Bill Richardson: January 2009 Archives
Bill Richardson's withdrawal from his commerce secretary nomination Sunday didn't just leave a major gap in the new administration, but it also sorely disappointed Latinos who view the New Mexico governor as their most prominent representative."Only" two. And not prominent enough. Bull****!
[W]ith Richardson stepping aside from consideration for commerce secretary amid an ethics investigation relating to a company that has done business with his state, only two Latinos are now set to serve in the new Cabinet: Labor secretary-designate Hilda Solis and Interior secretary-designate Ken Salazar, neither of which, some critics have argued, will hold a prominent Cabinet post.
The prospect of having only two Latinos on Obama's Cabinet riles some members of the Hispanic community who say their support of Obama was crucial to his success on Election Day."It's disappointing at least for now that this administration doesn't have three Latinos as members of its Cabinet," said Arturo Vargas, the executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
"That would have been one of President-elect Obama's immediate legacies, to have appointed three Latinos to full Cabinet positions," Arturo added.
Emphasis added. Didn't Mr. Vargas get the memo regarding Richardson's withdrawal? He was in. And he felt he had to get the heck out of Dodge because of a federal investigation on a pay-to-play scheme that may lead all the way back to Richardson's governor's office. In other words, (1) he quit, and (2) he quit because he was, how shall we phrase this . . . oh yeah, "ethically challenged" at this time.
If token appointments is what you are looking for - and it sure looks like that's what Vargas is saying since he suggests that "two's no good, but three's alright" - I want no part of it.
"We do think another Latino should replace Mr. Richardson," Murguía of NCLR said. "It's not out of a sense of entitlement, it's really out of sense of historic precedent. President-elect Obama was ushered into office by a wide diverse coalition of different voters. There is a strong sense of pride among Latino voters that they played a special role.""Historic precedent"? WTF is that? That Obama already nominated a Latino for that post so now Secretary of Commerce is a Latino post?
I tend to agree with this comment - which CNN.com placed at the end of the article as a sort of throwaway quote to purportedly provide some "balance" on this issue:
"I think we are beyond that at this point. We need to have the very best people in these jobs. I hope that they pick someone equally brilliant and highly experienced. We are all in it together," said Fernando Espuelas, host and managing editor of Café Espuelas, a Los Angeles Spanish-language radio talk show.Emphasis provide. Amen to that!
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is withdrawing his nomination to be commerce secretary, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state.
"Given the gravity of the economic situation the nation is facing, I could not in good conscience ask the President-elect and his Administration to delay for one day the important work that needs to be done."
The general outline of the investigation goes as follows:
The investigation concerns CDR Financial Products Inc., a Beverly Hills, Calif., company that in 2004 was awarded two consulting contracts worth about $1.4 million to advise the State of New Mexico on a large bond issue for building infrastructure, one of Mr. Richardson’s initiatives. The company’s president, David Rubin, a major Democratic contributor, gave about $100,000 to two political action committees controlled by Mr. Richardson, as well as $10,000 to his re-election campaign in 2005, according to published reports.However, this is what I thought did Richardson in:
The F.B.I. began examining the contracts last year; in August, the inquiry was reported in the New Mexico news media. But an Obama transition official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the president-elect’s team, while aware that one of Mr. Richardson’s donors was being investigated, did not know that the inquiry extended to Mr. Richardson until after Mr. Obama announced the New Mexico governor as his commerce secretary choice in early December.Emphasis added. You know, it's one thing if Richardson doesn't know he's being investigated, but this is a pay-to-play scheme he's accused of being involved in. He had to know something was cooking.
Emphasis added. As bad as I feel for Richardson, I also want to grab him by the neck and slap him. Even if he didn't do anything improper or unethical, you have to know that, at the very least, it appears to be improper. Specially if there's a grand jury looking at it.Since August, federal investigators have been examining how CDR Financial Products Inc., of Beverly Hills, Calif., got two consulting contracts in 2004 worth about $1.4 million to advise the state on a large bond issue for building infrastructure, one of Mr. Richardson’s initiatives. The investigation was first reported in The Albuquerque Journal.
In 2003 and 2004, CDR’s president, David Rubin, a major Democratic contributor, gave about $100,000 to two political action committees controlled by Mr. Richardson, as well as $10,000 to his re-election campaign in 2005, according to published reports.
An individual with knowledge of the grand jury proceedings, who requested anonymity because the proceedings are secret, said a grand jury was investigating “how CDR gets business in New Mexico and whether the governor’s office was involved in getting them business here.”
Specifically, the person said, the jurors were hearing testimony about whether someone in the governor’s office had pushed the New Mexico Finance Authority to give business to the company.
All that aside, I do wish him the best. He is an inspiration to most politically-active Latinos in the U.S. and I would hate to see him go down in a cloud of corruption.
But hey, it's politics so nothing would surprise me.
