Well, it looks like Hillary isn't the only one taking money from crooks. The ever-popular Thompson has a top advisor that has a rap sheet. "Philip J. Martin has traveled around the country on behalf of GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson, flying the former senator to events and working to raise more than $6 million for Thompson's campaign.
A longtime friend of Thompson's, Martin helped raise money for both of the candidate's Senate bids. But this year he appears to enjoy unparalleled roles at the heart of Thompson's campaign organization: as head of the "First Day Founders," a Thompson campaign fundraising group which secured millions in pledged donations prior to Thompson's official announcement, and as the unofficial aviation service to the candidate."
Martin's charges and convictions include:
- selling 11 pounds of marijuana to an undercover cop in Florida:
- bookmaking (being a bookee);
- stealing liquor from a Florida county sheriff's office (why there was liquor in the sheriff's office, they didn't say);
- a cocaine dealing scheme, in which Martin helped sell an ounce of cocaine to an undercover policeman and was conspiring to sell him another pound (FYI: a pound of cocaine is worth around $45,000);
- starting and operating a series of companies in the 1990's that went under owing taxes and which have had around a dozen lawsuits from employees, investors and state governments demanding payment of taxes. MOre than once he has been accused of trying to move his assets across state lines to avoid paying judgments and taxes.
Yes, I just love Republican integrity! (not that Hillary has that in any great supply either, but jeesh!)
I don't see it as a question of Thompson's ethics or integrity and I really don't think it's appropriate to spin it that way. This appears to be more of a question of vetting his campaign personnel. The convictions were 25 years old. Thompson supposedly has known the guy for 10 years and did not know of the prior record, and based on the 10 years of personal friendship, did not put him through the usual background checks.
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RE: Good Old Fashions Ethics
I am disappointed with Thompson. I think he wasted his chance by not entering the race early like all the other candidates. I think he has some good stuff to say but doesn't appear too eager to say it. The GOP really needs someone to step up and "be the man" or we will be stuck with Hillery and Billery. This is a national emergency and the GOP needs to get busy and give the people what they are looking for....a leader who will get us out of this mess.
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ipscshooter, I assume that you must have read the article, based on your statements, but you seem to have a forgotten much of it. This is not ancient history, it's still going on.
The twelve lawsuits against him occurred starting in the 1990's, and at least some of those are still active. So this includes much of the period of his friendship with Thompson. One, which was filed just two years ago, in Tennessee in 2005, alleges "Martin breached his contract by defaulting on a loan and tried to move his assets beyond the court's reach. Dr. Scott Hodges sued Martin for $800,000 after investing in a new subdivision outside of Chattanooga that Martin was planning to develop. The suit alleged that Martin 'carried out a premeditated plan and design to defraud plaintiff, to misappropriate funds.'"
I just find it interesting that one of the "true conservative" Republican front runners for the 2008 campaign is close friends with someone who is a convicted cocain and marijuana dealer who"owns a secluded mansion on a semi-private island in the Gulf of Mexico" and also owns two planes.
Despite all of this, Thompson has no plans to return the money this convicted felon raised or even to stop using his planes for his campaign or to stop using him to raise funds for his campaign.
Yessiree, that's Republican conservative credentials and integrity for you.
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ipscshooter, I assume that you must have read the article, based on your statements, but you seem to have a forgotten much of it. This is not ancient history, it's still going on.
I did not read the article you cited. I saw some other stuff about it a couple days ago, and I only recalled the criminal matters being cited in that article. I don't think it mentioned the civil litigation.
Quote:
The twelve lawsuits against him occurred starting in the 1990's, and at least some of those are still active. So this includes much of the period of his friendship with Thompson. One, which was filed just two years ago, in Tennessee in 2005, alleges "Martin breached his contract by defaulting on a loan and tried to move his assets beyond the court's reach. Dr. Scott Hodges sued Martin for $800,000 after investing in a new subdivision outside of Chattanooga that Martin was planning to develop. The suit alleged that Martin 'carried out a premeditated plan and design to defraud plaintiff, to misappropriate funds.'"
I'm not sure you can judge something based simply on the allegations in a civil lawsuit. There are likely two sides to this story. Being sued over a business deal gone bad is not necessarily THAT horrific. And, the fact that he was sued does not mean Thompson knew anything about it.
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I just find it interesting that one of the "true conservative" Republican front runners for the 2008 campaign is close friends with someone who is a convicted cocain and marijuana dealer who"owns a secluded mansion on a semi-private island in the Gulf of Mexico" and also owns two planes.
There's nothing necessarily nefarious about owning a secluded mansion on a semi private island and owning two planes.
Quote:
Despite all of this, Thompson has no plans to return the money this convicted felon raised or even to stop using his planes for his campaign or to stop using him to raise funds for his campaign.
Yessiree, that's Republican conservative credentials and integrity for you.
I agree that Thompson should sever ties with the guy.
That Thompson should be severing his ties is the key point I was trying to make. Instead, he's not doing anything of the kind. In contrast, when one of Hillary's significant doners was accused of criminal wrongdoing, she imemdiate gave back the money andcut ties. And the Republicans still tried to vilify her just for taking the money in the first place. I don't think it's reasonable to expect Presidential candidates to do a thorough background check on every significant doner to their campaign. But, I do think they should return the money when it comes to light thata large doner is acriminal. Not only is Thompson's not doing this, but he's planning on keeping this guy in in high places inhis campaign and to continue to pay for his services. And, in contrast to the recent Hillary doner "scandal", where the guy basically just gathered checks from other people to give to Hillary, this guy Martin has been close personal friends with Thompson for ten years. I mean, let's justgive Thompson the benefit of the doubt for a moment regarding this guy'searly criminal career. This guy still had a approximately adozen lawsuits filed against him while Thompson's known him, some of which have been decided against him, others of which are still pending. Money talks to both the Democrats and the Republicans. But when it talks to the Republicans, they don't seem able to hear anythign else.
Oh, and you're right there's nothing "necessarily nefarious about owning a secluded mansion on a semi private island and owning two planes." But when the owner is a convicted cocaine and pot dealer and the island is in the Gulf of Mexico, a convenient stepping stone from the main centers of production of cocaine (and to a lesser degree, pot) in Central and South America, and the guy owns planes, you've got to admit it looks pretty suspicious. Nothing convictable, of course, but pretty darn suspicious.
If this guy was even a doner, much less a long-time personal friend of Hillary's, this would be a headline for a month on Faux news. I wonder if they'll even report it or spend more than a few minutes on it, since it's a Republican?
__________________
It is wise to remember that you are one of those who can be fooled some of the time.
Laurence J. Peter (author of the "Peter Priciple")
Good Old Fashions Ethics
