Why Soros wants Norm Coleman out of the Senate

American Thinker ^ | January 09, 2009 | Ed Lasky

[vietvet67]

George Soros is the biggest sugar daddy of the Democratic Party, and naturally wants to ensure that the Democrats have a monopoly of power in America. Recently, I wrote an article for American Thinker on the role that George Soros has played in helping the Democrat Al Franken in his race against the Republican incumbent Norm Coleman for a Senate seat in Minnesota.

However, there may be one other reason that Soros was determined that Norm Coleman in particular lose his seat. This was personal.

Norm Coleman was the chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and as such took a leading role in uncovering and investigating the United Nations oil-for-food scandal.  Coleman was the leader in the Senate when it came to scrutinizing the operations of the United Nations; he appeared frequently in the media. The United Nations had never before come under such public criticism in the Senate. The mandarins and their fellow travelers were made very uncomfortable by the work of Senator Coleman.

They do not forget their adversaries.

This scandal involved not just negligence of the UN officials that set up and monitored the program (which immeasurably helped keep Saddam Hussein in power and, in a sense, helped create the conditions for the invasion of Iraq),  but also involved corruption that reached the highest levels at the United Nations.

Coleman was dogged in his pursuit of the wrongdoers at the UN. The investigation tarnished the image of Mark Malloch Brown (UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's deputy and right-hand man at the UN) who was seen as spinning away any culpability of Annan and the UN itself in this travesty of a program. Coleman thereby clearly earned the wrath of George Soros, for the ties between Brown and Soros are tight and seemingly mutually beneficial.

Soros provided an apartment of very advantageous rates for Brown; the favoritism bestowed upon Brown only began with that token of appreciation and support. Upon leaving the UN under the cloud that Coleman helped create, Brown was named the vice-president of the Quantum Fund run by his friend George Soros. Brown had no experience in the hedge fund world, but such sinecures are generously passed out by billionaires wanting friends that might reach high places -- they are an investment (see Axis of Soros in the Wall Street Journal's archives).

Mark Malloch Brown, who had previously worked at the World Bank, had been in the running to succeed Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank. That would be yet another friend in a high place -- that Soros collects like so many cards in a deck. Since the World Bank often helps private businesses in their investments, this friend in a high place would have been particularly valuable to George Soros, who invests billions of dollars in the type of lesser-developed nations on which the World Bank focuses. David Asman of Fox News called Mark Malloch Brown George Soros's "Ace in the Hole" at the World Bank when it appeared that Brown was vying for the top job at the Bank. Asman noted that Brown would be in a prime position to help Soros play the currency markets since currency traders'

bets on currency are made with many things in mind -- the state of the local economy, trade relations, political stability, etc. But the most valuable weapon in a currency trader's arsenal is inside information; finding out what a central bank or government is going to do with a currency before that decision is announced to the world. That's like seeing the other poker player's cards before you place your bet.

Where does one go for that kind of information? There are a lot of "clubs" within which powerful people met to discuss such things. Some are formal institutions, like the Council on Foreign Relations, or other such think tanks. But some meetings are far less formal, such as a luncheon at then-UN Ambassador Madeline Albright's New York apartment, where I first met George Soros and we casually discussed Venezuela and its currency over cocktails before lunch.

Of all these meetings however, perhaps none offer a better location to get the lowdown on currencies than a place called the World Bank. A source inside the World Bank would amount to the center jewel in any currency trader's crown.

Compared to any international commercial bank, the World Bank's portfolio is miniscule. But there is practically no country on the planet that has not had some dealing with the World Bank. Central bank officers, those with inside information about whether and by how much a currency might be revalued, are constantly visiting with World Bank officers. And as human encounters go, there are very useful tidbits of information that pass from lips to ears during such encounters.

That's why when the Wall Street Journal suggested that George Soros was trying to help his friend Mark Malloch Brown get on the inside track as the new head of the World Bank it seemed to make sense.

Alas for Soros and Mr. Brown, the post went to Robert Zoellick. Don't count Brown and Soros out yet, though. A new President is coming to town and President Obama will have a new chance to pick the head of the World Bank (though the World Bank is an international body, traditionally the United States chooses the person who leads the Bank).

George Soros and Barack Obama also have long-standing ties. Soros is very astute in his choice of "friends" who owe him favors. He knows good investments when he sees them and knows more about leverage than most hedge fund billionaires.

Funding the campaigns of Barack Obama was not just another investment/political donation of George Soros. He started funding Barack Obama's campaigns at an early date and used a loophole in federal campaign laws to exceed normal limits on donations. He then used his phalanx of 527 groups to campaign for Obama via, among other avenues, the powerful and furtive Democracy Alliance. 

But, I digress.

Back to the battle between Soros and Coleman.

Soros seemingly does not forget friends or enemies, and he thinks and plans far ahead. He paid particular attention to the race in Minnesota the past couple of years -- funneling money to the Secretary of States project that helped elect Mark Ritchie (a Democrat) to the post of Secretary of State. This office, charged with ensuring the integrity of the voting process, allowed Ritchie to influence the vote recount of the contest between Coleman and Franken.

Soros also funneled money to so-called 527 groups that worked to oust Coleman.  Covering all the bases, Soros doubled down and hosted a fundraiser for Al Franken after the election.

The election results were, at best, inconclusive. The details of the post-election contest between Coleman and Franken are complex but have been well-covered by Scott Johnson at Powerline, the Wall Street Journal, and Fox News. The important point to take away from the dispute in the context of this article is that the fight is now between the lawyers; these contests are expensive, and the funds Franken has at his disposal from Soros and others have been crucial.

Perhaps, Soros was looking backward and wanted to "punish" Coleman for his tarnishing of the reputation of Brown. More likely is that Soros was looking forward: should Barack Obama nominate Mark Malloch Brown to be the head of the World Bank, wouldn't it be better to have Norm Coleman -- who knows more about corruption and disgrace at the United Nations than most Senators -- out of the Senate?

This aspect of the battle between George Soros and Norm Coleman (waged through proxies) came to mind when I read in the Wall Street Journal that the United Nations was closing down the anti-fraud unit that was established in the wake of a series of corruption scandals -- the oil-for-food scandal just being the most widely known. The anti-corruption unit had uncovered over 600 million dollars in alleged contract fraud and puts at risk 175 investigations currently being pursued. Russia has been obstructing the efforts of this unit since its inception and now may have finally succeeded (Russian nationals have been implicated in fraud).

That is truly a shame: not only would such a unit help save American taxpayers a boatload of money (since we fund a large share of the UN budget) and help to ensure honesty and competency at the UN, but also would appear to have been one of the better investments of the past few years -- maybe even rivaling the investment Soros has made in Obama, Franken, and Mark Malloch Brown.

Ed Lasky is news editor of American Thinker.

[DustyMoment]

Why Soros wants Norm Coleman out of the Senate

This isn't even a complex question. Coleman doesn't have a "D" after his name and might oppose some of Soros/Obambi's socialist agenda.

Instead, Soros wants to fill our government with puppets and clowns like Obambi and Franken - people with no marketable job skills.

[IbJensen]

Well, it would seem that Soros and his army have decided that brazenly stealing the Minnesota election is worth it.

Since Soros and the rest of the commies that populate our Congress want to seize power, then it would follow that many of the citizens would want to do likewise.

With all the socialism/communism going down it would seem that conflict is on the horizon.

[originalbuckeye]

IIRC, Soros vowed in 1998 that he would bring down the economy of the United States. I wish someone with resources would start chronicling the rise of the Socialists in this country. I would suspect that it would show a years long effort to get the 0bamunist into power so that he would take us immediately into Socialism. It will take decades to undo the destruction that this President and his minions are going to foist on the unsuspecting American people.

[Farmer Dean]

I take some comfort in the fact that Soros is an old man and will be dead soon of natural causes.

[dusttoyou]

I have a nagging question and hope somone can shed some light on... why is Soros allowed in the US or why has he not been thrown out?
It sure seems this man is hellbent on destroying America.

[SumProVita]

Until then, Soros is a very dangerous man and this article is right on the money (pun intended).

[Eye of Unk]

The Obama puppetmaster.

[Ben Hecks]

I have a nagging question and hope somone can shed some light on... why is Soros allowed in the US or why has he not been thrown out?

Good question. While channel surfing, I have seen Soros testifying before Congress on two occasions in recent months. I find that interesting since Soros is a convicted felon.

[Christian4Bush]

bump for later

[UCFRoadWarrior]

Never could understand Soros’ hate for the GOP....

This is the same man who has been giving John McCain money for years...through McAmnesty’s Reason Insitute...which employed many of the people who would work on McAmnesty’s campaign

Of course...Soros for years have been in investments with both Bush 41 and 43...even buying an oil company from Bush 43 (which went belly up soon after....ah maybe the real reason Soros is mad at the GOP).

I am more concerned with Soros funding of GOP members. I guess the Liberal Free Trade Globalist crowd really hangs together...regardless of party

[Coldwater Creek]

Soros is the big cheese in charge of a shadow government.

[Robe]

A VERY DANGERIOUS man indeed !!!
On Black Wednesday (September 16, 1992), Soros became immediately famous when he sold short more than $10 billion worth of pounds, profiting from the Bank of England’s reluctance to either raise its interest rates to levels comparable to those of other European Exchange Rate Mechanism countries or to float its currency.

Finally, the Bank of England was forced to withdraw the currency from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and to devalue the pound sterling, and Soros earned an estimated US$ 1.1 billion in the process. He was dubbed “the man who broke the Bank of England.”

He’s doing the same thing here....and Now

[Desdemona]

for later

[DustyMoment]

why is Soros allowed in the US . . . . . .

I think (not sure) that he is a naturalized US citizen.

[NetCrusader2006]

I’ve got a better question: why hasn’t the GOP made him into a campaign issue? It would seem, with his anti-Americanism and far left views, that we could say any Democrat that accepts money from him tacitly supports any or all of his views.

[AmericanVictory]

It is very important that Coleman and his team succeed in Court. If counting more ballots than there are voters cannot be successfully challenged a man who is not a natural born citizen cannot be shown to be such we can really kiss the Rule of Law which we are pushing on Iraq and other countries good by. It is a hollow joke.

[penowa]

"Well, it would seem that Soros and his army have decided that brazenly stealing the Minnesota election is worth it."

No, they've decided that they are entitled to steal any close election and have spent $ and worked hard since 2000 to place the proper puppets in the office of SOS in as many states as possible. MN just happened via a 3-way election to fall into the category of a state they can steal because THEY are in charge of counting the votes.

Any state who elects a Soros supported ACORN puppet as SOS, will be in the same position and likely have the election manipulated and then stolen if need be. Doesn't hurt that the "R" is a RINO in these situations. Is Voinovich (sp?) up for election in '10? If so, kiss him goodbye (no big loss IMO) as OH already has their Soros puppet installed as SOS.

[PanzerDeutscheschafferhund]

Why hasn’t SOROS been assassinated? Isn’t there some nutcase that is willing to terminate this Machiavellian monster? I will probably have this post deleted, but am I the only one that is surprised that no one has taken this guy out? He has such powerful enemies that it just wouldn’t be shocking. POOF, Soros is killed by a ....fill in the blank.

I don’t know if Soros is scared, but you would think that he would be very afraid of the things he is manipulating.

Just wondering. Won’t be surprised if or when it happens.

[mojitojoe]

Soros is far more of a danger to America than any terrorist. He doesn't hit once then run. He is slow, methodical and evil. He doesn't want to do a hit and run on NYC, he wants to bring America to her knees and change what she is. He has manipulated elections, the stock market and his agenda is the same as Barry's.