NJ-Sen: Quid-Pro-Kean is Déjà Vu All Over Again

Learning from the example of a father willing to desecrate the history of our nation for short term partisan political gain, it's not surprising that Quid-Pro-Kean Jr would sell his vote away so easily. And that's before you even consider the long Kean family history of trading influence for campaign dollars. So today's revelation should come as no surprise:

The same day state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. voted twice to let Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey keep a $40 million tax exemption, he collected $13,300 in contributions for his U.S. Senate race from 17 company executives and their family members.....including $4,100 from Horizon CEO and president William Marino and his wife, Paula.

Campaign contributions in exchange for corporate favors. Why does that sound so familiar?

The same day as the board meeting, some UnitedHealth directors and executives were supporting a campaign by Mr. Kean 's son for a U.S. Senate seat from New Jersey. Some of them attended a fund-raiser for Tom Kean Jr. that day, in UnitedHealth's home state of Minnesota. It isn't clear whether [CEO] Dr. McGuire and his wife attended, but each donated $2,000 to the cause. So did Richard T. Burke, who sits on a special board committee that is overseeing the options investigation. All told, UnitedHealth-affiliated donors have contributed $25,000 to the campaign.....

You might recall their explanation for why this took place on the same day Tom Kean Sr met on a board to decide the fate of United Health executives charged with fraud:

Jill Hazelbacker, Kean Jr.'s spokeswoman, said it was a "total coincidence" the events took place on the same day, May 5.

That's a coincidence we can probably all sympathize with. Who hasn't found themselves in Minnesota, taking money from the same executives whose fate will be decided by their dad? You know what else is a coincidence? Their explanation for this latest episode:

Hazelbaker and Horizon spokesman Thomas Rubino both suggested that the timing of the checks was a coincidence.

Tom Kean Jr doesn't know how to take responsibility for his actions. It wasn't a corporate shakedown - it was a coincidence. It wasn't a quid-pro-quo - it was a coincidence. He freely throws around charges of ethics violations, but he doesn't come close to meeting the lofty standards he imposes on others. A spokesman for Senator Menendez concluded: "He's a hypocrite...This shows he's not the reformer he portrays himself to be. It also shows that while his vote may be for sale, at least we know the price."

Update: Menendez campaign spokesman Matt Miller responds:

"Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy and Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln - that's a coincidence. Tom Kean Jr. taking 17 contributions from the state's biggest HMO on the same day he votes to preserve their $40 million tax exemption is pay to play. Tom Kean Jr.'s latest coincidence shows that he's not just a hypocrite, but a hypocrite who always sides with big corporations over average New Jerseyans. New Jersey needs a Senator who will stand up for everyone in the state, not just for big corporations and special interests."

Cross-posted from Blue Jersey

•  kean

  this is the kind of stuff we need to get out there on Kean. He is getting by way to easy with the "Independent Reformer" crap he is trying to run on. If he got in to the senate he would be just another rubber stamp, bush loving, GOP lackey like the rest. Great diary.

  by antigonos on Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 07:55:21 AM PDT

•  Legalized Bribery...

  ...is the term John McCain has used to describe things like this. Unfortunately for McCain he's just as guilty of legalized bribery as Kean (and should be reminded about his acts of legalized bribery frequently should he run for president in 2008, just like we need to remind New Jersey voters of Kean's acts of legalized bribery.

  by krishna on Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 07:55:21 AM PDT

•  quid-pro-tip-jar

  by jmelli on Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 07:55:22 AM PDT

•  Ad idea for Menendez

  start negative:

  compare Kean JR (emphasis on JR) with George Bush: good sensible republicans have sons that are less than adequate for public office(images of Iraq, Kartina ) etc... call Kean "another fortunate son".

  This 1) makes it clear that this is Tom Kean son, not father 2) ties republican TKjr with GWB.

  Then, do a series of positive ads about Menendez's strenghts and accomplishments, and end every one like this:

  "...that's Bob Menendez. As fot Tom Kean jr, his opponent, he's just another fortunate son".

  eh?

  by Mr Bula on Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 08:00:31 AM PDT

  •  Kean Sr is no saint

    I don't know why he's always placed on a pedestal, but Tom Kean Sr has a pretty dirty past, too. He became governor with the slimmest of margins after the GOP used armed white thugs to intimidate black and Hispanic voters from voting in Trenton and Newark. He's also has a history of trading his influence for campaign contributions for his son's campaigns.

    by jmelli on Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 08:08:56 AM PDT

•  Kean Jr stresses that he will go to DC

  and reform politics. I think by that he has in mind collecting bigger checks. Tean Jr. is not aggressively criticizing the Jack Abramoff scandal in the Repub party. Kean Jr got the Senate nod partly because he got the position as head of the GOP party chairman in the state of NJ. So let's start with the nepotism issue first, before examining Kean Jr.'s slim to none chances of reforming much in DC, especially in a Repub controlled Congress.
    Any NJ voter who hopes for even a chance at change in DC would have to take a serious look at Bob Menendez.

  by jfdunphy on Fri Sep 15, 2006 at 08:09:01 AM PDT