Corrupt Inland Empire conservatives rally around their boy Pete Aguilar, including his pal Jerry Lewis, Bill Emmerson, Mike Morrell and, of course, Gary MillerFriday I was busy blaming Steve Israel of the DCCC-- and his counterparts at the NRCC-- for the fact that more than half the Members of Congress are millionaires. Israel, after all, recruits them-- and discourages ordinary working men and women from running. But millionaires aren't even the worst of the garbage Israel recruits. He also encourages the only profession ranked below "Member of Congress" by ordinary Americans in surveys: lobbyists.It's bad enough that so many staffers spin around the revolving doors between K Street and Capitol Hill and it's a disgrace that so many Members of Congress leave Congress and go to work peddling influence among their colleagues for lobbying firms. Israel takes it even further, finding sleazy lobbyists-- almost all of whom have criminal mindsets-- to run for Congress. That explains why he decided to stick with 2012 loser Pete Aguilar in the Inland Empire. Keep in mind that the DCCC helped finance Aguilar's spectacular loss to two Republicans in 2012, when CA-31 became the bluest district in all of America (D+5) with a Republican congressman. Aguilar even came in third in his own city, Redlands, where he claims to be "mayor."Aguilar couldn't relate to the working families in the district. He's not "of" the people from this district. This cycle there was some talk about the DCCC hiring him a Spanish language tutor so he could learn to speak to Democrats there. Instead they hired him a Chechen named Boris to run his campaign, Boris having proven his worth in 2012 with a spectacular loss as campaign manager to another candidate from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party David Crooks, an Indiana Blue Dog, who only managed 43% against crazy teabagger Larry Bucshon.So why is Steve Israel so excited about this empty suit and loser? Before Aguilar decided to start calling himself a Democrat, Aguilar was a sleazy bank lobbyist for failed Arrowhead Credit Union in San Bernardino. The biggest newspaper in the Inland Empire reported that Arrowhead's "declining financial condition" prompted the seizure of the bank by the federal government. Aguilar's role in the bank going into receivership is the subject of some controversy. What isn't controversial was his shady role in running the bank's political action committee. The bank was fined because he attempted to hide 124 campaign contributions totaling $104,441.50 to corrupt characters like the ones in the photo up top.
If Pete Aguilar defended his superiors’ engagement in this type of banking activity, imagine what he will do for Wall Street…Loose standards and easy money. That’s the basic premise of what happened at Arrowhead Credit Union. Larry Sharp, Mayor Pete Aguilar, and others might have used bank funds inappropriately for lobbying and election influence.The housing market was hot in the Inland Empire. But restrictions on how Credit Unions made loans prevented them from lending to non-members. This is why they needed the PAC, for influence. Pete Aguilar as the Vice President of Governmental Affairs at Arrowhead Credit Union, led that effort.However, in the end it did not end well. Arrowhead Credit Union was fined multiple times for faulty record keeping and extremely loose credit standards. This is why one small business owner left.…Aguilar is being funding by Nevada Banks, that will ensure the loss of local control by Inland Empire residents. If you care about the self-determination of the Inland Empire, you will vote NO to Pete Aguilar.
That was from 2012, but nothing has changed for Aguilar and Steve Israel has strong-armed some of the more weak-minded California Members of Congress into backing him. Pretty shameful, when there's a high calibre progressive candidate like Eloise Reyes in the race against him.
