Dan Cirucci: It's Not Like Christie Got Kickbacks, Or…….

Sunday, February 16, 2014

It's Not Like Christie Got Kickbacks, Or…….

The media love to focus on the the scandals (or alleged scandals) of Republicans.

But they don't seem to spend nearly as much time singling out the misdeeds of Democrats. And even after Dems have been snagged, they often have a way of popping up again or continuing to serve. Which is just another way of saying that much of the media have a short memory (or seem extraordinarily forgiving) when it comes to Democrat scandals.

Of course, right now, the media are relentlessly focused on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. They're oh-so-anxious to pin the Governor to the so-called Bridgegate imbroglio or to find anything else on Christie that they can get. As we so aptly predicted here months ago (before Bridgegate even broke) "the long knives" are out for Christie -- media swords are unsheathed.

But the recent conviction of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on 20 criminal charges including accepting payoffs for city contracts reminds us that there have been plenty of Democrats - plenty of them - who have been involved in conduct far worse than anything Governor Christie's been accused of -- and we stress the word "accused" here.

So, Nagin's just one of a long list of Dems who got caught up in scandal and/or snagged by the authorities.

Here's a partial list:

President William Jefferson Clinton- Impeached by the House of Representatives over allegations of perjury and obstruction of justice, he was disbarred by the US Supreme Court and by the State of Arkansas fined for lying under oath . Scandals are numerous including Whitewater - Travelgate Whitewater Billing Records controversy The Lewinsky Affair, etc.

Senator Edward Moore Kennedy - The U. S. Senator from Massachusetts pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, after his car plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.

Barney Frank - The Massachusetts congressman admitted to having paid a male prostitute, for sex and subsequently hiring Gobie as his personal assistant. Gobie used the congressman's Washington apartment for prostitution.

Democratic National Committee (DNC) - The Federal Election Commission imposed $719,000 in fines against participants in the 1996 Democratic Party fundraising scandals involving contributions from China, Korea and other foreign sources.

Sandy Berger - National Security Advisor during the Clinton Administration. Berger was fined $50,000 for illegally removing highly classified documents and handwritten notes from the National Archives during preparations for the Sept. 11 commission hearings.

Robert Torricelli - This New Jersey senator withdrew from the 2002 Senate race with less than 30 days before the election because of controversy over personal gifts he took from a major campaign donor and questions about campaign donations from 1996.

James McGreevey - This New Jersey Governor admitted to having a gay affair. He resigned after allegations of sexual harassment, rumors of being blackmailed and fundraising investigations.

Jesse Jackson - The former Democratic candidate for President admitted to having an extramarital affair and fathering a illegitimate child.

Eliot Spitzer- New York's governor, he resigned from office after being tied to a prostitution ring.

Dan Rostenkowski - The powerful congressman from Illinois from 1959 to 1995 was indicted on 17 felony charges- pleaded guilty to two counts of misuse of public funds and was sentenced to 17 months in federal prison.

Melvin Jay Reynolds - This Illinois congressman was convicted on sexual misconduct and obstruction of justice charges and sentenced to five years in prison.

Wayne Bryant - The powerful NJ state senator who was found guilty on all 12 counts against him including bribery and pension fraud.

Charles Coles Diggs, Jr. - The congressman from Michigan was convicted on eleven counts of mail fraud and filing false payroll forms- sentenced to three years in prison.

And let's not forget these Democrats convicted in the massive ABSCAM scandal, now the basis of the movie American Hustle: New Jersey Senator Harrison "Pete" Williams, New Jersey State Senator Angelo Errichetti, Philadelphia City Council President George X. Schwartz and Congressmen Fred Thompson (NJ) Raymond Lederer (PA) and Michael "Ozzie" Myers (PA), John M. Murphy (NY) and John W. Jenrette (SC).

Also:

Alcee Lamar Hastings - This former Florida congressman was impeached and removed from office as federal judge in 1989 over bribery charges.

Edward Mezvinsky - The congressman from Iowa was indicted on 56 federal fraud charges. He later pleaded guilty to 31 charges.

Abraham J. Hirschfeld - The former U.S. Senate candidate from New York offered Paula Jones $1 million to drop her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton. He was convicted in 2000 of trying to hire a hit man to kill his business partner.

Henry Cisneros - The U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Clinton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of lying to the FBI.

James A. Traficant Jr. - This congressman from Ohio was expelled from Congress after being convicted of corruption charges. He was sentenced to eight years in prison for accepting bribes and kickbacks.

Oh, and then there's Anthony Wiener. Need we say more?

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About Dan Cirucci

He's been cited by the late Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed across all media.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, a Save Jersey blog columnist, frequent guest on the Matt Rooney radio show and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.

Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.

Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post, Broad and Liberty and other print and online platforms.

A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.

He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.

In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Cirucci's passions include all things Italian, politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel.

He and his wife Carole have two grown children and seven grandchildren.

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