| Way back in May 2007 I noted that Norm Coleman was paying an obscene amount of money to a consulting firm called FLS Connect. More recently, it turned out that a related entity, DCI, is firmly ensconced with the lobbying efforts of a brutal military regime in Myanmar, a fact which caused presumptive Republican nominee John McCain to eliminate his links to the organization. It was also noted that DCI leaders had made several large-dollar donations to Coleman's reelection campaign, which he's refused to give up. Curious.
So here we are at the end of May, and the DFL has assembled a nice set of researched facts on the relationship (it really can't be left at "links" anymore) between Coleman and DCI. It breaks down like this:
- Coleman's campaign and PAC pay FLSConnect and FLS-DCI fat stacks of cash.
- DCI lobbyists donate to Coleman's campaign.
- Leading DCI figures like Jeff Larson find their way into Coleman's inner political advisory circle.
- DCI lobbying clients like AT&T and the National Pork Producers Council give PAC donations to Coleman's reelection committee
- Coleman votes the donors' line on important legislation like the Internet Tax Ban Bill, Country-of-Origin-Labelling standards, against increasing CAFE gas mileage standards, and against reimportation of cheaper Canadian drugs
In stark contrast to the breathless dreck you'll find on any number of human Republican bullhorns' websites these days about NRSC attack videos and contorted half-truths, these are pretty hard facts that Coleman isn't addressing
This new information makes it nearly impossible to figure out where Norm Coleman ends and the well-connected lobbyists and special interests - that always seem to get their way with him - begin ... They don't just fund his political campaigns; they are his core political operation. Call it Coleman's $1.5 million shuffle: Norm Coleman shuffles campaign money between FLS-DCI and the DCI Group and, at the same time, takes votes that benefit their clients. They win. He wins. Minnesotans lose." -- DFL Chair Brian Melendez Canned statements are usually just political fluff, but this is a pretty serious matter -- are Coleman's votes following money that's brought in by the same lobbyists that are running his campaign? Is his campaign made up of the same lobbyists that have brought countless thousands of dollars in the Myanmar junta's blood money into Washington?
Five million inquiring Minnesotan minds need to know. Now. |
