It may be hard to accept but July is all but gone leaving us a mere two months until the next Virginia election. While most everyone in the state is familiar with Republican candidate Ken Cuccineli, Virginia’s Attorney General, not much is known about his opponent, Terry McAuliffe.
McAuliffe, who has never held elected office, is a D.C. insider and former chairman of the Democratic Party (2001 to 2005). A friend and golfing buddy of Bill Clinton, McAuliffe served as co-chairman of Wild Willie’s 1996 reelection campaign and chairman of Hillary’s 2008 campaign. A life long Democrat, McAuliffe also worked in Jimmy Carter’s reelection campaign before attending law school at Georgetown. He married the daugher of Richard Swann, who was in charge of fundraising for Carter’s campaign in Florida.
McAuliffe who touts himself as a businessman, has what some may call “shady” business dealings throughout his life. Under the guidance of his father-in-law, McAuliffe partnered with a pension fund controlled by the Int’l Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Nat’l Electric Contractors Assoc. to buy American Pioneer real estate, valued at $50 million for a mere $38.7 million from the Resolution Trust Corporation. McAuliffe’s share of the purchase price was only $100, for which he received a 50% equity stake.
He was also involved with the Federal City National Bank, which he helped found that was cited by federal regulators for unsafe and unsound business practices. And, most everyone within the State is familiar with the shaky business dealings swirling around GreenTech, another McAuliffe adventure.
Jeff Gerth of the New York Times once wrote that McAuliffe had “transformed the art of raising money for public figures into the art of raising money for himself,” leveraging a personal fortune from his political fundraising contacts. He even offered to guarantee a mortgage on a home in New York that the Clinton’s wanted to purchase. The Washington Post said that McAuliffe “is a dealmaker who made millions from investments. . .in partnership with prominent donors and politicians, creating a portrait over the years of a Washington insider who got rich as he rose to power within the Democratic Party.”
While chairman of the Democratic Party, Ralph Nader alleged that in 2004 McAuliffe offered him money to withdraw from certain pivotal states in the 2004 election. Nader said that McAuliffe basically said that “if I stay out of 19 states which are close between Kerry and Bush, he would provide resources to me in the remaining 31 states. He threatens, he promises, he cajoles, he jokes, he charms, he intimidates. . .He is not someone who should be in possession of the public’s trust.” McAuliffe admitted he had talked to Nader to convince him not to run but denies offering him money.
McAuliffe’s national fundraising prowess is helping him raise campaign money in his bid for governor of Virginia. 74% of the money he has raised for his campaign has come from donors outside of Virginia such as Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television; Peter Angelos, owner of the Baltimore Orioles; Saban of Univision Television Network, William Adams of Los Angeles aka i.am. Even Wild Willy Clinton has sent him $100,000.
Patrick Hallahan, another donor, who lists his occupation as private consultant, is among the top echelon of McAuliffe’s staffers and a long time confident. Hallahan is also employed at Chopper Trading, a Chicago Securities firm whose chief executive, Rajiv Fernando, just happens to be one of McAuliffe’s largest contributors. Fernando was active in the Obama re-election campaign where he bundled at least $500,000. Those contributions to Obama, along with Fernando’s six figure contribution to the William J. Clinton Foundation came under scrutiny after he was appointed to a top State Department Advisory Board, forcing him to step down.
When running for governor in 2009, McAuliffe said “as governors go, I don’t want my fair share (of federal stimulus money). I want more than my fair share. I’m going to call Obama everyday.” And no doubt Obama would gladly answer a call from one of his golfing buddies.
In 2009 he also pushed Obama’s global warming policy. “As governor I never want another coal plant build. I want us to build wind farms, biomass, biodiesel and solar.” Now, of course, he claims to be a big supporter of coal but in July of this year, when he visited Virginia Tech, he brought along his friend, Michael Mann, the creator of the “hockey stick” at the center of the U.N. Agenda 21, global warming scam.
In 2009 McAuliffe said that if elected governor he would raise taxes – “I mean that all potential revenue options (even unpopular ones) must be on the table.”
McAuliffe is pushing an assault weapons ban and a one gun a month restriction on the purchase of firearms.
McAuliffe opposes Virginia’s abortion clinic regulations and is a supporter of Obama’s platform of abortion on demand, at any time, for any reason, paid for by Virginia Taxpayers. We’re talking, partial-birth abortions, sex-selection abortion, late-term abortion and abortion for teenagers without parental consent.
McAuliffe, according to the Washington Blade, “America’s leading gay news source,” endorses same-sex marriage.
McAuliffe is a big supporter of ObamaCare which cuts Medicare by $700 billion.
A Virginia Democratic strategist describes McAuliffe as “just sort of this shady fundraising guy most famous for selling the Lincoln Bedroom” (under Wild Willy’s occupation). In 2004, Bruce Reed, Wild Willy’s policy advisor called McAuliffe “a political hack.”
A political hack indeed! A liberal backed by out-of-state liberals who would like nothing better than to convert Virginia into a high-tax, anything goes liberal state.
I can’t tell you who to vote for – that’s not my place. All I ask is that you consider the implications of your vote.
