77 ordspråk av Larry Noble
Larry Noble
It's a very volatile situation right now. The avenue for [members] to raise money is under real scrutiny, and so some members have decided to pull back.
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It's been growing in recent years as lobbyists have been closer and closer to campaigns.
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It's enticing for a lot of them to go over to that side.
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It's one thing to bring in friends, people you are close to who are qualified for the job. It's another thing for people to be getting the job only because they are friends and they are not qualified for the job.
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It's possible that the reason he sold the HCA stock was to have money to pay off the debt, but he hasn't said that, ... There's a number of financial actions going on here which fairly raise several questions.... They all could be part of one pattern or be separate things going on.
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It's something that should be addressed.
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Lobbying is big business, and I think most of these companies probably look at the political contributions and lobbying as complementary tools,
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Members may escape a conviction for bribery but not escape the political fallout.
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Microsoft, like every other company, gives because they think it is good for their business. They anticipate a positive return on their investment.
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Most of the work goes on at the committee level. It's where contributors have the most influence. They're getting access, they're getting a friendly ear, they're getting assurances that their phone calls will be returned.
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One of the problems the Indians are going to face after all this is that they still want to be able to make campaign donations, but I don't know who is going to be willing to take a check from them any time soon.
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One of the things people who are running for president try to do is keep their fundraising staff and political people close at hand. And one of the ways you can do that is by putting them in some sort of organization you run.
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People expect further indictments before November, which may very well be at a lower level. Then prosecutors will see how high they can take it. This is a ticking time bomb and no one knows when it will go off or how far it will detonate.
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Right now, a number of members are betting on the public losing interest and getting away without any new reforms.
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seems to defeat the purpose of a blind trust. Somebody else is supposed to have control over it to avoid potential conflicts of interest. If you can just reach in and sell stock, it seems it defeats the whole purpose.
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