Yet Another Republican Bites The Dust

From the Village Voice...

Jack Chartier, the chief of staff to the New York state comptroller with influence over billions in state pension funds, fell hard for aging actress Peggy Lipton (Mod Squad).

Since Chartier, 64, started confessing to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigators about how he abused his office in order to better impress Lipton, at least five powerful figures have been forced to plead guilty to crimes involving the pension fund. Those admitting felonies so far include the former leader of the state's Liberal Party, a Texas hedge-fund manager, a hugely successful investment adviser, and a pension fund broker.

The latest victim is the biggest catch yet: Elliott Broidy, 52, is the former national finance committee chairman of the Republican National Committee and a personal friend of George W. Bush. Broidy was such a generous and prolific giver that he qualified as a "Super Ranger" on Bush's fundraising team, a designation for those ponying up $300,000-plus.
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All told, according to Broidy's own confession last week to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lewis Bart Stone, he paid some $1 million to help grease the way for a quarter-billion-dollar state investment into his Markstone Capital Group.
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As Broidy told the judge, all of these payments were made in pursuit of the end goal of persuading top officials in the comptroller's office to violate their sworn fiduciary duty as protectors of the immense $116 billion state pension funds.

Whenever this happens to a Republican, I always remember their holier-than-thou political positions - good followers of Republican Jesus.
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Republicans Love Them Some Corruption

From Think Progress...

The Sunday Times reports Stephen Payne, a Bush pioneer and a political appointee to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, was caught on tape offering access to key members of the Bush administration inner circle in exchange for “six-figure donations to the private library being set up to commemorate Bush’s presidency.”

Republican Corruption (News) (Commentary)

Some days the corruption just seems normal. I won't even say that there aren't some Democrats who do it - but must the Republicans be so blatant?

From American Progress' Progress Report...

In October 2006, President Bush authorized the construction of a 700-mile border fence between the United States and Mexico. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing strong opposition from Texans who don't want the fence cutting through their land . Unfortunately for these homeowners, DHS gave them only "30 days to change their mind or face legal action," and now U.S. attorneys "have begun filing lawsuits against the holdouts." While DHS has no problem pursuing elderly and struggling homeowners, it will conveniently leave
untouched the border property of Dallas billionaire Ray L. Hunt. In 2000, Hunt was a Bush-Cheney "Pioneer ," and more recently, he "donated $35 million to Southern Methodist University to help build Bush's presidential library." Daniel Garza, a 76-year old man who might lose his home to the border fence's intrusion, noted, "I don't see why they have to destroy my home, my land, and let the wall end there." Pointing across the street to Hunt's land, he added, "How will that stop illegal immigration ?"