Congressional Black Caucus Awash In Money And Filth

The David Paterson SCANDAL story has stillnot appeared in theNYT,so here is another story about naughty black politicians! Except these people are the boring kind of naughty, taking all kinds of dollars from the evil Corporates and holding very expensive dinners. Thank goodness President Obama "was never very active" with the Congressional Black Caucus when he was a legislator!

Here is the thing about the CBC: they are basically a fancy fraternity, for crooks. 

In 2008, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation spent more on the caterer for its signature legislative dinner and conference — nearly $700,000 for an event one organizer called “Hollywood on the Potomac” — than it gave out in scholarships, federal tax records show.

[...] All eight open House investigations involve caucus members, and most center on accusations of improper ties to private businesses.

You cannot swing a dead cat without hitting a major corporate donor to the Congressional Black Caucus. And if you do manage not to hit a major corporate donor with that dead cat, chances are you will hit some important piece of legislation sponsored by a member of the CBC that happens to benefit that corporate donor, but that is purely coincidental! 

On a visit to Washington, Larry Carrico, then president of the rent-to-own trade association, offered to donate computers and other equipment to a nonprofit job-training group in Chicago named in honor of Mr. Davis, the Illinois congressman who in 2002 voted in favor of tough restrictions on the industry.

Mr. Davis switched sides. [...]

While some caucus members still oppose the industry, 13 are co-sponsors of the industry-backed legislation that would ward off tough regulatory restrictions — an alliance that has infuriated consumer advocates.

All of which is to say, we hope that Paterson story comes out fast because there is nothing more depressing than reading about menthol cigarette makers and the rent-to-own industry.

 In Black Caucus, a Fund-Raising Powerhouse [New York Times]