TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Political Discussion / Debate
-- Obama appointee tax cheat of the day: Tom Daschle
Pages (3): [1] 2 3 »
Obama appointee tax cheat of the day: Tom Daschle
So far, the incoming Barack Obama administration has given us a tax cheat/incompetent to run the IRS (Tim Geithner) and at least three lobbyists to regulate their industries (William Lynn, Mark Patterson, Neal Wolin). Now we're back to tax evasion, and once again it's a major Cabinet appointment:
| quote: |
| ABC News has learned that the nomination of former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-SD, to be President Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Services has hit a traffic snarl on its way through the Senate Finance Committee. The controversy deals with a car and driver lent to Mr. Daschle by a wealthy Democratic friend, a chauffer service the former Senator used for years without declaring their use on his taxes. Based in New York City, InterMedia Advisors is a private equity firm founded in part by longtime Daschle friend and Democratic fundraiser, Leo Hindery, the former president of the YES network (the Yankees' and Devils' broadcast network). That same year he began his professional relationship with InterMedia 2005, Mr. Daschle began using the services of Hindery�s car and driver. The Cadillac and driver were never part of Daschle's official compensation package at InterMedia but Mr. Daschle � who as Senate Majority Leader enjoyed the use of a car and driver at taxpayer expense � didn't declare their services on his income taxes, as tax laws require. |
Do we really have to do this? Shall I point out the legions of crooked scum George W. Bush tried to appoint?
| quote: |
Bush Political Appointees: Criminals and Incompetents Glorified (Part II) By Rawlein Soberano In less than four weeks, the Bush administration will be history. Like Hurricane Katrina, it left along its wake some of the bitterest memories that Americans will remember on the level of the Great Depression of 1929 for the sufferings it caused the American people. At first glance, it is not difficult to figure out why and how did this come about. If those appointees can be described in one line�they are the glorification of criminality and incompetence. �Nemo dat quod non habet.� (Nobody can give what he doesn�t have!) That was another reason for the failure of the administration. You cannot run a successful organization when the players are short of talent and/or experience. They were big talkers who thought the �good life� was going to be around indefinitely; they acted like they were above the law and would never get caught or discovered. Many were convicted, jailed, fined or had to do community service. All were disgraced; up on a pedestal one day and down in the gutter the next. Their actions tarnished the administration and the Republican Party and drove away many Republicans or killed their enthusiasm to remain active after they felt betrayed. They sent a message of unstoppable greed, rugged individualism of each man for himself, shameful selfishness of �give me, give me� culture but reluctant to pay their fair share of taxes for public services received, and demonization of social conscience and civic responsibility. For our purposes, they will be classified into 3 groups: a) indicted/ convicted/pled guilty; b) resigned due to investigation, pending investigation or allegations of impropriety; c) nomination failed due to scandal. The list does not include the convicted or resigned GOP lawmakers, like Bob Ney of OH, Randy �Duke� Cunningham of CA, Mark Foley of FL, Larry Craig of ID, and Vito Fosella of NY. It covers only those who were appointed. Their boss (GWB) and their own performance have earned them the moniker of loser, stupid, liar, crooked or all of the above. Among this first group (indicted, convicted or pled guilty), we have Eric Andell, Deputy Undersecretary of Office of Safe & Drug-Free Schools at the White House; Claude Allen, Asst. to Pres for Domestic Policy; Brian Doyle, Deputy Press secretary at DHS; Steven Griles, Deputy Secretary at DOI; John T. Korsmo, chair of Federal Housing Finance Board; Scooter Libby, chief of staff to VP Cheney; David Safavian, head of Office of Federal Procurement Policy at OMB; Robert Stein, comptroller of Coalition Provisional Authority in al-Hillah, Iraq; Roger Stilwell, Desk Officer at DOI; Lester Crawford, FDA Commissioner; Felipe Sixto, Special Asst. to President for intergovernmental affairs. In the second group (resigned due to investigation, pending investigation, or allegations of impropriety), we have Philip Conery, chief of staff, White House counsel on Environmental Quality; George Deutch, press aide at NASA; Kyle �Dusty� Foggo, 3rd highest official at CIA; Alberto Gonzales, Attorney-General; Monica Goodling (mentioned in Part I); Michele Larson Korsmo, deputy chief of staff at DOI; Howard �Cookie� Krongard, State IG; Julie MacDonald (mentioned in Part I); Paul McNulty, deputy to Alberto Gonzales; Richard Perle, chair of Defense Policy Board; Susan Ralston, Asst. to Karl Rove; Janet Rehnquist IG at HHS; James Roche, secretary of Air Force; Kyle Sampson, chief of staff to Alberto Gonzales; Joseph Schmitz, IG DOD; Bradley Schlognan, DOJ; Thomas Scully, administrator of Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services; David Smith, Deputy Asst. Secretary for fish, wildlife & parks at DOI, John Tanner, chief of Voting Rights Section at DOJ; Sara Taylor, Deputy Asst. to President & Director of Political Affairs at White House; Ken Tomlinson, Board chair, Corporation of Public Broadcasting; Lurita Doan, GSA administrator; Alphonso Jackson, HUD secretary; Stewart Bowen, IG for Iraq Reconstruction; Carl Truscott, Director of ATF; and Paul Wolfowitz, Undersecretary at DOD and World Bank president. Among the third group (nomination failed due to scandal), we have the following�Linda Chavez, nominated to be secretary of Labor but withdrew her name in Jan.�01; Timothy Flanigan, nominated for Deputy Attorney-General but withdrew in Oct. �05; Bernard Kerik, named secretary of DHS, withdrew his name amidst a host of corruption allegations; William Mercer, Assoc. Deputy Attorney-General and US Attorney of MT withdrew his name from consideration to #3 job at DOJ; and Hans von Spakovsky, commissioner at FEC, nomination failed from work at DOJ to suppress minority voter turnout. This is not the first chain of scandals that afflicted a Republican administration. From Richard Nixon and the break-in into the DNC at the Watergate hotel which ultimately resulted in the resignation of the president, to Ronald Reagan�s Iran-Contra scandals, saying one thing and doing another, which almost brought the president down as well, and this time around another American president�s reputation is tarnished by the malfeasance of his political appointees. Most of them were stationed in 4 agencies, e.g., White House, DOJ, DOI and DOD. When investigations focused on them, they either resigned or stepped down, but many did not face jail time for what they did. If they did a better job in their investigation to include, Energy, Treasury, MBDA, USDA, State, GSA, DOT, FDA, DOL, to mention some of them, there would have been more convictions or resignations. RGS/AABR (12-30-08) |
2 wrongs don't make a right, and god damn if I can't stand Tom Daschle. I was really hoping he had faded into obscurity prior to his appointment--a damn shame.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Shakka 2 wrongs don't make a right, and god damn if I can't stand Tom Daschle. I was really hoping he had faded into obscurity prior to his appointment--a damn shame. |
I really don't like Daschle.
With that out of the way, it's great to see everyone batting for accountability and transparency, I just wonder where the fuck all of you have been the last 8 years...
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Clovis I really don't like Daschle. With that out of the way, it's great to see everyone batting for accountability and transparency, I just wonder where the fuck all of you have been the last 8 years... |
For what it's worth:
| quote: |
| The Finance Committee said he failed to report consulting income of $83,333 on his 2007 tax return and overstated the deductions to which he was entitled for charitable contributions from 2005 to 2007. In his amended tax returns, he reduced the deductions by $14,963. Under his consulting arrangement with InterMedia, the report said, Mr. Daschle received $1 million a year, or $83,333 a month. The payment to Mr. Daschle for May 2007 was omitted from the annual statement of income sent to him by InterMedia. Ms. Backus said the omission resulted from �a clerical error by InterMedia.� |
haha! This keeps getting better. Apparently, Daschle can't even use the Geithner "I�m so stupid" excuse, as ABC also discovers that he flat out failed to report direct income:
| quote: |
| The report indicates that Daschle's failure to pay more than $101,000 taxes on the car and driver a wealthy friend let him use from 2005 through 2007 is not the only tax issue the former Senate Majority Leader has been dealing with since his December nomination prompted a more thorough examination of his income tax returns. Mr. Daschle also didn't report $83,333 in consulting income in 2007. |
lol... you must have ESP Lebez... I didn't see your post about the same thing a minute before mine went up.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by The17sss How many Americans make so much money that they could forget about $83,000 of it in a year? |
I agree with The17sss on this one, this guy's gotta go. I can understand a little wink and nod to Hillary after the primaries and everything, but they shoulda done some basic digging on Daschle before giving him the position.
In addition to him being a tax cheat, his record as a speaker for the health care industry which runs counter to what the Democrats are trying to accomplish with healthcare should have been a giant red flag for Obama:
| quote: |
| Daschle made nearly $5.3 million in the last two years, records released Friday show, including $220,000 he received for giving speeches, many of them to outfits that stand to gain or lose millions of dollars from the work he would do once confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services. For instance, the Health Industry Distributors Association plunked down $14,000 to land the former Senate Democratic leader in March 2008. The association, which represents medical products distributors, boasts on its website that Daschle met with it after he was nominated to discuss "the impact an Obama administration will have on the industry." This week, the group began openly lobbying him, sending him a letter urging him to rescind a rule requiring competitive bidding of Medicare contracts. Another organization, America�s Health Insurance Plans, paid $20,000 for a Daschle speaking appearance in February 2007. It represents health insurance companies, which under Obama�s plan would be barred from denying coverage on the basis of health or age. There was a $12,000 talk to GE Healthcare in August, a $20,000 lecture in January to Premier, Inc., a health care consulting firm, and a pair of $18,000 speeches this year to different hospital systems, among other paid appearances before health care groups. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/u...daschle.html?hp |
Yeah, HHS never really made sense to me. Honestly, I thought that office had Hillary's name on it. I wouldn't mind seeing him go either.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov Honestly, I thought that office had Hillary's name on it. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by The17sss Given the major failure that was "Hillarycare" when she was the first lady, why would you think she was best qualified for that position? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov Because she's moderated the plan and has the lessons that come from past failure. And because it's an issue that she's unquestionably passionate about. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by The17sss conslut. |
I'm talking about a doctor who has also worked in the administrative side, like the CEO of the Moffet Cancer Center or the chairman of the CDC... someone who was a practicing doctor at one point and has actual real world experience dealing with the medical industry from all perspectives.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by The17sss I'm talking about a doctor who has also worked in the administrative side, like the CEO of the Moffet Cancer Center or the chairman of the CDC... someone who was a practicing doctor at one point and has actual real world experience dealing with the medical industry from all perspectives. |
I'm glad the double standard is getting attention.
| quote: |
| February 3, 2009 Obama�s Pledge to Reform Ethics Faces an Early Test By PETER BAKER WASHINGTON � During almost two years on the campaign trail, Barack Obama vowed to slay the demons of Washington, bar lobbyists from his administration and usher in what he would later call in his Inaugural Address a �new era of responsibility.� What he did not talk much about were the asterisks. The exceptions that went unmentioned now include a pair of cabinet nominees who did not pay all of their taxes. Then there is the lobbyist for a military contractor who is now slated to become the No. 2 official in the Pentagon. And there are the others brought into government from the influence industry even if not formally registered as lobbyists. President Obama said Monday that he was �absolutely� standing behind former Senator Tom Daschle, his nominee for health and human services secretary, and Mr. Daschle, who met late in the day with leading senators in an effort to keep his confirmation on track, said he had �no excuse� and wanted to �deeply apologize� for his failure to pay $128,000 in federal taxes. But the episode has already shown how, when faced with the perennial clash between campaign rhetoric and Washington reality, Mr. Obama has proved willing to compromise. Every four or eight years a new president arrives in town, declares his determination to cleanse a dirty process and invariably winds up trying to reconcile the clear ideals of electioneering with the muddy business of governing. Mr. Obama on his first day in office imposed perhaps the toughest ethics rules of any president in modern times, and since then he and his advisers have been trying to explain why they do not cover this case or that case. �This is a big problem for Obama, especially because it was such a major, major promise,� said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. �He harped on it, time after time, and he created a sense of expectation around the country. This is exactly why people are skeptical of politicians, because change we can believe in is not the same thing as business as usual.� And so in these opening days of the administration, the Obama team finds itself being criticized by bloggers on the left and the right, mocked by television comics and questioned by reporters about whether Mr. Obama is really changing the way Washington works or just changing which political party works it. Some Republicans saw a double standard. �What would it be like if Hank Paulson had come in without paying his taxes, or any other member of the cabinet?� asked Terry Nelson, a political strategist who worked for President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain, referring to Mr. Bush�s Treasury secretary. �It would be roundly attacked and roundly criticized.� Several Democrats, including some who have advised Mr. Obama, said privately that he had only himself to blame for delivering such an uncompromising message as a candidate without recognizing how it would complicate his ability to assemble an administration. In the campaign, Mr. Obama assailed Washington�s �entire culture� in which �our leaders have thrown open the doors of Congress and the White House to an army of Washington lobbyists who have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play.� He vowed to �close the revolving door� and �clean up both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue� with �the most sweeping ethics reform in history.� The language, however, was always more sweeping than the specifics. He spoke of refusing campaign money from lobbyists but took it from the people who hired them. The ethics plan he outlined, and eventually imposed on his administration, did not ban all lobbyists outright but set conditions for their employment and did not cover many who were lobbyists in everything but name. Mr. Daschle, for instance, is not a registered lobbyist, but he made a handsome living advising clients seeking influence with the government, including some in the health industry. Mr. Obama also gave himself the right to grant waivers in cases he deemed exceptional, most prominently to William J. Lynn III, an ex-Raytheon lobbyist he nominated as deputy defense secretary. Others were lobbyists more than two years ago, and therefore not covered by the Obama rules. Some who worked as lobbyists have found places in the administration, including Mark Patterson, who represented Goldman Sachs and is now chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. William V. Corr, who lobbied for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, has been selected as deputy health and human services secretary. Obama advisers said that the exceptions were minimal given the thousands to be hired and that appointees would be barred from work on issues they lobbied on in the last two years. The exceptions, they said, were needed for particular skills and experience. Some advocates said the rules were still more significant than any previously imposed. �This is a direct attack on the culture of Washington and in an extremely powerful way,� said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, an advocacy group. As for Mr. Daschle and Mr. Geithner, who also failed to pay some taxes, White House officials said the errors should not obscure their records. Mr. Obama �believes that both Secretary Geithner and Secretary-Designate Daschle are the right people for very important jobs,� said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, �and he does not believe that that will undercut their ability to move forward on an agenda that makes sense for the American people.� That argument has drawn sharp criticism from left and right. �Is this really the message he wants to convey to voters in just his first month in office, a message that it�s O.K. to break or skirt the law just as long as you�re a good guy with a special skill set?� asked Andy Ostroy, a blogger writing on The Huffington Post, a liberal Web site. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, a liberal magazine, said Mr. Obama should withdraw Mr. Daschle�s nomination to �revive the change brand he campaigned and won on.� Mr. Obama is running into crosscurrents that bedeviled his predecessors. Jimmy Carter promised a new day in Washington after Watergate but still found top associates caught up in scandal. Bill Clinton promised �the most ethical administration in history� and then endured the most independent counsel investigations in history. Mr. Bush vowed a new era of responsibility only to be accused of selling out to energy and military industries. Jody Powell, who was Mr. Carter�s press secretary and later founded a prominent lobbying firm, said it was better to establish lofty goals that might not be met than to not have any at all. �If you set standards, you�re going to fall short on occasion and you�re going to have to compromise on occasion,� Mr. Powell said. �But you�re probably also going to get more done.� |
How can Obama think it is a good idea to appoint someone who is too stupid to properly file their taxes as the Secretary of Health and Human Services? This idiot is going to fix the healthcare goatfuck here in America? I don't think so.
This is the problem Obama has now, despite all his campaign rhetoric about the change we need and cleaning up Washington his biggest problem is he is still a democrat, and he needed the support of the democratic party elite to win the election. Now that he is in office he has to pay his dues to the people who helped get him there. Sadly, too many of these appointments and its going to hurt his credibility. And if he thinks the Republicans aren't building a dossier of all of his slimeball appointments to bring up during the next election he is kidding himself. Despite winning the election by a large margin, Obama is standing on the shakiest ground of any President since at least the great depression. With all of the things he has promised during the campaign along with the economy he could be setting himself up to be crucified by the Republicans in the next election. Sure he is popular now, but in 2003 even Bush enjoyed a 75% approval rating. Four short years later it was less than 30%, the American people have no problem turning on you if they don't think what you are doing is right for the country.
How about THIS! Another day, another mofukin tax cheat appointee! This is becoming a caricature of itself.
| quote: |
| The informal battle between members of the Obama Administration and the Taxman resulted in a casualty Tuesday, with news that President Obama's nominee to be chief performance officer, Nancy Killefer, will withdraw her nomination following the revelation that she had a $946.69 lien on her property in 2005 for failure to pay taxes. Killefer, who was announced to much fanfare by President Obama on Jan. 7 to serve in the new position to make the U.S. government "more effective, more efficient, and more transparent," is the third high-level Obama Administration official whose failure to pay taxes in recent years was disclosed in the past month. A former officer with McKinsey & Company and the past assistant secretary for management, chief financial officer and chief operating officer at Treasury during the Clinton administration, Killefer joins the ranks of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who failed to pay more than $40,000 in payrolltaxes when he worked for the International Monetary Fund, and Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Tom Daschle, who -- as ABC News was first to report last Friday -- on Jan. 2 filed more than $140,000 in back taxes and interest, having failed to disclose more than $300,000 in past income, including the use of a car and driver for three years. The Associated Press broke the story of Killefer's tax lien placed against Killefer's home in Washington, D.C., for failing to pay unemployment compensation taxes on household help. The issue was resolved five months after the D.C. government took action. When President Obama announced Killefer's new post, he called Killefer "an expert in streamlining processes and wringing out inefficiencies so that taxpayers and consumers get more for their money. And during her time at Treasury, she helped bring the department into the 21st century, modernizing the IRS, and preparing systems for Y2K." |
Daschle withdraws. Sianara mothafucka.
I guess the lesson here is that if you ever hope to be appointed to a high level position in a president's administration you better pay your taxes (common sense? lol not for democrats I guess)
| quote: |
| How many more officials are going to run into the tax buzzsaw. Just spoke to someone who is applying for a senior job in the administration. "If you haven't been preparing for public service your whole life, you're really kind of screwed," said the person. That may be a bit much, but it does raise the question of what tax indiscretion/error is now enough to derail your career in the Obama administration. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...tom-daschle.php |
Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.