger said. "Until that system is changed, you have to have the ability to raise money so people know what you are and who you are."
September 11, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (102)
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Hillary and the Democrats are playing with fire. American's aren't as dumb as the liberal base, and they will soundly reject Hillary in November 2008.
Posted by: funkonaut | Sep 11, 2007 2:46:34 PM
Why can't America see that this woman is not for us. She is nothing but poison for America and it citizens.
Please wake up America?
Posted by: kAREN | Sep 11, 2007 2:46:54 PM
$850,000 dollars returned.
I don't care how rich you are,
unless you are running a major company,
anytime someone gives you almost
a MILLION dollars--YOU KNOW ABOUT IT.
Clinton returned the money for ONE
REASON-she got caught trying to keep it.
Of course "they had no idea who this guy was". Like I said, when that type
of money rolls in you at least see the name on a list....
Posted by: Mike Robertson | Sep 11, 2007 2:50:01 PM
"Being a week after 9/11, it appears unseemly and politically opportunistic," said Steve Ellis, a former Coast Guard officer who is now vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington, D.C. good government group."
This is 6 years later - 9/18 does not have any significance.
I don't see anything wrong with law makers getting input from constituents. That's what they are paid to do. No one is saying whatever they discuss over dinners is going to be written into law. You don't think Dick Cheney discuss national security with his hunting buddies?
Your representatives are available to you via mail or face to face meeting if you want to make the time to contact them.
Posted by: Delila | Sep 11, 2007 2:50:36 PM
Wow, ABC is speaking against Hillary. I guess the World is about end.
Posted by: Mavercik | Sep 11, 2007 2:58:53 PM
Well, at least ABC can say that they "covered" this wonderful example of just how gross and despicable our politicians have become. How on earth can they claim to represent the American people when it is obvious that they only pander to an elite few? American voters need to smarten up and vote them out!
Another reason why I have nothing to do with network media "news" outlets.
Posted by: Donna | Sep 11, 2007 2:59:06 PM
Ahh! The Clintons! Ya gotta give it to them: style if not tate.
Posted by: C H Cox | Sep 11, 2007 3:12:14 PM
No way. Hillary and the democrats being opportunistic and unseemly! Shocking! Hillary is pond scum.
Posted by: vermont republican | Sep 11, 2007 3:12:41 PM
This doesnt raise eyebrows for me at all, criminal activities and the Clintons are commonplace now. The only thing that would raise my eyebrows is if the Clintons are actually brought to justice for once.
Posted by: John Boom | Sep 11, 2007 3:13:14 PM
The first paragraph of this story is terribly biased, some people say.
The last paragraph is the most important part of this article, and the body of the article is junk.
Posted by: Ben | Sep 11, 2007 3:14:10 PM
Stupid LIE-berals. Republicans would NEVER exploit the victims of 9/11 for political gain!
Next thing you'll hear the DUMB-o-crats talking about how they'll catch Osama bin Laden! Duh! Of course they will! Because Bush will serve him up on a silver platter, before he leaves office!
Go America!
Posted by: Michael | Sep 11, 2007 3:15:02 PM
Oh, pahleeeeze. If HRC did the fundraiser TWO weeks or two MONTHS after 9/11, the same whiners would be complaining that THAT is "taking advantage" of the homeland security implication of 9/11. But guess what, folks? SHE'S THE JUNIOR SENATOR FROM *NEW YORK*, and she DID do a lot for NYC and the Nation immediately after 9/11. So pull in your claws. You're the same people who had absolutely NOTHING bad to say about Bush/Cheney/Rove politicizing 9/11 in the elections of 2002, 2004, and 2006. Being Republic Party spinners does not grant exclusive access to flag-draping around the national tragedy of 9/11...and most of you whiners were never even close to WTC, Pentagon, or Shanksville. Take your juvenile temper tantrums somewhere else.
Posted by: Dean60640 | Sep 11, 2007 3:16:54 PM
Stupid Clinton - doesn't she know that only Giuliani is allowed to campaign during the weeks immediately following and preceding this week!
Go Republicans!
Posted by: Joseph | Sep 11, 2007 3:17:06 PM
"I don't see anything wrong with law makers getting input from constituents. That's what they are paid to do."
Getting "input" from constituents? Aren't these "constituents" being required to pony up the big bucks to provide this input?
"That's what they are PAID to do."
Bingo!
The Clintons would steal White House furnishings if they thought they could get away with it.
Oh, wait...
Posted by: Scott | Sep 11, 2007 3:19:28 PM
Paying for access is lame, the system needs to be changed and I am not confident that Hillary Clinton will do that.
However, for all you Republicans to complain about exploiting 9/11...give me a break. All Bush has done is exploit 9/11, and Rudy Giuliani can't complete a sentence without trying to profiteer from that tragedy.
So save your crocodile tears hypocrites, and look in the mirror for once.
Posted by: Max Power | Sep 11, 2007 3:24:38 PM
Why did Justin Reeds report omit name of the >powerful legal firmdowntown Washington, D.C. offices< are
scheduled to be mise en scene of Senator
Clintons badly timed fund raiser?
Please advise. Thanks.
s/ Noel
Posted by: Noel E. PARMENTEL Jr. | Sep 11, 2007 3:26:47 PM
The Democratic Party is THE PARTY OF DIVISION!!! '
Posted by: Michael | Sep 11, 2007 3:28:34 PM
If Hillary (not Rodham) Clinton were a Republican ABC News would be hounding her to produce a complete paper trail for her 50 million dollar fortune and the millions for her run for the presidency. But ABC News turns a blind eye because she is a Liberal, and therefore above the law.
Posted by: The Outlander | Sep 11, 2007 3:34:23 PM
Now its clear what Mrs. Clinton and the Democrats are...the only question is the price.
Posted by: joseph rodecap | Sep 11, 2007 3:34:53 PM
Did you know that during the "Spanish" presidential debates, Hillary called Lou Dobbs a racist due to his stance against the illegals??? Being that Lou Dobbs has been married to a Mexican-American woman for 25 years, wouldn't that make it a little difficult for him to be a racist??
Posted by: Bren | Sep 11, 2007 3:37:22 PM
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