McGonegal calls campaign finance reform a fraud
BRIGHTON – Mike McGonegal, candidate for the 66th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, said a package of so-called campaign finance reform bills that were approved by the House Wednesday is nothing but partisan politics at its worst, and empty reforms his opponent will use as a campaign prop to mask his atrocious record of questionable ethics.
As McGonegal predicted when the package was first introduced in June, Chris Ward immediately fired off a press release upon passage of the bill he sponsored - House Bill 6128 that allegedly regulates so-called "soft money” – taking credit for “restoring trust and accountability in government.” The bill only passed by five votes, and Mcgonegal said he was appalled that Ward, with his record, has the audacity to lecture the Democrats, or anyone else, about their ethics and reasons for voting against the bill.
Rich Robinson, Director of the non-partsian Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said in published reports in June that the bill favors Republicnas because they rely on wealthy individuals for contributions. He also said an individual who violates the law faces up to three years in prison and fines of up to $5,000 or both, but if a large corporation or company violates the law all they face is a fine of up to $10,000. Huge corporations like Enron, other energy companies and pharmaceutical companies that funnel huge amounts of cash to Republicans would have no deterrent to continuing that practice
House Democrats also attempted to make the bill a little fairer and to protect our security with an amendment that would have banned all foreign sources of contributions to political campaigns in Michigan, such as Communist China, but it was defeated.
“Having Mr. Ward lecture anyone about ethics is like having Pete Rose lecturing kids about the evils of gambling,” McGonegal said. “It’s outrageous and an insult.”
McGonegal said Ward’s attempt two years ago when he tried to sneak an amendment into a bill that would have given a developer title to 286 acres of property in the Island State Recreation Area in exchange for 37 acres of less desirable property, a recent report that put Ward at the top of the list of state Legislators accepting free meals and his attempt to pass a bill that stronhgly favored the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association because they were and continue to be the major financial contributor to his campaign speaks louder than any bill he ever gets passed.
But McGonegal said veteran and well-known journalist Jack Lessenberry said it much better than he could in a column he wrote when he heard that Ward was sponsor of the bill, saying “that is the moral equivalent of Monica Lewinsky opening a charter school of chastity. If Chris were in another occupation, he might have a mattress strapped to his back.”
“It’s just simply outrageous for someone with his record to lecture anyone on ethics and accountability and to try and take the high ground,” McGonegal said. “Any cursory examination of his record shows a lack of candor and a habit of stealth moves to benefit those who support him.”
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As McGonegal predicted when the package was first introduced in June, Chris Ward immediately fired off a press release upon passage of the bill he sponsored - House Bill 6128 that allegedly regulates so-called "soft money” – taking credit for “restoring trust and accountability in government.” The bill only passed by five votes, and Mcgonegal said he was appalled that Ward, with his record, has the audacity to lecture the Democrats, or anyone else, about their ethics and reasons for voting against the bill.
Rich Robinson, Director of the non-partsian Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said in published reports in June that the bill favors Republicnas because they rely on wealthy individuals for contributions. He also said an individual who violates the law faces up to three years in prison and fines of up to $5,000 or both, but if a large corporation or company violates the law all they face is a fine of up to $10,000. Huge corporations like Enron, other energy companies and pharmaceutical companies that funnel huge amounts of cash to Republicans would have no deterrent to continuing that practice
House Democrats also attempted to make the bill a little fairer and to protect our security with an amendment that would have banned all foreign sources of contributions to political campaigns in Michigan, such as Communist China, but it was defeated.
“Having Mr. Ward lecture anyone about ethics is like having Pete Rose lecturing kids about the evils of gambling,” McGonegal said. “It’s outrageous and an insult.”
McGonegal said Ward’s attempt two years ago when he tried to sneak an amendment into a bill that would have given a developer title to 286 acres of property in the Island State Recreation Area in exchange for 37 acres of less desirable property, a recent report that put Ward at the top of the list of state Legislators accepting free meals and his attempt to pass a bill that stronhgly favored the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association because they were and continue to be the major financial contributor to his campaign speaks louder than any bill he ever gets passed.
But McGonegal said veteran and well-known journalist Jack Lessenberry said it much better than he could in a column he wrote when he heard that Ward was sponsor of the bill, saying “that is the moral equivalent of Monica Lewinsky opening a charter school of chastity. If Chris were in another occupation, he might have a mattress strapped to his back.”
“It’s just simply outrageous for someone with his record to lecture anyone on ethics and accountability and to try and take the high ground,” McGonegal said. “Any cursory examination of his record shows a lack of candor and a habit of stealth moves to benefit those who support him.”
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posted by Communications guru @ 9:28 PM
6 Comments:
"Ward, with his record, has the audacity to lecture the Democrats, or anyone else, about their ethics"
CG and Mike, why is this a surprise coming from a Republican?
Let's see, the top 3 leading candidates for President in 2008 from the 'moral values' party are John McCain, Rudi Giuliani and Newt Gingrich in that order. Those 3 'family values' candidates have 11 marriages between them.
George Bush in a press conference just this week said when asked why voters should support him on the economy actually said, (we) “showed fiscal responsibility here in Washington with the people‘s money". What!!??!? He and the Republican Congress have increased spending 8% every year Bush has been in office and produced 5 straight record budget deficits and added $2 TRILLION to the nation’s debt in those 5 short years!
Republican politicians like Chris Ward can say anything they want to their constituents because their constituents are the dumbest and least informed in our society.
Unfortunately for Mike, we live in a county of what, 65-70% Republicans? Chris Ward can tell these fools anything he wants and they will just line up like sheep and vote for him anyway.
Don’t bother replying to this comment CG. I know Mike is still trying to convince many of these poor ignorant fools to vote for him and it’s hard to call them what they truly are and get their vote. Just know there are many of us (and more and more each day) who have figured it out.
CG, I wanted to correct something I wrote about Bush and the Republican Congress yesterday. I wrote that federal spending had increased "8%" every year since Bush was selected as President. I was wrong. It's increased 10.4%.
You will find, unlike the dissenters who visit here, I only write the facts.
It's time for a change people and it starts with people like Mike McGonegal at the local level. Chris Ward is just part of the problem.
"Federal spending, far from being cut, has grown by an average of 10.4% each year since Bush came to power". - Jeffrey Hart, speechwriter for Nixon and Reagan and Senior Editor of the national Review
Name calling? Calling Republicans 'ignorant fools' is not name calling it's merely calling it like it is.
And what does federal spending have to do with local elections? When you have culture of croynism, corruption and incompetence you need to extract the disease at the lowest level.
Chris Ward has obviously learned a lot about corruption (i.e. sweetheart land deals and other perks) from Republican federal politicians so he needs to go.
While I don’t want to speak for Mr. Chris Wart, it seems to me you’re your untruth should not go unchallenged, kahuna. What name-calling are you talking about? I see absolutely none. Also, as for what’s a federal issue and what’s a state issue I suggest you ask Mr. Ward the same question. If you look at the post for 9/11 on the discriminatory resolution he introduced and pushed to “petition the U.S. Congress to call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to require congressional districts to be apportioned on the basis of U.S. citizens in the district, rather than on the basis of raw population.”
The crux of Mike’s campaign is jobs; the absolute lack of help from Washington in the problem offshoring and other job killing measures taking place is doing to Michigan is a state issue. Why didn’t Ward and his cronies petition the President to meet with the Big 3 automakers? That’s important to Michigan, not his ridiculous resolution to write discrimination into the Constitution. Where’s the outcry from the people to change the way we have done things for some 200 years?
Why don’t you tell Mr. Ward to stop wasting time, and actually do something to help his constituents and his state. Oh yea, I forgot, you can’t find him to tell him that.
"Why didn’t Ward and his cronies petition the President to meet with the Big 3 automakers?"
Come on CG, do you really think people like Chris Ward would ever do the right thing and challenge George Bush? For people like Ward it's all about getting re-elected.
I know Mike McGonegal would not remain silent on an issue so critical to Michiganders.
I know this, Mr. Ward is only concerned about keeping and getting more power.
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