Terry McAuliffe, that political huckster extraordinaire, is apparently making yet another run at the governor's mansion in the Commonwealth of Virginia. And as someone of questionable character he is doing is best to try to draw attention away from a past that may not be conducive to achieving and electoral victory. You may remember how it was that 'BJ' Clinton crony McAuliffe was pretty quick to start casting verbal stones when Enron filed for bankruptcy back in 2001, the largest in our nation’s history. The then DNC Chairman criticized greedy Enron executives for hurting the "small people," calling for a full investigation. He questioned the company’s ties to the Bush Administration. But as it would later turn out, that was little more than the pot calling the kettle black. How many of you may remember that little outfit, Global Crossing, which went belly up on January 28, 2002. You know the perfect example of pure political profiteering, where we hand McAuliffe being able to turn a $100,000 initial investment in the company into $18 million in less than a year and a half. Hell, that was better than Hitlery turning $1000 into $100,000 in ten months in a series of trades of cattle futures contracts.
But McAuliffe’s shady ties to the company go well beyond his questionable investment windfall. According to the press reports at the time, McAuliff also did "political work" for Global Crossing CEO Gary Winnick, working out of an office in downtown Washington owned by Winnick. On one occasion, McAuliffe set up a golf outing for Winnick and 'Slick Willie' Clinton. Winnick would later give a million dollars to 'Slick Willie’s' presidential library/porn shop/massage that Winnick was then able to turn into $400 Million. Because shortly after Winnick’s generous contribution, Global Crossing somehow managed to be awarded a $400 Million contract by the Pentagon. However, due to a few irregularities, shall we say, in the bidding process, which were brought to light by separate complaints filed by those who had lost out on the contract, the Bush Administration cancelled the deal, precipitating a free fall of Global’s stock price. Like Enron, Global Crossing had artificially inflated its stock price while executives engaged in massive stock selling in the year leading up to filing for bankruptcy. While Global brass made billions, employees lost their entire life’s savings.
Global Crossing’s political leanings were very noticeably tilted to one side. The company was the fifth largest corporate donor to the Democratic Party during the 2000 election cycle, but moved swiftly into first place this year. So far, Global has donated $350,000 to the Democratic Party for the 2002 campaign, and none to the GOP. Further, Winnick, through his Pacific Capital Group, donated all of his 2000 campaign budget of $250,000 to the Democratic Party, and none to the GOP. Global Crossing reportedly sponsored a fundraising dinner for then Senate Majority Leader and Democrat Tom 'The Tax Cheat' Daschle and gave thousands to Henry 'Phantom of the Opera' Waxman during the last election cycle. The company also paid former Justice Department lawyer and Janet Reno assistant Anne Bingaman $2.5 million for her lobbying efforts. And former Defense Secretary William Cohen, well-known RINO, the man at the helm when Global Crossing was awarded a lucrative Pentagon contract, was named a Director of Global Crossing in an April 2001 company press release. He reportedly got a $500,000 consulting fee from the company as well.
So I only mention all of this as a way of providing a little background information, a little political history, that should make it pretty clear just how shady of a character this creep really is. Because as we now fast forward to 2013 and this slug touting as being the centerpiece of his campaign for VA Governor his record as a businessman. This experience, he argues, gives him the experience to be able to create jobs in the commonwealth. New questions about past claims, however, are putting his full business record under closer scrutiny. This week, National Journal questioned the campaign about a claim McAuliffe made during his run for Governor back in 2009. During a Democrat debate, McAuliffe boasted that he "created over 100,000 jobs—good-paying jobs with benefits and good wages. That’s what I’ll do as governor." One of his Democrat opponents, Del. Brian Moran, scoffed that this would make McAuliffe a bigger job creator than Bill Gates. McAuliffe went on to finish third in that primary contest. While McAuliffe hasn't repeated that claim this time around, he is still, however, touting his record as a job creator.
Until recently, he promoted his chairmanship of Green Tech, an electric car manufacturer, boasting that the company would create 900 well-paying jobs. The company, however, chose to build its first manufacturing plant in Mississippi, instead of Virginia. The decision complicates McAuliffe's argument that he can create jobs in Virginia. The campaign recently announced that McAuliffe had quietly stepped down as Green Tech chairman in December. However, I think it fair to say McAuliffe's true resume is one more likely to show that he is more of a political entrepreneur than anything else. He has long operated at the highest level of national Democrat politics. A close confidante of former House Majority Leader ‘Little Dick’ Gephardt, he was also the chief fundraising bundler for 'BJ' Clinton. He served a stint as Chair of the DNC. He is the consummate DC insider. He has succeeded in translating many of these relationships into very lucrative business opportunities. McAuliffe's current focus on his business experience is, most likely, only intended to deflect attention away from a very questionable past. As McAuliffe is learning, though, the past is a tough thing to outrun.
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