Florida Republican raises money for Lieberman

[deadparrot]

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Democrat Joe Lieberman got some help from a prominent Florida Republican on Wednesday night in his bid to win re-election to the U.S. Senate from Connecticut as an independent.

Lieberman attended a fund-raising reception hosted for him by Mel Sembler, a former finance committee chairman for the Republican National Committee.

Lieberman lost the Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut on August 8 to Ned Lamont, who made Lieberman's support for the Iraq war the main issue of his campaign.

He immediately filed to run as an independent in the November 7 general election against Lamont and Republican nominee Alan Schlesinger.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060921/pl_nm/lieberman_dc

[madfloridian]

1. Sembler, former head of Straight.

http://www.peacereporter.net/dettaglio_articolo.php?idc=0&idart=1755

There are so many pages of stuff on this. I ran across this one. That was a terribly abusive program.

[madfloridian]

2. Of all the people for Lieberman to get money from...not good..

http://www.rickross.com/reference/straight/straight42.html

"The Tampa Tribune, July 8, 1993
By Annmarie Sarsfield
ST. PETERSBURG - "Former U.S. Ambassador Mel Sembler and unnamed state senators pressured a state agency into renewing Straight Inc.'s license despite a staff recommendation against it, an agency inspector general's report has found.

A seven-month investigation into the defunct St. Petersburg-based drug rehabilitation center, which Sembler founded, also revealed "a definite pattern of abuse or excessive force used against clients at Straight facilities." The probe stemmed from a complaint by Richard Bradbury, a former client and staff member.

The gossipy report - riddled with unsubstantiated allegations and innuendos - details various conversations in which a high-level state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) official told his staff to license Straight Inc. regardless of findings in an August 1989 inspection."

..."Straight has been simultaneously lauded and lambasted. While the target of numerous lawsuits stemming from allegations of physical abuse and holding people against their will, Straight received kudos from Republican administrations in the 1980s. contributors. They were rewarded with ambassadorships to Australia and Spain, respectively."

And from John Gorenfield...
"His Own Private Abu Graib"

http://www.nospank.net/sembler.htm

"Melvin Sembler's clinics might have seemed like a good idea at the time, when teen drug use was high and New Age thinking seemed to offer new and hopeful therapies for pressing the RESET button on human beings.

There were major problems, though. He modeled STRAIGHT after another program, creepily named "The Seed," shut down after the U.S. Congress literally issued a report in 1974 comparing it to "the highly refined 'brainwashing' techniques employed by the North Koreans." Sembler's imitation wasn't shut down until 1993 for illegal child abuse: beatings and sexual humiliation. Kids were thrown against walls. Or forced to sit in their own menstrual blood. Unless, of course, they were ready to cooperate, confess, and chant "I'm at STRAIGHT, feeling great" with the others. In that case they got to be the enforcers. Dozens of lawsuits exposed a similar picture in 12 clinics across America. "

[NOLADEM]

4. Boy, ANY type of torture seems to be Holy Joe's Cialis, eh?

I hate this fucking man.

I cannot believe he was our nominee for veep.

[GainesT1958]

3. Guess Sembler thinks it's futile to raise bucks..

For Cruella, huh?:eyes:

B-)

[samsingh]

5. one of their own

[sidpleasant]

6. I predict that Joe's Republican money will dry up soon

The GOP oligarchs financing Joe's campaign are going to stop giving to him and start putting their money into their own tight races. I can imagine, for example, "Man On Dog" Santorum calling this Sembler bozo and saying "why are you wasting your money by giving it to a Democrat? I'm a real Republican and I'm fighting for my political life now." The tipping point for Joe will be a poll showing him behind or tied with Lamont, and the trend line is clearly going that way now.

[snooper2]

7. This is so fucked up...

We need a law that states anybody running for Senator or Congressman can only raise money in the district they are to represent.

[Supersedeas]

8. can you see the writing on the wall?? True colors, maybe??

[sabra]

9. Top Republican aids Lieberman fundraiser (Mel Sembler)

http://www.newsone.ca/ottawarecorder/ViewArticle.aspx?id=8667&source=2

Top Republican aids Lieberman fundraiser

WASHINGTON - A prominent Republican who chairs I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby‘s legal defense fund co-hosted a fundraiser Wednesday for Sen. Joe Lieberman , who is running for re-election as an independent after losing the Democratic primary.

Mel Sembler, a former Republican National Committee finance committee chairman, helped organize a reception that raised "about a few hundred thousand dollars" for Lieberman, who was in attendance. Sembler said the event at his firm‘s office in St. Petersburg, Fla., drew a mix of Republican, Democratic and independent donors.

Libby, Vice President Cheney‘s former chief of staff, was indicted last year on charges that he lied to FBI agents and a federal grand jury about how he learned CIA operative Valerie Plame ‘s identity and when he subsequently told reporters.

"It‘s amazing to go to all this hard work when a crime never got committed," said Sembler, who also described himself as "dear friends" with Cheney.

[warrens]

10. Dear friends with Cheney?

What, he blow half of your face off too?

The idea that ANYONE is "friends" with that nazi fuckwad is laughable.

[midnight]

11. That's why he was not re-elected as a Democrat. HIs

constitutes saw him as a Republican.

[saigon68]

12. He is a whiny ass