Bush gives plum jobs to fundraisers

[seafan]

Bush gives plum jobs to fundraisers

By BILLY HOUSE
July 31, 2007

Palm Beach socialite and big-time Republican fundraiser Nancy Goodman Brinker’s recent nomination to be chief of protocol for the White House is just the latest in a long tradition of political backers chosen by President Bush and his predecessors for ambassador positions.

In fact, this is actually Brinker’s second go-round; she used to be Bush’s ambassador to Hungary.

.....

Brinker was a Bush “pioneer” for Bush’s 2000 campaign for president, meaning she raised at least $100,000, according to a public interest group, Texans for Public Justice, which has kept a database of all of the 2000 and 2004 Bush Pioneers and Rangers.

Alfred Hoffman Jr.

Hoffman was sworn in as ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Portugal on Nov. 4, 2005.

Hoffman of Fort Myers was chairman of Watermark Communities, a Bonita Springs-based luxury condo development firm. He has had roles as chairman of organizations such as the Florida Council for Economic Education, the Florida Arts Council and the Florida Chamber of Commerce. From 2001 to 2003, he was appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush to serve as chairman of the Florida Council of 100, a group comprised of the state’s top business leaders.

.....

Hoffman headed the Florida fundraising efforts for both of George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns. He was a Bush Pioneer for the 2000 election, meaning he raised at least $100,000 for the president, and as a Ranger for the 2004 election, meaning he raised at least $200,000, according to the Texans for Public Justice database.

L. Francis Rooney III

Rooney was sworn in as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican) on Oct. 13, 2005.

Rooney, a native Oklahoman, is the former chief executive officer of Rooney Holdings Inc., an investment and holding company based in Naples.

Rooney was a Bush Ranger for the 2004 election, a status reserved for those who raised more than $200,000 for the campaign, according to the Texas group’s database.

Mel Sembler

Sembler was sworn in as ambassador to Italy in 2001 and announced his resignation in early 2005.

.....

He is founder and chairman of the Board of the Sembler Co., a shopping center development firm.

President Reagan had appointed him to the White House Conference for a Drug Free America, and he was an adviser on drug policy to the first President Bush and to former Florida Gov. Bob Martinez. He also served as Florida’s National Committeeman to the Republican National Committee after his election in 1994 until 2000.

More recently, he headed the Scooter Libby Defense Fund and is the national finance co-chairman for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s GOP presidential campaign.

John Rood

Rood was appointed in July 2004 to be ambassador to the Bahamas and served from August 2004 to April.

Rood of Jacksonville was chairman of The Vestcor Cos., a real estate development and management firm he founded in 1983 as a brokerage for multifamily properties.

Rood had previously been appointed by the president’s brother, Gov. Bush, to be commissioner and chairman of Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A Bush Pioneer who raised at least $100,000 for the president’s 2000 campaign, Rood became a Bush Ranger for the 2004 election, collecting more $200,000, according to the Texans for Public Justice database.

Richard Blankenship

The Jacksonville area investment banker was Rood’s predecessor as Bush’s ambassador to the Bahamas.

.....

Blankenship contributed $26,000 to GOP candidates and party committees in the 1999-2000 election cycle, including $1,000 to the Bush campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

He also contributed $5,000 to the Bush-Cheney recount effort. His wife, Kandra, made a lone contribution of $1,000 to the Bush campaign, according to the center.

Blankenship has made his private plane available to Republicans for campaigning.

Thick as thieves.

[Hangingon]

1. What is new about this?

Every administration passes out plum jobs to fund raisers.

[dysfunctional press]

2. well....DUH.

both parties always do.