Rattner Investigation Snares Bill Richardson?

This just keeps getting better and better. Steve Rattner, who was chosen by President Obama to become the car czar to fix the auto industry, is a fixer whose motives appear driven by pay to play. That's gotten him into hot water in New York as his name has repeatedly come up in investigations in to the NYS pension system when run by disgraced comptroller Alan Hevesi, but it now appears that New Mexico governor Bill Richardson may have crossed the line as well.

Richardson had been expected to be Obama's Commerce Secretary before taking his name out of consideration because of a New Mexico grand jury investigation into whether an adviser won work on state bond deals because of campaign donations.

So, where's the connection between Rattner and Richardson? Let's play follow the money:

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's campaigns and political-action committees received at least $102,300 from brokers hired by money managers seeking to handle $11.7 billion of state trust funds, campaign-finance records show.

In addition to those donations, Richardson, a Democrat who ran for president in 2008, received at least $95,000 from the state trusts' outside money managers.

That cash included $20,000 from Quadrangle Group LLC founder Steven Rattner and $50,381 from Leo Hindery, founder of InterMedia Advisors LLC, according to New Mexico and federal campaign-finance records.

Rattner, who directs the Obama administration's auto-industry task force, and Hindery have donated $3.8 million to Democratic candidates and political-action committees, compared with $110,200 to Republicans.

"There's an appearance of pay-to-play," said Steven Robert Allen, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, a public-interest organization.

Thus far, Rattner has not been indicted, but I don't expect that to last very long. Richardson's troubles are far from over, given that this is just the latest in a string of events that go to Richardson's penchant for pay to play:

If it weren’t for the allegations against Morris in New York, this might be just another example of a Richardson donor who won a state contract. But the man in the middle is facing allegations that he took kickbacks in exchange for steering billions of dollars in New York retirement-fund investments to paying companies.

State government in New Mexico has been plagued by pay-to-play allegations in recent years. And Richardson is currently dogged by such allegations in his own administration — which, in the federal grand jury investigation and the separate lawsuit brought by Frank Foy, have to do with state investments. The first, a criminal probe, is what tanked Richardson’s nomination to be Obama’s commerce secretary.

It’s important to note that Rattner and Quadrangle have not been accused of wrongdoing in New York or New Mexico, and Morris has been accused of no wrongdoing in New Mexico. Quadrangle is reportedly cooperating with investigators in the New York case.

I think the operative word for the moment is yet. Rattner and Quadrangle haven't been accused of wrongdoing yet in New York or New Mexico and Morris has yet to be accused of wrongdoing in New Mexico.

Returning to the NYS investigation, there's word that investigators are looking at several Israeli firms because of possible kickbacks between the firms and Hank Morris, another close ally to Hevesi.

The more people look, the bigger this scandal appears to grow.

It also continues to call into question the judgment of President Obama, who thought that both Richardson and Rattner would be suitable advisers and members of his Cabinet. Instead, both are looking like they should be fitted for prison jumpsuits.

UPDATE:
Bob "The Torch" Torricelli of New Jersey was also questioned by investigators into the actions relating to the NYS pension fund chicanery.

Obama Transition Hits Big Bump

Former Clinton Administration official and current Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name from contention to be Barack Obama's Secretary of Commerce.

"Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact," he said Sunday in a report by NBC News' Andrea Mitchell. "But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process."

He said he plans to continue in his role as governor. "I appreciate the confidence President-elect Obama has shown in me, and value our friendship and working partnership. I told him that I am eager to serve in the future in any way he deems useful. And like all Americans, I pray for his success and the success of our beloved country."

Make no mistake about this. Richardson is concerned about the direction that investigations into his shady business dealing might take.

Powering the Navajo; Opposed By Democrats

The Navajo Nation in New Mexico is looking to build a coal-fired power plant on their reservation using the latest technologies and low-sulfur coal, which can also be mined on their reservation. It would be a 1,500 mw power plant, enough to power more than a million homes.

This has gotten New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) up in arms that the power plant might create emissions.

That's pretty rich since the Navajo are among those who are most in tune with the environment and would not damage the land and air they consider sacred.

The only emissions generated thus far the noxious and odious ones by Richardson and the eco-zealots who are seeking to kill a power plant that would generate jobs for the Navajo Nation, power homes not only on the reservation, which as Don Surber notes, is still not fully electrified, and would be a boon to the local economy.

Every plant that gets delayed or fought is an additional cost borne by taxpayers and rate payers - higher energy costs due entirely to NIMBY, eco-leftists, and gordiots (that would be the nitwits who mindlessly follow Al Gore around the world claiming the sky will fall even as they are prodigious users of energy and consume mass quantities).

Richardson and the other eco-leftists fought against the power plant - and lost in court. The EPA ruled against them, but they refuse to cede the issue and are attempting to appeal the decision. Those additional costs are going to be borne by New Mexico taxpayers and the Navajo Nation. Higher charges for power will also ensue as a result.

Richardson doesn't care. Just as I have remarked upon previously, the Democrats are looking to drive up the price of energy so that they can impose their own inane "policy", which is really about dictating what individuals can or cannot do with their property and limiting personal choice. The entire issue of air quality is a ruse for the fact that it is in Richardson's backyard and he doesn't want it there.

It may also stem from the fact that the state is not going to get a customary cut of the taxes and fees generated since the plant would be built on the reservation, and not state or privately held land. Either way, Richardson is pushing an agenda that runs against the needs of the citizens of New Mexico and the Navajo.

Winners and Losers in New Hampshire

Well, the pundits and media are busy spinning the results from New Hampshire as comebacks for both Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

I think they've got it all wrong.

Let's start with the Democrats. Hillary Clinton didn't actually win the state outright, despite winning the popular vote (which is what the media is focusing on). She tied. The point of these primaries isn't to win the popular vote, but to win enough delegates to win the party's nomination. Take a good look at those results.

Both Obama and Hillary each won nine delegates in New Hampshire. The best way to describe this process is that the primaries are a series of Electoral College decisions, with the popular vote informing the delegates, but each state has its own rules on how the delegates are apportioned.

At this point, she's got more than double Barack Obama's pledged delegates either from the states already contested or those superdelegates who have already announced preferences.

This cuts against all the nonsense about how Hillary was on the ropes or was going to drop out of the race that was spewed immediately after Iowa where Obama won in a tight race.

It means that Obama did what he needs to do, which is keep picking up delegates and staying close to Hillary. However, it's the perception that Hillary was down and out that was broken - although it was a perception generated by a media that simply has been getting it wrong all along with respect to the primaries.

Now, let's get to the GOP race. For the media, John McCain's win is supposedly about a comeback. Nonsense. Utter bunk. New Hampshire has gone for McCain before, and it's done nothing to help McCain win the nominiation, let alone win the Presidency. McCain has a significant constituency in New Hampshire, but it doesn't translate to the rest of the country.

He still trails Mitt Romney and Huckabee badly in total delegates. Romney still has a lead over Huckabee despite not having won a state - he's winning delegates finishing second in each of the races thus far. The media also has been treating Romney in the same fashion as Hillary - as being on the ropes and reconsidering his position in the race, despite the fact that he's leading in total delegates pledged or won.

Now, some will say that the media influenced the races because they were getting polling data suggesting that Obama would win handily and McCain was in a tight race, but I think that's just 20-20 hindsight. The polls were wrong. I'm not sure why that was the case, but it's not like the polls haven't been wrong (and badly wrong at that) in the past. If your methodologies or selection samples aren't accurate, you're not going to get a representative sample that reflects the voters.

Then, there's the last minute vote switches based on breaking events. Did Hillary's emotional moment have an effect. Perhaps, but there's no real way to break that out.

This race will truly start to shake out after Super Tuesday, when a block of 20 states will get to vote and apportion their delegates. It's only after that point will the race clarify and see who reallyhas an advantage in delegates, strategy, and whether there is any momentum from these early races.

That said, there were some losers last night - John Edwards, who simply can't generate any traction, Fred Thompson, who barely registered with Republicans, and Rudy Giuliani who couldn't overcome the perception that he wasn't really going after New Hampshire voters despite having been to the state more than 40 times and spending more than $2 million on the state.

UPDATE:
Michelle Malkin is on the same page and ripping the spin and punditry that is focusing far too much on the popular vote and not spending nearly enough time on the delegate counts.

UPDATE:
This shouldn't come as a surprise. Bill Richardson has dropped out of the race. Expect him to try and angle for a VP slot for Hillary or Obama.

2008 Candidates: Where They Stand on Iranian Nuclear Ambitions

The Jerusalem Post has an interesting run down of where several of the candidates for US President stand on the issue of Iranian ambitions to obtain nuclear weapons. Among those whose positions are provided: Senator Barack Obama of Illinois (D), Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York (D), Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York (R), Senator Joe Biden of Delaware (D), Senator John McCain of Arizona (R), Former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts (R), Former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina (D), Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas (R), and Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico (D).