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Friday, June 08, 2007
Dick Morris and  Eileen McGann :: Townhall.com Columnist
Bill Clinton and Nancy Pelosi's Son Get Paid Big Bucks by InfoUSA
by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann
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The son of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert moved to Washington when his father became speaker and landed a lush lobbying contract for Google.

When Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, she promised to change things — to enact serious, and long overdue, ethical reforms — to stop the growing trend of legislators and their families accepting gifts, trips, and jobs from lobbyists and corporations.

Well, some things never change.

Several days ago, Newsmax.com disclosed that in February, shortly after his mother became the first woman speaker, Paul Pelosi Jr., was hired by InfoUSA for $180,000 a year as its vice president for Strategic Planning. Pelosi also kept his other full-time day job as a mortgage loan officer for Countrywide Loans in California. And, unlike all of the other InfoUSA employees, he did not report to work at the company's headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska.

InfoUSA is the same company that has been cited by the New York Times for creating marketing lists that were used by con artists to fleece vulnerable elderly people. The lists had provocative names and offered the names of elderly people with cancer, elderly people with Alzheimer's and gamblers over 55 years of age who think their luck will change. After purchasing the lists, the con artists would call and convince the elderly person that they had actually ordered an expensive item. Once they received the victim's financial information, they often emptied their bank accounts, leaving many people penniless. Some of InfoUSA's internal e-mails suggest that company employees were aware that several of the companies they sold the lists to were under investigation.

And InfoUSA is also the same company that Bill Clinton works for as a consultant, and for which the former president was paid $3.3 million over the past five years. In addition, the Clintons got $900,000 worth of free travel.

Pelosi insisted that the unusual job opportunity had nothing to do with his relationship with his famous and influential mother. He just sent in an application for a job and they hired him.

Of course.

History seems to be repeating itself here. For the pa st several years, Josh Hastert, the son of former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, was a registered lobbyist for Google. What were his qualifications for lobbying for such a huge and influential company? Well, to put it bluntly, he had good connections.

Before entering the world of corporate lobbying, Josh ran a music store in northern Illinois. But he decided that he could make more money and work less in Washington. And apparently, he was right.

Although Pelosi's son is not lobbying Congress, the unorthodox payment of such a large fee for a second job to someone with no experience at all in the basic business of InfoUSA — managing data and creating marketing lists — should certainly raise eyebrows. (Also note, that this job offer came immediately after his mother became Speaker.)

And, furthermore, it is likely that Congress will eventually address privacy issues involved with the selling of data that InfoUSA sells. Pelosi would be directly involved in that legislation, and her son should not be involved with the company in any way. In addition, the company apparently sells voter lists that could be extremely valuable to the Democratic Party and could mean lucrative contracts for Infousa.

And then, there's the issue of what InfoUSA does and how its president operates.

Several members of Congress have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Infousa and its clients.

The chairman of InfoUSA, Vin Gupta, is a large donor to Democratic candidates. Minority shareholders have questioned his payments to Bill Clinton and his gifts of free travel to Hillary. The shareholders claim that Gupta has been improperly using corporate resources to further his own political goals. Gupta gave over $1 million to the Clinton Library and $2 million towards Hillary Clinton's $16 million millennium New Years' Eve Party.

So, there's no question that Gupta likes to be close to the powerful. He's stayed in the Lincoln bedroom and hosted the Clintons on a $146,000 vacation trip to Acapulco on his corporate jet. Lately, Pelosi's son has been accompanying Gupta on his jet. He claims that it's been strictly business and is “nothing like the Clinton situation.”

His payment to Pelosi's son can only be viewed as an investment and should be stopped.

Nancy Pelosi should put on her “mother of five voice” that she brags about and tell her son to go back to his day job.

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About The Author
Dick Morris, a former political adviser to Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and President Bill Clinton, is the author of Condi vs. Hillary: The Next Great Presidential Race. To get all of Dick Morris’s and Eileen McGann’s columns for free by email, go to www.dickmorris.com
 
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Clinton & Pelosi
Ah Yes, 2 people who promised to clean up The Ethics of Washington, DC. Typical Liberals, Lying, Cheating, Gutless, Money Grubbing, Cowards!

Doug...
     >What's so bad about inexperienced legislators?

Plenty! The right legislator who has experience can reduce the size of government... notice I state the RIGHT legislator. An inexperienced newcomer will get nothing done, especially amidst others of the same ilk. Getting the right legislator is another matter entirely, but one we must remain vigilant upon.

Government will grow, by default. It is savvy politicians who are best able to keep it in check. For 231 years it has been thus. Can you imagine the chaos of a truly 'citizen' legislature? With nothing getting done, government would grow by leaps and bounds. It is the struggle for power itself that contains the powerful, for it is self-interest that does the most self-damage.

Do you honestly think that Ted Stevens or Grand Wizard Byrd are indicative or typical of the problem? They are NOT the problem. The problem is the system that allows them the avarice. If you want to kill it, cut the head off! Remove the systems currently in place that precipitate this cupidity and the problem will be solved.

An inexperienced legislator cannot forge this type legislation. They are marginalized before ever learning to maneuver.

And, remember, as much as you want to call him names or as booze soaked that you seem to think that he is, Ted Kennedy is a seriously effective legislator for his constituants. Face it, we on the right would LOVE a dozen or so of that effective-caliber politician.

     >Caps on free speech, ala McCain-Feingold, make it more
     >difficult to unseat these evil incumbents.

I agree wholeheartedly. There should be absolutely NO limits on how much I can give, or a politician can spend.

It takes a crook to know a crook!
Whose toes are you sucking these days, Dickie boy?

Term Limits
Maintenance Guy,
What's so bad about inexperienced legislators? It's the long-termers who do the most damage and waste the most taxpayer money. There's Republican Ted Stevens and his bridges to nowhere, Democrat racist Robert Byrd naming just about every bridge, building and park in West Virginia after himself (all those fancy signs aren't free), and, of course, the booze-soaked brain of Ted Kennedy, who has never in his life had to ask what anything costs, and so never worries about what any new government program will cost us. Caps on free speech, ala McCain-Feingold, make it more difficult to unseat these evil incumbents. McCain and Feingold should be impeached for authuring such an unconstitutional peice of legislation, every congressman and senator who voted for it ought to be impeached for doing so, Bush should be impeached for signing it, and the five Supreme Court Justices who upheld it should be impeached. All of the above have blatantly violated their oath to protect, preserve and defend the Constitution.

soothsayer
So what is the job you were refering to...

Term limits and limits on contributions.
...will only result in inexperienced legislators and a cap on free speech.

Look, people... no matter what the corrupt do, you are better than them if you can claim the high moral ground. Are you corrupt? Do you want to involve yourself in corruption?

Live your life well. Enjoy the fruits of your labor and multiply. Vote your conscience. Get involved in a campaign if you wish.

It's all you can do. Take a breath, unplug from the internet for 48 hours and enjoy the summer.

My 2¢.

Island
It almost makes you want to join the opposition in bringing this republic down - I'd hate to be put in the position of defending the scum and the system that's running over us now - but not quite yet.

We are definitely at a crossroads - that's what this illegal alien amnesty bill is all about - they want to nuetralize their opposition. They've seen in Europe (i.e. European Union supposedly formed for economic purposes) how the elites can operate with complete impunity with no regard to how the traditions, customs and culture of individuals and nations are affected or rather disregarded.

Notice it's the same argument they're using here: 20 million illegal, underclass aliens is good - we need servants and SS contributors (don't look closely for the flaws in this appeal, nor at the fact that they'll break the bank and nueter us politically).

The 64 dollar question: Will we have the will, strength and determination to save this last, best hope of man that is called America?

Acetate
No I don't. Not even if somehow the people woke up and started raising cain. Which they are not going to do. Instead they will demand term limits and an end to the electorial college. Then we will be in even worse shape. It's sad to say, but I don't hold out much hope for this nation.

Island
"Originally the Senators were elected by each State's legislators to represent the interests of that State. They were not elected by the people. The representatives represented the people of their district, and that's why they are elected every two years. They represented a smaller group of people and were accountable to those people more often."

Yes, the 17th amendment changed all that and immediately the legislation became more volitile and encroaching. This was part of the so called 'progressive wave' of the early 20th century.

This was a huge compromise of federalism - the states no longer has their exclusive and equal representation in congress. And not only were these senators free to ignore the specific interests of their state, they now enjoyed less restraint from a distracted public to whom they had to report for reelection only once every six years.

It was a huge mistake as is now evident by the behavior these senate royalty now manifest, and the ever increasing legislative power the fed has chosen to exert over the states.

That why I always say, REPEAL THE 17TH AMENDMENT!!! But consider: do you think these people would ever vote to reduce their power?

Soothsayer
Oh how I wish I'd thought of that comment. Nevertheless, my day has been made.

expound
the left calls for all sorts of govt solutions, you readily agree. the right does so as well, you dispute. you cite exhorting govt to duty, i call baloney, that is solely your personal perception, the left thinks the things they want are dutiful as well. both sides wish the either the wealth or the rights or both of others restricted, controled and dialed in to their liking. both sides claim morality.

you are 100% cvorrect that the american people are at fault. i think i said that as well indirectly. however i would point out that at this point in our history govt largesse is becoming self perpetuating. our accounts owed is huge, and i do not recall any american ever voting directly for ssi, mediscare etc. but we have let them build the ant farm we have. true enough. mostly though, i would point we vote for one to prevent another as opposed to agreeing with all one or the other. kerry and gore were never president not because bush was desired, but because the others were worse.

yes lynne, ron is not popular, but then again neither are you, neither am i. however, popularity has nothing to do with veracity.

corruption is not due to bad people in office, it is due to the powers we have granted them over us. that is not refutable.

One more...
I heard George H.W. Bush's son got a fancy job in Washington, which he is totally unqualified for, too!

gc We Exhort Our Duty
You will find the majority of bloggers, at this townhall site, are carrying out their duty to this country.You state they are,"exhorting their reps to perform for them.". I have seen very few bloggers,on this site,exhorting their reps for a personal perfomance. The largest majority of bloggers here exhort to caution, arouse, and admonish, our government representation.Exhorting,to caution,those who work for the American people.Exhorting,to arouse,and excite, their constitutional duties to America.Exhorting,to admonish,warn,our political representation who flagrantly ignore their duties to this Republic.

It is there duty to legislate according to the will of the people,the needs of the nation.You point out that,"it is not dems or repubs that are corrupt.when anyone has power over others there is abuse." The American people have complete power over their government.So, according to you, they must be the ultimate abusers.In one sense,I agree.Americans,who do not fulfill their duty to this country,permit the abuse.If you check out the liberal blog sites,there you find those,"exhorting their reps to perform for them.".On town hall you read from those exhorting every politician for all.

nothing new
it is not dems or repubs that are corrupt. it is politics. when anyone has power over others there is abuse. the only solution is to have govt do less. much less. much much less.

the people on town hall are just as guilty as the pelosi supporters exhorting their reps to perform for them. politics has become the sick game of voting each others rights and wealth away and nothing else.

a pox on the all. vote ron paul.

skep41 You Forgot A Few
Thousands living on the public dole, thousands of skeptics that buy theoretical solutions, and anyone who buys into the speculative ideal there's a vast right wing conspiracy. 'nough said.

This is off topic ... but
Term limits sound nice, but I don't believe it would accomplish anything. We would be tossing out the baby with the bath water, and replacing it with swamp water. Yes, it does seem the longer they are in D.C. the more corrupt they become. But not all of them do. We would be tossing out the good along with the bad and in the processe we'd be replacing the good with an unknown.

If we think lame ducks are bad now just wait until they are all lame ducks. They have to get campaign $$ from somewhere, and they will be looking out for who will hire them after they are termed out. Because they will not have been on the job long, and they will not stay there long, they will allow unelected and unaccountable career bureaucrates do more of the work then they are already doing.

Originally the Senators were elected by each State's legislators to represent the interests of that State. They were not elected by the people. The representatives represented the people of their district, and that's why they are elected every two years. They represented a smaller group of people and were accountable to those people more often.

There is no such thing as State's rights any longer. This government is not working the way it was intended to work, and we are paying the price. Now people want to make it even worse by getting rid of the electorial collage, and instituting term limits. We the people have term limits every two years at the ballot box. The states used to control the senate with term limits every six years. Now it's a mess!

We need to go back to the way it was designed to work. If we don't it's only going to get worse.

Where's the News?
This is new? Colin Powell's Son Michael? No connection there right?

Lets Be Fair
If it wasnt for Alzheimer victims, convicted felons and illegal aliens how would Democrats win elections? It breaks my heart to hear you vicious members of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy go after people that care so much about THE CHILDREN! I get my info only from reliable sources like Oprah, The View and the Daily Show and I think that Bill Clinton, working for a little bit more than minimum wage, helping Vin Gupta to reach out to America's lonely shut-ins shows a depth of compassion you 'rugged indivualists'on the Hard Right will never be able to fathom.

Some things never change
..business as usual on capitol hill.

If they are not corrupt when they get there..majority of them will be..before they are voted out..or sent to prison.

Losing faith in our government?? Want change?
Real change will come with strick term limits..no pension for any elected official that is covicted of a crime...band lobbyist...set a fixed amount of money that can be raised for election campaigns...( make the playing field equal)the money that will be spent on this up coming presidential election..would go along way to paying down the deficit.

Priorities!

SHE IS A JOKE!!!
Little Miss Nancy PP is a joke. She has no intention of cleaning up anything. The Dem.'s spout off about their wonderful morals, but are as dishonest as they come. After all, they all learned from the master crook, Slick Willy.

RR

Mrs.Pelosi
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi told the "AMERICAN PEOPLE" that she would stop the LOBBYING practices,so common in WASHINGTON POLITICS.Yes,and "US" believed her!Now we know;how a 16 year old girl, in the backseat of a mustang, with her dress over head, after being told "I LOVE YOU",FEELS!

This story is no story
Bill Clinton and Nancy Pelosi's Son Get Paid Big Bucks by InfoUSA

So? good for them.

At least they are doing business in the US. what about Rudy Jewliani?? no word about his shady business with the Saudis??

Goshawk
Thanks for the link!!
Aren't the Democrats always screaming about privacy?? I guess they are only interested when it comes to abortion, drug use and other vile behaviors. I guess information on our shopping preferences etc. is up for grabs to the highest bidder.

ho hum....
THis story is at least a week old and it has not shown up inthe MSM. Forunately for me, I use the internet for most of my "news"...
Note...Feinstein's husband-military contracts, Pelosi's son and info. These people have not been forced to step down. Um, I think they call it a double standard.

Favors
This should show everyone just how corrupt and broken our government has become.

Google has in many ways
been saving your personal info according to many tech reports. One outfit is trying to combat Google by using it's own search engine against them. And has created their own search engine that acts as a go-between Google and you. In other words, you can use Google search, but Google can't see you.

You can check it out at this link.

http://www.scroogle.org/

It would be interesting...
...to see how much of his $180,000 salary he keeps.

This smells like a laundered campaign contribution to me.

IMPEACH!!!!

Like Mama, like son?
Hopefully, Dennis Hastart's son isn't like his Republican daddy..He chose to work for one of the most liberal, socialist company's in America...Google. Many believe goolge is "evil" in a number of ways. Most people use it everyday, but maybe you are not aware of their lib censorship...how do like having your every google "search" record kept on file for a two year period, for what purpose?

There are several "expose" type columns on the google spys at http://www.wnd.com if interested.

So the son of the "Screecher of the House" is capitalizing on his mama's position, what else is new?
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