Roland Arnall
was a major Democratic fundraiser who went over to the dark side...not only did he do the ultimate flip-flop,
Arnall and his wife, Dawn, were the single biggest source of financial support for Bush since 2002. Over the period, they gave and raised at least $12.25 million.
Add to that the $1.2 million donated to Ahnold (and raising much more than that for him) and we've got...what? A traitor to our cause? Someone who puts cash over ideals? An ominous sign for the Democratic Party's future? Who knows? But what did Mr. Arnall get?
...a most excellent posting as ambassador to the Netherlands.
And what are Mr. Arnall's qualifications? As is quite comically pointed out, ambassadorships are generally given:
to people who have served this country in key ways, such as by being a family member or close friend of the president, by having campaigned or worked for him or by having been a longtime and huge contributor or fundraiser for the president and his party.
Is money the only reason Arnall got the job?
Well, on the face of it, that does seem to be the obvious answer. Arnall raised and gave mucho bucks to Bush & Company and he got his payback in the form of a cushy ambassador's post. That's the easy answer. I think there is a much simpler reason...
Arnall's company is the largest mortgage lender to lower-income folks and those with iffy credit ratings. Concerns about shoddy lending practices, alleged fraud, falsification of documents and bait-and-switch sales tactics have been raised in a few -- okay, 25 -- states, the company announced a few months ago. Ameriquest also said it had agreed to pay as much as $50 million to settle allegations it had defrauded borrowers in four states.
There's your reason...it's not the money. It's the values and Arnall obviously has Bushco values in spades. He screws over the poor for fun and profit. What better qualifications than that are necessary to represent George Bush's America?
