A Fund-Raiser's Guilty Verdict
Dr Fuji Kamikase
propaganda organ! They assert that no evidence has yet
surfaced to involve Albert A "as in ass hole" Gore in this
"sorry chapter" in the history of America's gutter Party. Well
of course the evidence hasn't surfaced thanks to scandal
fixer, A.G. Janet "the butcher" Reno.
A Fund-Raiser's Guilty Verdict
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/editorial/03fri3.html
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A sorry chapter in the Democrats' 1996 fund-raising abuses
led yesterday to the conviction of the only person in the
scandals to face a trial so far. The verdict was a blow to
Vice President Al Gore, even though no evidence has surfaced
suggesting that he knew of the scheme at the center of this
case. The vice president is affected indirectly, however,
because Maria Hsia, a longtime Gore supporter, was found
guilty of all five counts related to her involvement in an
illegal scheme to raise money at the Hsi Lai Temple in
Hacienda Heights, Calif., where Mr. Gore famously appeared.
The vice president later denied that he knew of any fund-
raising going on at the temple.
There has never been much doubt that illegal fund-raising took
place at the temple. The monks, nuns and others who wrote
checks and were later reimbursed admitted their participation.
At issue in the trial was the prosecution's charge that Ms.
Hsia in effect masterminded the scheme. The jury yesterday
obviously rejected as implausible her assertion that she was
unaware of it. But the lingering question is whether anyone
else higher up in the fund-raising hierarchy knew what was
going on.
Since Ms. Hsia denies that she knew of anything illegal, it is
unlikely that she will turn around now and start naming
higher-ups with guilty knowledge. But what seems obvious from
the trial is that people who should have ensured that no shady
things were happening either looked the other way or were too
busy raising money to ask. That is the central embarrassment
of the over-the-top fund-raising effort by the Democrats,
which Mr. Gore himself has acknowledged was too lax.
The trial featured a videotape of the vice president at the
temple, clasping his hands in gratitude and meeting with Ms.
Hsia. Republicans have already tried to get a copy, no doubt
for use in campaign ads if Mr. Gore gets the Democratic
presidential nomination. Television viewers may become quite
familiar with this disgraceful episode. It would be even
better if they became outraged enough to demand campaign
finance reform that would ban unregulated donations to
political parties known as "soft money." Until soft money is
ended, further scandals are almost guaranteed.
God Bless America
Dr Fuji Kamikase
"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." --
Aesop
"Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also
believes to be true." --Demosthenes