Coleman:another slimy Republican running

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-20-2008
Coleman:another slimy Republican running
18
Mon, 11-03-2008 - 10:33pm

This Republican Coleman running to be reelected as Senator in Minnesota has been part of the problem for the past 6 years. He was happy to work with the Republicans to deregulate America into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. And he has committed all kinds of ethical violations just like so many other Republican Senators Vitter, Craig, Stevens and others. Here are his ethical violations (from a watchdog group that targets both Democrats and Republicans) and click on the link to see lots more details:

"Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) is a first-term senator, representing Minnesota. His ethics issues stem from lodging he accepted in violation of the Senate gifts rule.

Failure to Pay Rent

When in Washington, Sen. Coleman lives in a basement apartment in the Capitol Hill townhouse of Republican operative Jeff Larson. Mr. Larson runs FLS Connect, a telemarketing firm, which has been paid over $1.4 million since 2001 by Sen. Coleman’s leadership political action committee (PAC) and two campaign committees. Mr. Larson is also the treasurer of Sen. Coleman’s PAC and provides it with office space in St. Paul, MN. Adding to the relationship between the pair, Mr. Larson’s wife, Dorene Kainz, had been employed as a casework supervisor in Sen. Coleman’s St. Paul office, though after a news organization questioned Sen. Coleman about this, his staff announced that she would leave the office on July 10, 2008.

Over the past year, Sen. Coleman appears to have accepted lodging from Mr. Larson for at least three months without paying the agreed upon rent until caught by National Journal. Although Sen. Coleman paid $1,200 and Mr. Larson cashed a check for an additional $600 after National Journal questioned the pair about the payments, the fact that the payments were not made until flagged by the media heightens rather than diminishes the concerns over Sen. Coleman’s conduct. Sen. Coleman’s repeated missed rent and utility payments, and Mr. Larson’s failure to cash Sen. Coleman’s check suggest that Mr. Larson was not, in fact, necessarily expecting payment. Moreover, it is unclear whether the $600 rental rate represents the fair market value of the apartment considering other rental rates in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. After touring Sen. Coleman’s apartment, a Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter wrote that the space is not extravagant but well kept and renovated. A spokesman for Sen. Coleman said, according to their research, the senator is paying fair market value, but a Minnesota political group reported similar apartments on Capitol Hill rent for $1,100 to $1,450.

Because lodging clearly falls within the Senate’s definition of “gift,” Sen. Coleman appears to have violated the Senate gifts rule by accepting free lodging from Mr. Larson, someone who financially benefits from his relationship with the senator. Further complicating the issue is the question of whether the salary paid to Mr. Larson’s wife as an employee in Sen. Coleman’s office might constitute the true payment of the rent. Also troubling is the fact that Sen. Coleman paid his back rent, and Mr. Larson cashed Sen. Coleman’s checks, only once the media began questioning the living arrangement. Finally, by failing to pay his utility bills, which were valued at $532.88 – well over the $49.99 permissible gift limit -- Sen. Coleman accepted an improper gift from Mr. Larson.

On July 1, 2008, CREW filed a complaint with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics requesting an investigation into this matter to determine whether Sen. Coleman has violated the Senate gifts rule.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT ON SEN. NORM COLEMAN (R-MN) >> "

http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/node/429/print

And here look at Coleman run away from reporters trying to ask him about that lawsuit filed alleging fat cat donors illegally funneled money to him through his wife.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/30/155949/83

"MN-Sen: Coleman Sues Franken, Runs from Reporters
by brownsox

Thu Oct 30, 2008 at 05:50:04 PM EST

Well, now we've seen everything; Norm Coleman's campaign, in a last-ditch effort to distract Minnesotans from Coleman's voting record and lobbyist ties, is now suing Al Franken's campaign for purportedly false advertising.

The campaign claims Franken violated the law in recent TV and radio ads by knowingly running false attacks against a political candidate running for office. The campaign says they will take appropriate civil and criminal sanctions against Franken.

...

The Coleman campaign is focusing on recent ads since Oct. 25 and continuing through this week that claim Coleman is the fourth most corrupt senator in Congress. This claim comes from Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington (CREW), which the campaign calls a Democratic-partisan group closely tied to Franken.

According to the CREW report, Coleman received a "dishonorable mention" after the list of most corrupt members of Congress. Coleman is one of four Senators on the complete list, including the dishonorable mentions.

MN Publius notes that it isn't the first time Coleman has filed suit (ha ha ha) in a campaign.

Oddly enough, however, Coleman himself faced an unpleasant lawsuit at the time, filed against Coleman crony Nasser Kazeminy and implicating his wife Laurie:

According to Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan, the lawsuit, filed Tuesday and withdrawn Wednesday, alleged money was given to Laurie Coleman, the senator's wife, through the insurance company for which she works to help the Colemans' personal finances.

The claim was "simply false," Coleman said.

"The purpose of this stuff is to, at the 11th hour, throw something out there and see if it sticks," Coleman said. "There were some things that we believe were thrown in there for the purpose of influencing the campaign. It was withdrawn because the attorneys recognized that there were some things in there that weren't factual."

When pressed by reporters on whether his wife did, in fact, receive $75,000 from Minnesota businessman Nasser Kazeminy (one of the stars of Suitgate), Coleman bravely ran from reporters:"

Now Coleman is promising he's gonna change. He's gonna be different now after 6 years of this. Uh huh. And I've got this great bridge to Brooklyn to sell you.

So think about this Minnesota. Do you want to send the Republicans like Coleman a message that it's fine for them to do this with our money, our lives and our trust, and we'll just trust them some more when they promise not to walk all over us next time, or more precisely for another 6 years?? If that's the message you want to send, that you are a doormat, then go ahead and vote for Coleman!

Otherwise it's time to give the other side a shot. Franken has the promise to make another truly great, independent thinking Senator from Minnesota who actually will look out for the interests of ordinary Americans instead of just himself.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-19-2006
Mon, 11-03-2008 - 11:05pm
I am also a Minnesotan that will be voting for Al Franken tomorrow. Norm Coleman has been a sleazy politician throughout his entire career. He will do anything to win even switching parties, he ran for govenor as a democrat then switched to republican so he could take Wellstones seat. I hope Minnesotans get it right tomorrow and put Al Franken in the Senate.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-20-2008
Mon, 11-03-2008 - 11:09pm

You say you know him and that somehow this Republican Senator is not like all the others. You do not and cannot back it up. All you can do is cite his web site. Big deal! I can cite you Al Franken's web site. It will look just as good if not better.

I am citing you all the facts that show that Coleman is up to his eyeballs in slime. That watchdog website I cited to you has plenty of Democrats on it. Coleman is not on there because he is a choir boy. And recently he has been involved in a whole new wave of slime - see the links in my last post.

What do you think Coleman has done over the past 6 years? I didn't see him objecting to how Bush, McCain and the Republicans ran the show. Did you? What did you elect him for? To be a sack of potatoes as these Republicans wrecked our fiscal house and deregulated us into the worst economic recession since the Great Depression.

Elections are one of the few times in a politician's career that he or she faces accountability. For Senators, this happens once every six years. Minnesotans should be very wary of trusting this guy for another 6 years. Look at how ethically challenged the guy is!

Let's assume for the sake of argument only that it were true, which it isn't, that somehow this guy is in the middle of all these scandals and yet he's just an honest innocent sad sack. Then at best, Coleman is a sack of potatoes. We need more. We need politicians who are going to work their butts off for America and ordinary Americans. Coleman did not make the grade last time. We can't afford to give politicians like him another chance.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2008
Mon, 11-03-2008 - 11:32pm

He's done alot including improving funding VA healthcare facilities and drug abuse treatment, I know him very well,


why was the lawsuit filed in texas?

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2008
Mon, 11-03-2008 - 11:33pm
I just sent some to Al
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2008
Mon, 11-03-2008 - 11:35pm
It's probably as legal as Palin asking me for 5 million when McCain is taking public financing.....
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-17-2003
Mon, 11-03-2008 - 11:50pm
If Al Franken wins, I think his first interview should be with O'reilly

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-20-2008
Tue, 11-04-2008 - 1:34am
And Dodd...still under investigation for his corrupt dealings with Countrywide.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-20-2008
Tue, 11-04-2008 - 7:55am

"Are you sure it's legal for you to be doing this? "

My my, you are like Coleman. We are having a debate over his record and all of a sudden you are accusing me of doing something illegal by citing lots of well publicized newspaper articles and facts. Amazing.

Hey everyone, vote for Coleman if you want more of this. Vote for Coleman if you think what he and the Republicans are doing is just fine, and will do great for our future. Vote for Coleman if you don't mind a bit that the guy keeps getting caught up in petty scandals instead of standing up for Americans.

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