I swear to God that the term Republican must be defined as money-grubber in the dictionary because every damn issue comes back to having more money with them. They only care about the almighty dollar.
Cunningham, 63, a former Navy fighter pilot who shot down five MIGs during the Vietnam War and was a role model for Tom Cruise in the movie "Top Gun," is being investigated by the FBI and other federal agencies for selling his house in November 2003 to a military contractor for what may have been an inflated price.
Mitchell Wade, 42, president and chief executive of Washington-based MZM Inc., bought the house for $1,675,000, then sold it seven months later for $975,000, a $700,000 loss. The house deal was first disclosed earlier this month by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0623-04.htm
How interesting. Republican Congressman Cunningham sold his house for to the president of a military contractor. And he was significantly overpaid for his house. Sounds too good to be true. Must have been Cunningham's lucky day!
Oh, but wait. . .why would anyone over pay for a home by almost a million dollars? This seems a bit illogical to me.
Critics suggest that Wade paid Cunningham for the house as a way to illegally funnel money to a congressman who has supported his company.
The fact that for months Cunningham has lived on Wade's yacht, named the Duke Stir, berthed in the Potomac River, has raised further questions about improper financial links.
Well, I suppose critics may have a point. It probably wasn't out of the goodness of his heart that the military contractor overpaid a Congressman. It is more of a "i'll scratch your back, you scrath mine." sort of relationship.
Then, Congressman Cunningham went to live on Wade's boat. Did it ever cross the Congressman's mind that any of this was a conflict of interest?
Of course not. Fascism is alive and well in our government. It is an accepted part of the process.
Cunningham is on the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, which makes decisions on funding for specific defense programs each year. The military contractor, MZM's, has had success in landing government work. Surprise! Surprise! While the details of their specific contracts are classified, MZM's corporate web site boasts that in 2004, the company "experienced significant growth, tripling revenues since the beginning of the year."
Good job! Bribing Congressmen is tough work but somebody has to do it.