<b>DASCHLE SHOULD MIND HIS OWN BIG BIZ</b>

THERE'S a distinct whiff of hypocrisy about the Democratic bid - with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle heading the charge - to paint Bush & Co. as too "cozy" with big business to really crack down on crooked CEOs.

It smells of hypocrisy because Daschle is pretty cozy with big business himself, since it's a major source of his family income. His wife, Linda, is one of Washington's premier lobbyists.

But you can fuhgeddaboutit if you want to know how much money the Daschles rake in from her lobbying as a co-chair of the "public policy group" at the law/lobbying firm Baker, Donelson, Bearman & Caldwell.

Tom Daschle is demanding President Bush ( news - web sites) release every possible document about a 1990 stock sale to "just let everybody see what is there."

But unlike lots of senators - not to mention presidents like Bush - Daschle refuses to release his own tax returns, which would "just let everybody see" what his wife makes as a big-business lobbyist.

Daschle spokeswoman Ranit Smelzer defended his refusal, saying: "Most Americans guard very closely this information [tax returns], and members of Congress should not be forced to release it."

Daschle's Senate financial-disclosure forms keep it secret, too - they just list Linda Daschle's lobbying income from some of America's biggest firms as "over $1,000." Make that a lot over $1,000.

Daschle and his wife insist she avoids conflicts of interest because she doesn't lobby the Senate - though she does lobby next door in the House, where lawmakers certainly know her hubby.

Among her clients: American Airlines, the American Trucking Assn., American Concrete and Pavement Association, Boeing, Loral Space and Communications, Northwest Airlines, L-3 Communications, Intelli-check, Schering-Plough, United Technologies Corp. and more than a dozen more.

Take Loral, which paid a $14 million fine last January to settle charges of illegally sending sensitive missile technology to China.

In 2001 alone - the latest data - Loral paid $460,000 to Linda Daschle's firm for lobbying by her and four colleagues.

The conflict-of-interest question gets even more delicate when it comes to L-3 because it involves potential risks to airline passenger safety.

L-3 hired Linda Daschle and her firm when airlines balked at buying L-3 bomb-detecting devices to screen airline baggage because they were inferior to a competitor, The Washington Post reported last fall.

But after Linda Daschle got on the case, Congress inserted an "unusually explicit directive" ordering the FAA ( news - web sites) to buy one device from L-3 for every rival model from InVision.

"The connections apparently paid off . . . but [last October] the Transportation Department's inspector general agreed with industry critics that L-3's machines were not performing," the newspaper reported.

I don't know if this was posted before but I am nonplussed about this develpment as I own stock in INVN and have been happy with their performance. That Daschle and Co. would dictate purchase of substandard equipment from one of INVN's competitors; damn this corruption!

The problem I have with Daschle is that in the scheme of things he does not represent anyone. The number of people in S. Dakota is a pittance. The number that vote is next to nothing compared to the number of adult voters countrywide. And this man comports himself like a co-president? The founders must be spinning in their graves.

"Most Americans guard very closely this information [tax returns], and members of Congress should not be forced to release it."

So much for transparency. Daschole is not "most Americans". He is the Senate Majority Leader and has enormous power and influence.

The only reason he won't disclose his returns is the glaring conflict of interest in his wifey's dealings, vis-a-vis, legislation that crosses his 2'4" desk.

I don't know if this was posted before but I am nonplussed about this develpment as I own stock in INVN and have been happy with their performance.

I seen this a couple of days ago and was going to post it, but got cought up in FReeperPosting and never got back to it The hiposicy? of these two Dems. is unbeleaveable. And know one has called him or his wife on the very same thing that he is accusing GW in doing.

Have ya heard GW say anything about auditing the Dassholes? Man Oh Man! The Dems must be just sitting back laughing at these pathetic Pubbies. Every day Bush is on the defensive -like daddy. His response to the media questions about Cheney & his dealings was like whispering & crossing his fingers. Why when he was ask to release his documents didn't he say "When Daashole & his wife release theirs". Rpublicans = lap dogs to the Dems. The Dems = stand for nothing & bully the opposition to defeat. Yep, that's your "Two-Party Cartel".

But also remember, it was the small states in flyover country, each with a 'pittance' of electoral votes that kept Algore from being in President Bush's chair. I despise Daschle, and will work very hard to see him replaced, but how much better off would the Senate be if Feinstein had his place as leader of the rats? Schumer? Boxer? Hillary? They certainly can't be any less cunning than Dasshole. I think we can be pleased to at least have the opposition led by one of it's least bright members. All his opposition has failed.

THe Washington Times had an editorial today about the role that Senator Joh Corzine (D, NJ) played while he was President and/or CEO of Goldman-Sachs (a Wall Street Brokerage firm).

It seems that Mr. Corzine, whom the Democratic leadership has picked to be the attack dog on the financial irregularities of Enron, WorldCom, etc., was at GOldman Sachs when Enron shares were being traded at prices that were just too high.

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