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High Level Republican Official ‘Diverts’ G.O.P. Money. Now Qualified For Appointment To The Justice Department?

towashington 089.gif By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

For years I suggested to then Speaker Willie Brown that I be allowed to do the hiring for the Republican Caucus to avoid the waste of scarce tax dollars. Brown declined my offer, mumbling something about putting the fox in charge of the henhouse.

But could I have done worse by the GOP than they have done to themselves?

First there was the “illegal alien” scandal, where not just one, but two non-citizens were put on the California Republican Party payroll. Both wound up facing immigration hassles.

Then there was the inability of our state's Republican Party to pay off a $3m loan to a major donor and a party teetering on financial insolvency. He publicly castigated the Republican regime for various failures and demanded action to his satisfaction by Party bosses.

And now comes the revelation that a Republican big wig and treasurer with the Republican National Campaign Committee appears to have “diverted”a million dollars in contributions to personal accounts.

No wonder Republicans can’t run the country. They can’t even run political party operations.

Of course, we Democrats have our scandals too – the most obvious recent one being the hanky-panky story of New York’s ex-governor. But at least that silly episode was limited in its’ harm to the Governor and his poor family.

Hypocritical politicians are nothing new, and the penalty for massive hypocrisy of the sort exercised by the preachy ex-prosecutor of prostitution rings remains, exile from public life. But it pales besides the hypocrisy of demanding criminal penalties for those who hire “illegal aliens” by those who themselves have aliens with immigration issues on the payroll.

As to the official who diverted Republican contributions from the extremist causes and candidates for whom the money was intended, we shouldn’t be too harsh in judgment. Maybe his conscience just got the better of him?

Bill Cavala was Deputy Director of the Assembly Speaker’s Office of Member Services where he worked for over 30 years.

He attended undergraduate and graduate school in the 1960’s and received a doctorate in political science at UC Berkeley. He taught political science at UC Berkeley during the 1970's while he worked part-time for the State Assembly.

Cavala left teaching at UC Berkeley and went to work for Assembly Speaker Willie Brown in 1981 until his tenure as Speaker ended in 1995, and he has worked for his five successors as Speaker up to and including Speaker Fabian Nunez.

Mr. Cavala manages election campaigns for Democratic candidates.

Posted on March 15, 2008

Comments

Comrade Cavala,

I already know who the author of the article is when I click on its title in the "Our latest headlines" stack... Your particlular blade has its own signature.

Those republicans who "can't run the country" beat your party in the past two presidential elections with a guy and organization your party says is "stupid". So, what does that say about you/your party in contrast?

Did your own protege, Speaker Fabian Nunez, also divert campaign contributions to personal accounts/expenses?

You were so excited when Larry Craig did his alleged sexual/bathroom antics. I look for a similar excitement from you in contrasting the chief law enforcement officer of the state of NY and former attorney general who prosecuted protitution organizations, Governor Spitzer. Actually, his hypocracy is much larger is it not? Crossing state lines being a federal offense and all...

So, the republican "illegal aliens" are bad yet all the ones who cross the border illegally and you want to give drivers licences to are good?

Comrade Cavala opines:

"As to the official who diverted Republican contributions from the extremist causes and candidates for whom the money was intended, we shouldn’t be too harsh in judgment. Maybe his conscience just got the better of him?"

Did former Secretary of the State of California, democrat Kevin Shelley's diversion of HAVA FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS to democratic causes/campaigns "extremist causes" pass the smell test with you? He did resign to avoid prosecution did he not?

Comrade Cavala, I sure hope humor is allowed in your socialist version of the world as you are quite funny, but perhaps unintentionally...

Posted by: Jay Gould at March 16, 2008 10:53 AM

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