Clinton Fundraiser Bundles Serious Cash From Tiny Texas Town

[babylonsister]

How Big Man In McAllen Bundles Big For Clinton

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 25, 2007; Page A01

McALLEN, Tex. -- During the first nine months of this year, Sen. Barack Obama raised just $2,086 for his presidential campaign from people who live in and around this border town of stucco bungalows and weed-covered farm lots, and most candidates raised even less. But Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, has already raised more than $640,000 here, and her campaign expects to collect even more.

Clinton's success in this unlikely setting is based almost entirely on her friendship with one man, McAllen developer Alonzo Cantu. A self-made millionaire who once picked grapes on the migratory farm labor circuit, Cantu persuaded more than 300 people in Hidalgo County, where the median household income in 2006 was $28,660, to write checks ranging from $500 to $2,300 to the senator from New York.

Cantu offers a simple explanation for what he's doing for Clinton. "To me, there's two things that will keep us from being ignored," he said. "Money and votes. I think we've shown we can raise money. That will get us attention, or at least get us a seat at the table, get us in the room."

Cantu's bluntly stated reasons for "bundling" money and the way he goes about doing it are an insight into a method of fundraising that has helped define the 2008 presidential race. With election costs soaring and with tight contribution limits, the task of raising hundreds of millions of dollars has fallen almost entirely to bundlers and their vast networks of individual supporters. Clinton's campaign has predicted that several bundlers will raise more than $1 million for her bid before the contest is over, and Cantu could be one of them.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/24/AR2007112401359.html?hpid=topnews

[hedgehog]

1. $640,000 extorted, excuse me, "bundled" , from the citizens

of a Texas border town. Wonderful.

[Wickerman]

2. MSM, never one to let facts sully an article

calls a metro are of 670k tiny. :eyes: As I've said before, Hillary isn't my woman at this point, but being familiar with the are in question I couldn't let this article stand without comment.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McAllen,_Texas

McAllen is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas. It is located at the very southern tip of Texas in an area known as the Rio Grande Valley. As of 2005, the city had a population of 123,055. In 2006 the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area had a population of 670,287. Its southern boundary is located about five miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, the Rio Grande River. McAllen is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. It is also the largest city in Hidalgo County.

--snip--

The median income for a household in the city was $33,641, and the median income for a family was $36,050. Males had a median income of $30,089 versus $22,480 for females.

--snip--

McAllen's economic fortunes have been linked intimately with that of Mexico's after NAFTA went into effect on January 1, 1994. Prior to ratification of this agreement, economic activity in McAllen was centered around agriculture and petroleum. Since then, economic activity has diversified and growth has routinely numbered in the double digits along with tremendous population growth which has continued for over a decade. Numerous multinational corporations such as Nokia, Panasonic, Sony, Kia, Motorola, Black & Decker, and General Electric have established themselves in the McAllen area. It is also the location of the repair center of Xbox 360s; repair boxes are sent to and from McAllen, Texas.

--snip--

Edit: My original title credited the Washington Post, I changed it to MSM as the 'Post might actually not be as guilty as some other sources and I felt the titling was too extreme.

[Karmadillo]

14. Thank you for taking the time to post this.

nt

[sandnsea]

38. Oooh, NAFTA

I see. Lots of business owners getting rich on this side of the border by exploiting labor on the other side. *sigh*

[Wickerman]

48. I make no comment on the source of new wealth

I only offer comment that the article is poorly written at best, biased on the face.

[ClarkUSA]

3. Who needs Norman Hsu when Hillaryworld has got Alonzo Cantu?

Chinese, Mexicans... are there anymore illegal immigrant subgroups these kind of Clintonian financial pimps can extort bundles
of $$$ from to funnel into Hillaryworld's maw?

The Clinton Sleeze Factor strikes again. I'll be happy when we're done with presidents who have no scruples as to what monies
is flowing through the doors as long as it's green and the bundler is not yet indicted. Reading this, I couldn't tell if the story
was about Tom DeLay or a Bush Ranger. No wonder Tom DeLay and Bush II endorsed/talked up Hillary Clinton for president.
They are all kindred souls when it comes to their top fundraising sources: lobbyists, PACs, special interest groups, Big Business.

I don't see how any true and principled liberal/progressive could support Clinton. Cognitive dissonance must play a huge part
or else they are simply, purely being Machiavellian aka. Clintonian or their personal loyalties/history trump their better judgment.

[creeksneakers2]

4. That's a racist statement

Do you think all Chinese and Mexicans are illegal immigrants?

Where did you get the idea that Hillary is extorting money from these people?

[ClarkUSA]

5. WTF are you blathering about now? Quote the statement(s) which you're conflating.

You never got good grades in Logic 101, did you?

[creeksneakers2]

6. You can start learning what bad logic is

by reading the first sentence in your post.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Colobo]

15. I'm Hispanic, and I don't think Clark's answer was a racist at all.

In fact, he's right.

[ClarkUSA]

17. Thank, Katz -- considering I have Chinese relatives, this swift boating shit storm is Hillaryous

Hillaryworlders always seem to attack the messenger rather than debate the issues. Perhaps that's because Clinton's campaign fundraising practices are
completely indefensible.

[creeksneakers2]

18. Because the last name of the bundler sounds foreign

He's dealing with illegal immigrants?

[ClarkUSA]

21. Try picking up a newspaper: Hsu was dealing with illegal immigrants according to a LA Times exposé

Also, I highly recommend that you read a Washington Post editorial published in early October entitled, “Dishwashers for Clinton, Once Again a Zeal for Campaign Cash Trumps Common Sense.” The article concerns the latest in a long line of campaign fundraising scandals involving Hillary Clinton:

“Donors whose addresses turn out to be tenements. Dishwashers and waiters who write $1,000 checks. Immigrants who ante up because they have been instructed to by powerful neighborhood associations, or, as one said, ‘They informed us to go, so I went.’ Others who say they never made the contributions listed in their names or who were not eligible to give because they are not legal residents of the United States. This is the disturbingly familiar picture of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign presented last week in a report by the Los Angeles Times about questionable fundraising by the New York senator in New York City's Chinese community. Out of 150 donors examined, one-third ‘could not be found using property, telephone or business records,’ the Times reported. ‘Most have not registered to vote, according to public records.’”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101069.html

So, to summarize:

A few weeks ago, the press outed Hillary’s top fundraiser, Norman Hsu, as a fugitive from justice. Hsu was recently charged with creating a $60 million Ponzi scheme and using “straw donors” to illegally contribute to political campaigns.

Then, it was discovered that another top fundraiser, Indian American businessman Sant S. Chatwal, is fighting governments on two continents to escape bankruptcy and millions of dollars in tax liens. Campaign finance reports indicating that Hillary’s presidential campaign has been forced to cut $1.3 million in Hsu-related refund checks to hundreds of donors since July 1 — more than triple than any other Democratic candidate.

Chinese dishwashers and illegal aliens donating tens of thousands of dollars to Hillary’s campaign. Nice candidate you're supporting there.

As the Washington Post points out, it’s not that the Clintons don’t see the red flags. (How could they not?) They simply choose to ignore them. They allow the mad scramble for campaign cash to trump all other considerations. And they will not stop until they are caught and punished severely. (When questioned on these scandals, the Clintons throw their hands in the air and say that under existing rules it is impossible to monitor their campaign fundraising activity. Ridiculous. All they need is a more stringent vetting process that focuses on red flags instead of loopholes.) The Post does not mention that the Clintons’ penchant for suspect Chinese-connected cash goes back to their days running Arkansas and now through each one of their three presidential campaigns.

And now we have Norman Hsu II ---> Alonzo Cantu, a name I'm sure we'll be hearing more of as he has the same MO as Hsu. Illegal. Probably. Suspicious? Definitely.

Perhaps the LA Times will do another investigative report soon. I know what it will say, too.

[creeksneakers2]

23. What does Cantu have to do with Hsu and illegal immigrants

Other than that they both have foreign sounding names? Are they both brown people?

If you read the article, rather than jumping to racist assumptions, you'd see that Cantu's donors were tracked down. None of them were illegal immigrants and they all had occupations that sounded like they paid more than $29,000 a year. One felt Hillary was extorting money but had nothing to back that up. The rest all said they donated because of their relationship with Cantu and they liked the issues Cantu was promoting with Hillary.

[cuke]

25. Some assume any foriegn name belongs to an "illegal"

It's the "progressive" thing to do. And if Hsu (furrin sounding name) takes money from "illegals", then certainly Cantu (another furring sounding name) must be doing the same thing

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cuke]

31. Homophobia isn' going to help your case

[ClarkUSA]

33. Another swift boating lie? What did I say that was "homophobic, cuke dear?

Hmmm....?

Oh, and whining to the moderators about some alleged "homophobic" remark is pathetic.

[cuke]

37. For some unknown reason, you brought up the prospect of anal rape

I don't know why you're so afraid of being anally raped. No one has mentioned anything about any kind of sex.

[ClarkUSA]

39. WTF? Any more Hillaryous smears? You are a total Swift Boater For Hillary.

Sad.

[cuke]

40. So your reference to "gang bang" and lubricants had nothing to do with anal sex?

What's the lube for? Are you going to forced to masturbate?

[ClarkUSA]

44. Nope. It's descriptive of what Hillaryworlders have been doing to me on this thread.

And you obviously have no clue that heterosexuals don't mind a little more slip quotient every now and then.

As for masturbation, what you do is your business and I don't want to know.


:rofl:

[cuke]

45. So you equate disagreement with anal gangrape

and that's why you think it's NOT homophobic?

[ClarkUSA]

49. No, YOU equate disagreement with anal gang rape.

I was equating the character assassinations you and your fellow Swift Boater For Hillary were piling on me as a figurative
gang bang of bullying and lies. As I said, you're obviously so hung up on anal sex that you don't understand rhetorical
flourishes, do you? Oh, and there ARE heterosexual gang bangs, too.

I feel sorry for you. And you're boring me. So go away. I think you've been masturbating your points to the point of oblivion.

[cuke]

52. So "gangbangs" have nothing to do with sex?

Is that your final answer?

[ClarkUSA]

53. Huh? Do you have any idea how truly ridiculous you sound?

That is my final answer. lol

[ClarkUSA]

36. I certainly don't, considering I was born with one. Your preaching is Hillaryous.

:rofl:

[ClarkUSA]

46. Your spelling is as bad as your attempts to smear me in retaliation for my original comment.

:rofl:

[ClarkUSA]

27. Cantu + Hsu = Same MO

Your Hillaryworld defense is full of holes replete with ugly character assassination. That's the Clintonian way, right?

As for the article, in no way does it track down every one of Cantu's donors and provide INS proof that they are legal immigrants. He sounds exactly like an extortionist to me:

"The Clinton donors included dozens who had never registered to vote, several who were Republicans and 10 who had previously made contributions to President Bush and former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R).

"When Alonzo comes through the door, you want to give to him," said Gerardo J. Reyna, Cantu's brother-in-law. Reyna owns McAllen Carpet & Interiors, a company that provides close to 90 percent of the floor coverings in Cantu-built homes and offices. "The last thing you want to do is get on Alonzo's bad side," he said with a smile. Reyna donated $1,000 to Clinton."

Your candidate is a corporate whore and a warmonger with no moral scruples with regard to raking in cash into her coffers. Clinton is no better than Bush in that way and many other ways.

Your attempts to fudge the truth and your continued fugly swiftboating attempts on my character are another fetid example into the minds of equally morally bankrupt Hillaryworlders.

I feel sorry for you.

[cuke]

32. More stereotyping?

Your response says nothing about any illegal activities or anything about contributions from undocumented residents.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ClarkUSA]

42. Not at all, despite all your smear attempts.

Read upthread and learn how to improve your reading comprehension.

[mtnsnake]

7. You stooped to a new low today, ClarkUSA, even after your late edit

Your racist comments were despicable. Get a life.

:thumbsdown:

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ClarkUSA]

50. Your smears are a desperate attempt to detract from my original comment.

Y'all are transparent.

Try again.

[LanternWaste]

54. It's a bit tough to separate the obvious statement of

It's a bit tough to separate the obvious statement of racism you used for dramatic effect, from the message you seem to be attempting to get across.

It's not so much transparency on the part of those who object to you as it is a plain, old-fashioned, simplistic statement of racism on your part.

I hope you get the opportunity to stand back and examine your conscious...

[cali]

9. disgusting post that does indeed border on the racist

You reflect poorly on Obama. I know all candidates have some real stinkers for supporters. Good thing I don't let that turn me off to a candidate.

[ClarkUSA]

13. Before you join in the swift boat gang bang, what did I say, pray tell?

You are an idiot if you think I believe that ALL Chinese and ALL Mexicans are illegal immigrants. Nice of you to
provide a quote, by the way.

[cali]

10. you think editing

is going to help you out of this one? your post still sucks, it's still borderline racist, and you surely have revealed something very ugly.

[ClarkUSA]

16. You need to stop your swift boating gang bang -- it reflects poorly on you

I nearly always edit my posts, as a brief look through the threads will show. What did I say that was borderline racist, by the way?

[cuke]

26. You assumed that Cantu is taking money from undocumented aliens

when there is no reason to suspect such a thing. When called on it, you posted about how Hsu may have taken money from illegal immigrants, as if what one foriegner (Hsu) did applies to all foriegners

[ClarkUSA]

41. There is plenty of reason to suspect such a thing.

And anyone who doesn't think so and calls me a racist and a homophobe is another Swift Boating Suck-up For Hillary.

[cali]

8. I see Clinton's fund raising tactics as being a HUGE liability as

well as morally and legally questionable. How the fuck can people making 29,000 a year donate that kind of money to a political campaign? The answer is that they can't. Now maybe all that money comes from the few hundred well to do people in that area, but there's reason to wonder.

[creeksneakers2]

20. I'd wonder too if

there weren't so many attack pieces on Clintons over the years that were based only on suspicion of a hypothetical thing the COULD have done. Whitewater is an example. The Whitewater story went on for years without even a specific accusation. Irrelevant facts were pieced together to sound suspicious. There are so many pieces like that I've quit wondering if there is nothing specific. I only follow the ones with some evidence.

There's no direct accusation that the people donating only made $29,000, or that because a person who isn't wealthy donates a large some that something illegal took place.

Often, donations are made because the donor has a close relationship with the bundler. Family or friends or employees or business associates might choose to make a great sacrifice because of their relationship with the bundler.

[mtnsnake]

19. Interesting article. Further along in the article he states his reasons

for supporting Hillary as much as he does:

When Hillary Clinton first ran for the Senate, Cantu began raising money for her. His primary motive, he said, was to ensure that South Texas will not be deprived of federal money, projects or attention if she becomes president. "Understand, I don't want anything," Cantu said. "Just to help South Texas."

Prior to that paragraph, it was pointed out how much respect Cantu gets from doctors, bankers, and tradespeople alike.

Definitely this article is food for thought, whether you're for bundlers or against. In this case, Cantu is right to the point and he doesn't beat around the bush what his motives are. He's out to help South Texans, he says.

[ClarkUSA]

22. Cantu is out to help himself. It's called favors for $$$.

Just like Norman Hsu, who got "respect," too, before he was arrested.

[Imagevision]

24. Cantu; "raising money will get us attention, get us a seat at the table, get us in the room."

[jenmito]

29. K&R. Aren't people getting tired of the Clinton/Bush money-raising tactics?

Jeez! More buying seats at the table!

[Cameron27]

30. Every candidate in this race,

has to release all the info about their bundlers. All of them.

[autorank]

34. Hint, hint...this has to be a scam. $28,000 median income, average $800 check.

Oh sure, that happened.

[creeksneakers2]

47. $28,000 isn't the median income of the donors

Its the median income of the big city the bundler lives in. The donors are doctors and businessmen and the like. The mention of $28,000 was a groundless insinuation to jazz up an otherwise boring story.

[AtomicKitten]

43. sweet delicious monies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRIbUT6u7Q

[proud2BlibKansan]

51. Wow I have been to McAllen

It really is a small town. This is amazing.