I wondered why Steve Israel and his corrupt operatives at the DCCC didn't jump all over the story about Republican crooks Michael Grimm and Aaron Schock illegally trading maxed out donors to circumvent campaign finance regulations. Was Israel too busy chasing Pinellas County NAACP President Manuel Sykes out of the FL-13 Democratic primary so he could run a sleazy Republican crony instead? That wasn't it and now I do know why Israel ignored that scandal-- he was directing a nearly identical scheme among-- even more shady-- his own stable of worthless corrupt recruits. Pelosi is now countenancing criminal activities from her DCCC chief, It's not just about losing House seats-- an Israel forte-- but about unethical behavior that rivals the GOPs.Let's start with a look at a widely sourced article in the Philadelphia Inquirer by Chris Palmer and Jonathan Tamari, who fingered Israel recruit and "ex"-CIA agent Kevin Strouse as the source of the scam.
As Kevin Strouse jumped into a high-profile congressional race in Bucks County, his parents sent $10,400 last June to the campaign of U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, a California Democrat in another closely contested district.Two days later, Strouse's campaign got the same amount, $10,400, from Bera's parents.The pattern was repeated at least three other times last year, campaign finance records show. In each, Strouse's parents-- who had never before donated to federal candidates beyond Pennsylvania-- sent money to Democrats in tight congressional races in Colorado, Florida, and Illinois.Days before or after, those candidates' parents sent nearly identical contributions-- usually for the maximum allowed-- to Strouse's campaign.
What Palmer and Tamari have no way of knowing is that the candidates involved in the scam are all Israel New Dem "mystery meat" recruits, more of his fatally flawed, conservative candidates like Ed Jany and Kevin Strouse-- Patrick Murphy (FL), Andrew Romanoff (CO) and Ann Callis (IL). "Exactly how," the two reporters ask, "the parents of candidates in far-flung congressional races aimed nearly matching donations at one another's children is unclear." Maybe Pelosi should clear it up for us? Is this what she meant when she admiringly called him "reptilian" when she was truing to defend appointing such a corrupt character to a high position? Israel and his den of crooks at the DCCC are, needless to say, stonewalling.
Strouse, his campaign and his parents did not respond to multiple requests for interviews, including two left at Robert and Norma Strouse's home in Glenmoore. Parents of two other candidates-- one in Illinois and the other in California-- hung up when contacted by the Inquirer. Two others did not return calls left for comment.The only clear link between the parents is that their children are each running in House districts deemed priorities by national Democrats.The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Monday declined to discuss the contributions or say if the party had a role introducing the parents or directing their donations.Instead, it released a two-line statement that said: "Our Red to Blue and Emerging candidates are on the vanguard of the fight to put solutions ahead of reckless brinkmanship and fight for middle-class families. As the top tier pickup opportunities in the country, these races generate tremendous enthusiasm from our allies and candidates' own networks."Strouse, 34, a handpicked DCCC candidate who moved to the district from the District of Columbia last year, is locked in a fight with businesswoman Shaughnessy Naughton, 35, to be the party's nominee in the Eighth District.…Strouse's parents have given $49,400 to eight Democrats running in priority House races this year - not counting $10,400 to their son. The parents of at least four of those candidates donated $28,400 to Strouse.In almost every case, the donations were dated just days before the campaigns were scheduled to file finance reports to the FEC-- a time candidates and committees traditionally ramp up fund-raising so they can boast about swollen war chests.In June, Robert Strouse sent $5,200 to the campaign of U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D., Fla.). (The Floridian is no relation to the former Bucks County congressman with the same name.) Four days later, Murphy's father, Thomas P. Murphy Jr., sent an identical campaign contribution to Kevin Strouse.In September and December, Strouse's parents sent checks to the campaign of Ann Callis, a Democratic challenger in Illinois. Within days, Callis' parents sent nearly identical amounts back to Strouse's campaign.Reached at home Sunday night, Lance Callis at first explained the donation by saying Strouse might have sent him political information he agreed with. But he declined to elaborate and hung up.Robert Strouse also gave $5,200 - again the maximum-- to House candidate Andrew Romanoff of Colorado on Oct. 3. That was sent four days after Romanoff's mother had contributed $2,600 to the Strouse campaign.For Romanoff's mother, Gayle Caplan, it was the first time she had given to a federal candidate other than her son and President Obama. When contacted at home in California on Sunday, Caplan said, "I don't talk to reporters," and hung up.Bera's parents were not home and could not be reached. The Bera, Callis, and Romanoff campaigns did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Murphy's campaign declined to comment.Strouse's parents have also donated to four other top-tier Democrats who, according to FEC records, do not appear to have given back to Kevin Strouse.The other parents have also been generous. Like the Strouses, the Beras and Lance Callis have also given to multiple campaigns this cycle, usually helping candidates named as Democratic priorities for 2014. All three families, for example, gave to U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D., Calif.).
The other gained candidates include Israel recruits Rocky Lara (NM), John Lewis (MT), and Sean Patrick Maloney (NY). The anti-fracking candidate in the Bucks County race whose campaign Israel is trying to sabotage, Shaughnessy Naughton, has asked Strouse to explain how these shady contributions were coordinated. "Was there a quid pro quo?" she asked. She also called on him to return the roughly $28,400 in parental contributions if they were part of a plan to get around donation limits. "Frankly," she said, "if it's not illegal, it certainly seems like it should be." And if it was unethical for Grimm and Schock, this looks 10 times worse. There were so many shady contributions from Strouse's parents-- one see why he became a spy now-- that I couldn't even capture them all on aq sceenshot. Here are a sample:no progressives on this list
