Time Mag, Aug 17, 02

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Enron's Democrat Pals

Documents obtained by TIME show the energy giant enjoyed much closer ties with Clinton Administration regulators than was generally known

BY MICHAEL WEISSKOPF

Before its messy decline and fall, Enron had plenty of clout in George W. Bush's Washington, from the personal ties between chairman Ken Lay and the President to the company's alleged influence on Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force. But Enron's cozy relationship with Washington didn't start there. Documents obtained by TIME show the energy giant enjoyed much closer ties with Clinton Administration regulators than was generally known. Long before Cheney's task force met with Enron officials and included their ideas in Bush's energy plan, Clinton's energy team was doing much the same thing. Drafting a 1995 plan to help facilitate cash flow and credit for energy producers, it asked for Enron's input—and listened. The staff was directed to "rework the proposal to take into account the specific comments and suggestions you made," Clinton Deputy Energy Secretary Bill White wrote an Enron official.

Clinton officials also made efforts to help Enron get business overseas. Clinton Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary included Enron officials on trade missions to India, China, Pakistan and South Africa. White, returning from a 1994 trip to Mexico, wrote chairman Lay that "much opportunity" existed there for natural gas, and he sent a copy of Mexico's energy plans. To persuade an Enron senior vice president to join a mission to Pakistan, White wrote, "I have strong personal relationships with the existing government."

Enron showed its gratitude. At Christmas 1995, documents show, it donated an unknown sum of cash in O'Leary's name to a charity called "I Have a Dream." And when Clinton ran for re-election a year later, the company made its largest single contribution ever—$100,000—to the President's party.

-- (roland@hatemail.com), August 18, 2002

Answers

Nice try Roloboy but too little, too late. ROTFL.

-- (pugs@stuck in.Enron tarball), August 18, 2002.

Time Magazine is a well known right(white?) wing hate sheet, that is owned and controlled entirely by the Republican Party.

-- only (pugs@trust.time), August 18, 2002.

Time has not been Republican since Henry Luce.

-- (doh@doh.doh), August 18, 2002.

Before Enron was exposed as a Ponzi scheme, it had friends in both parties, you better believe it. Money talks (sorry, Maria & Lars, free speech talks).

In assigning blame, though, the relevant question is which party was primarily responsible for relaxing regulations so that it was so easy for Enron to pull off its Ponzi scheme. Here I say "think Newt. Think Phil Gramm". Among others.

-- Peter Errington (petere7@starpower.net), August 19, 2002.

"Long before Cheney's task force met with Enron officials and included their ideas in Bush's energy plan"

That is a total lie. The things Enron were trying to include regarded the ability to keep doing what they were doing under the Clinton administration and even loosen it up more. Cheney nixed the whole thing. Enron got nothing for their input.

-- (BS detector @ Unk's.saloon), August 19, 2002.

B.S.Detector:

Since the deliberations on Bush's energy policy remain a tightly guarded secret, how do you know this?

-- Peter Errington (petere7@starpower.net), August 19, 2002.

How come King Idiot and Dickhead haven't sent these criminals to jail yet? What? They are good friends?? Well tough shit, the law's the law!

-- (hang the @ pug. slimeballs), August 19, 2002.

Nice to agree with you, kiddo, once in a blue moon.

-- Peter Errington (petere7@starpower.net), August 19, 2002.

Finally you are getting a clue, Petere. Here is an even bigger Dumbya coverup.

-- (pug slimeballs hanging @ strange.fruit), August 19, 2002.

Peter, I haven't looked in a while but there's lots of info available with a simple search on the net. I found at one time the entire list of people attending and the recommendations coming out of the task force, some of which were pushed by the greenies. It's very public. What the vp has been pushing back on is the talks with Enron, nothing more. The public doesn't need to know what these guys said in private. Hey if Clinton can protect his privacy with Rich's wife, then Cheney certainly has a right to protect his conversations. But take a look on the net, you'll find lots of stuff.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), August 20, 2002.

"The public doesn't need to know what these guys said in private. Hey if Clinton can protect his privacy with Rich's wife, then Cheney certainly has a right to protect his conversations."

BWAAAHAHAAAAHAAAAA!!! Who died and put you in charge??

I got news for you dimwit. Cheney is a public employee, and what he does with our energy plan is not "private" business, you silly ignoranus.

I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you as a member of "the public" I need to know a hell of a lot more than you do. I doubt that the rest of the public appreciates some dimwit coming along and trying to tell them what they need to know.

-- (Speak for yourself @ ONLY please. Miss Ignoranus), August 20, 2002.

I stand corrected: YOU DO need all the information you can get your hands on. Unfortunately it won't make any difference in your IQ.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), August 20, 2002.

You're confused dim bulb. Burying your head in the sand while corporate criminals rob the taxpayers doesn't mean you have a higher IQ than those who are concerned.

-- LOL (ignorance@is.bliss), August 20, 2002.

Speaking of corporate criminals, how is your multi-billionaire Democrat bitch-goddess hero Martha Stewart doing? Still, waxing Waksal's knob?

-- (roland@hatemail.com), August 20, 2002.

She is fixin to get her bush trimmed, big time!

-- Better (living@through.incarceration), August 20, 2002.

She ain't my hero, I hate that anal-retentive bull dyke. If she did anything illegal, chances are she learned it from King Idiot and Dickhead. They wrote the book.

-- (lol@hypocrite.pugs), August 20, 2002.