Topic: Allen West Confirms Congressional Committee Seats for Sale

[Pandora]

“Every member got assessed dues and there were freshman colleagues of mine that they so wanted to be on an ‘A’ committee, in which some of them are listed as, like Ways and Means or Financial Services, and of course their dues were higher to be on an ‘A-list’ committee."

::snort::  Oh, so they're calling the payola "dues" now.

"The committees that I was on, Armed Services Committee and Small Business Committee, were not ‘A-list’ and so I think my dues per year were around maybe the $50,000 or $60,000 range," he continued. "It wasn’t a big thing for me, I guess, because of who I am and I guess my stature. I was able to easily raise the money to support the team. I had no problems with supporting our team. But I think the issue is when you start to tie it to the positions that you could have. I mean that becomes a bit of cronyism in and of itself.”

As Government Accountability Institute President and Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Peter Schweizer exposes in his new book Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets, there are never-before-seen documents printed in the book that show committee assignments—and leadership slots on those committees—come with a price tag. The system in place works in both parties, too, with Republicans and Democrats involved. “Many of my colleagues in my freshman year that wanted to be on those ‘A-List’ committees, like I said some of those I mentioned are Ways and Means and Financial Services, and a couple others, and then all of a sudden when they got their dues assessment, they were kind of shocked,” West said in his interview with Breitbart News.

“But that was the price that they had to pay to be on those ‘A-Ranked’ committees. That’s on the Democrat side as well. It will cost you," West explained. "As for chairmanships, that comes with a pretty good price tag in and of itself. Were there some that were shocked by it? Sure, absolutely. I don’t know if it was that real fine print that you see in the contract that they didn’t pay attention to.”

Well, Allen, if that's the way it is, then that's just the way it is, right?

And, since he had no trouble raising the money, no big deal.  Too bad the rest of America had no clue about any of this.

More from Schweitzer's book ...

... He compared the Regime to “the squeegee man that used to be in NYC – they’d walk up to your car and say I want to clean your windshield – they’ve got a cloth in one hand and a brick in the other, and you’ve got to pay them or the brick’s coming through the windshield”….

He said that’s a huge problem at the DOJ. “Eric Holder is the basically the Squeegee guy holding the brick. There are companies that are being told that they are subject to DOJ investigation, criminal and civil, and then these companies are solicited for political donations to the Obama Campaign (in 2012) and now to political committees and there is statistical evidence in the book that literally, you cut your chance of going to jail in half if you make a contribution.”

He said, “the other thing they’re doing is after the 2010 midterm elections, when they had that stunning defeat in Congress, the Obama Department of Justice targeted the industries that financed the tea party candidates that got elected.”

Literally days after President Obama made that famous statement “we’re going to punish our political opponents,” the Holder DOJ sent out an industry sweep letter to companies in the oil and gas sector which said you are subject to criminal investigation and you'd better share and cooperate....it was a clear intimidation tactic being used."

Remember what happened to Gallup when they released some polls that weren't pleasing to Obama, last year? All of a sudden, they were the subject of a DOJ investigation into their poll methodology..."Punish your enemies..."

[IronDioPriest]

The question I have is, why is West confirming this, now, in 2013?

If this is standard practice, was there not one single honest person in all of congress ever, who would have proactively spilled the beans to the American people? West? Paul? Bachmann? Anybody? Was there no one who got to DC and said, "Wait a cotton-pickin minute... this isn't how the people's house is supposed to work"?

The federal government is so thoroughly corrupt. Tsunami. Earthquake. Meteor. Nuclear bomb. Gigantic sinkhole... None of them would adequately cleanse their stench from this earth. I want to be free of them.

Come, Lord Jesus.

[ToddF]

Eric "Squeegee" Holder.  Works for me.

[Glock32]

They pay "dues" to be on committees? Uhh, we're way more plugged in than the population at large and speaking for myself I had no idea they outright assessed fees for the privilege of being on a committee. I've never heard this before. Like IDP I'm just incredulous that no one ever complained about it before. Aren't committee duties supposed to be based on need, and the interests of particular Reps?

Yeah. It's so thoroughly corrupt there's nothing that can fix it.

[LadyVirginia]

What are the dues for?

[AlanS]

What are the dues for?

Lining pockets....

[LadyVirginia]

What are the dues for?

Lining pockets....

well, yeah, but what is it claimed to be for?

[richb]

What are the dues for?

Lining pockets....

well, yeah, but what is it claimed to be for?

it doesn't matter if virtually nobody knows about it.

[Pandora]

What are the dues for?

Lining pockets....

well, yeah, but what is it claimed to be for?

"Contributions" for the Party(s).

[LadyVirginia]

My daughter says it's hooker money.

[Pandora]

My daughter says it's hooker money.

Same thing.  We know what they are, all that's left to be determined is their price.

[Glock32]

The real price is even worse than the money. The establishment, that whole fetid swamp on the Potomac, cultivates individual depravity. Depravity is a prerequisite for admission to the inner circle. They don't like upstanding people with a moral center. They're threatened by that. A depraved degenerate is what they like, because such people can be controlled by those who know their nastiest secrets. And everyone has knowledge of everyone else's dirty little secrets, so it becomes a mutual enforcement mechanism to protect the inner circle and their agenda.

There is no damn telling what these people are engaged in, amongst themselves. I would not doubt it if they're engaged in human trafficking, snuff porn, the more sick and twisted the better.

[Libertas]

Well past the point of a gentle cleansing...nothing short of complete purge is required...