Sacramento Protests Cheney

By Gary Zimmerman, Sacramento, CA

(May 22, 2006 – Sacramento, CA) Several hundred Sacramento progressives
led by the California Nurses Association (CNA) did not welcome Dick
Cheney during his visit to the Sacramento today.

The CNA-organized protest was held at the Sacramento Hyatt Hotel across
from the State Capitol. (Gov. Schwarzenegger, who lives at the hotel,
quietly left town the night before.)

Cheney dropped by Sacramento to raise money for Congressman John
Doolittle. Cheney’s fundraising help is particularly gratifying to
Doolittle since Doolittle and his wife have a special arrangement, of
dubious legality, in which they get to personally pocket 15% of the
campaign contributions to his reelection campaign and leadership
committee. So far this political cycle the Doolittles have collected at
least $82,000 from this profitable arrangement as their personal cut,
while some the most lucrative months of the fundraising cycle are still
to come.

Doolittle also has the distinction of being the only member of Congress
embroiled in both the Jack Abramoff and Duke Cunningham corruption
scandals. With Abramoff in jail, Corrupter-in-Chief Cheney is now
lending a hand to Doolittle, and helping his corporate friends buy a
little more influence.

All of this is a prime example of why the California Nurses Association
is promoting its upcoming Clean Money Elections initiative. Clean Money
Elections, also known as public financing of campaigns, allow candidates
to run for office without taking huge donations from lobbyists and
corporations and without owing them favors.

If the Democrats win back Congress and regain the power to investigate
these charter members of the Republican Culture of Corruption, many of
them will go to prison. From Cheney's secret energy policy meetings at
the beginning of Bush Administration, to the fixing of intelligence
around policy, to the no bid contracts in Iraq, and the illegal spying
on Americans, the investigators will be busy.