Rezko built part of his fortune by exploiting the black community that Obama served.

[anamandujano]

According to Edward McClelland, writing for Salon.com, "Rezko, after all, built part of his fortune by exploiting the black community that Obama had served in the state Senate, and by milking government programs meant to benefit black-owned businesses." While it may be unclear why Obama would continue his relationship with Rezko after this point, it's indisputable that he did.

http://www.thecityedition.com/Pages/Archive/Winter08/2008Election.html

Wow! Just Wow!

[BlackVelvet04]

1. watch this drop like a rock.....n/t

[JoFerret]

6. Well - it's not so sexy as flaming ministers

...and the faux outrage of people crying "racism" . Oh how deliciously righteous it must feel to be feel so free and cleansed of any fear of being tarnished as a racist because of the support of a political canidate.
Like absolution after a great sin.

How about actually DOING something for people white and black - like getting universal health coverage.

Now THAT is battling racism.

[BlackVelvet04]

10. ain't that the truth.......

thanks for the post.

[JoFerret]

24. And in that respect the Clintons have fought racism for decades.

And Hillary will again.

H er words will lead to action on the economy, health coverage, education.
THAT'S what we need.

[anamandujano]

25. kick

:)

[AX10]

2. 4th Rec!

Let's give it a 5!

[Catch22Dem]

3. Who is Rezko?

:shrug:

[BeatleBoot]

4. On Trial in Chicago for Alleged Extortion - Top Obama Campaign Contributor

[Catch22Dem]

7. THE top contributor? Never heard of him. (n/t)

[BeatleBoot]

9. One of...

And I know you already have heard of him, so quit the games....

[Catch22Dem]

11. You do? Mom, is that you?

[Drachasor]

14. Obama has donated all those contributions to charity

[BeatleBoot]

15. Yeah so its all cool then. Except he has his personal attorney sitting in on the trial

"Just in case"

[Drachasor]

19. That's just pragmatic. A perfectly innocent person would be wise to do that, so they know what is..

being said. It's just the politically wise move and by no means indicates he is guilty of anything.

Lacking proof or evidence, you try to insinuate wrong-doing where there is none.

[Jim Sagle]

5. k&r

[Hutzpa]

8. You produced a bogus link

and wants us to jump over each other for that, why don't you

move along, nothing to see here..folks.

[Saturday]

12. The link isn't bogus. I got on it. Try again. nt

[tabatha]

13. If that is the worst this RW outfit has on Obama ---

where his knowledge of Rezko's exploitation is implied not proven - then it is very little.

[BeatleBoot]

16. Not RW - call it the Non-Kool Aid Drinkers of the Democratic Party

[ProSense]

18. You're salivating over nonsense. What does the OP mean? Ferraro made a racists comment so

Rezko is a "slumlord" is justification?

[Drachasor]

17. Obama isn't perfect, hardly anyone thinks that. This is one problem he has (Compare to Clinton)

Obama overall has an extremely good record. Just because he had one mistaken relationship doesn't disqualify him by any means (especially since he has denounced and removed the donations from that relationship).

How many sketchy contributors have the Clintons had in the past 20 years? Naturally we don't need any proof of wrong-doing here (same bar you hold Obama towards).

[DesEtoiles]

20. And Ferraro was a slumlord

Hillary? Bad news. Your BFF Geraldine Ferraro is a <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/news/9810,mcmillan,143,1.html">sweatshop landlord</a>:

<blockquote>
<b>Geraldine Ferraro: Sweatshop Landlord
Long Hours, Low Pay, Rancid Conditions Are Commonplace at Senate Candidate's Building</b>

March 10th, 1998 12:00 AM

A SOHO building partially owned by U.S. Senate candidate Geraldine Ferraro and managed by her husband, John Zaccaro, has housed 35 Chinese garment-manufacturing companies over the past few years--many of them nonunion and some apparently illegal.

While an attorney for the current tenants insists they are not sweatshops, a Voice investigation has uncovered an array of conditions identified with sweatshops: piecework pay; 15-hour days; seven-day work weeks; boarded-up windows; blocked exits; crowded, filthy facilities; gut-wrenching fumes; and fly-by-night corporate shells.</blockquote>

<blockquote>

<b>Revelations that a mob-tied pornography company occupied much of the same building undermined Ferraro's vice-presidential candidacy in 1984 and her last Senate race in 1992. </b>That space is now filled with garment manufacturers.

The state Department of Labor could find no registration for 10 of the firms listed in the building at various times since 1988--<b>meaning they may have operated illegally. </b>DOL lists 10 more as ''out of business.'' One tenant, Forum Trading, has been cited by DOL for stiffing workers on overtime pay.

...

The building itself also has had its share of problems--including at least 20 code violations and $4075 in city fines. <b>An artists' co-op next door has filed a hotly contested lawsuit against the owners and tenants, alleging that toxic chemicals, including perc and benzene, are being emitted into a joint courtyard,</b> and that the Zaccaro building is an industrial boombox, with a phalanx of ventilating fans droning until 1 a.m., even on weekends.

<b>In addition to Ferraro's 25 per cent stake in the seven-story building, located at the corner of Lafayette and Broome streets (and known as 200 Lafayette and 418 Broome), she has long been a one-third owner of the firm that manages it: P. Zaccaro Company, her husband's family business. </b>

<a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/news/9810,mcmillan,143,1.html">link</a></blockquote>


Also interesting - Ms. Ferraro's views on <b>experience and qualifications for public office</b>:

<blockquote>Well, let me first say that I wasn't born at the age of forty-three when I entered Congress. I did have a life before that as well. I was a prosecutor for almost five years in the district attorney's office in Queens County and I was a teacher. <b>There's not only what is on your paper resume that makes you qualified to run for or to hold office. It's how you approach problems and what your values are. I think if one is taking a look at my career they'll see that I level with the people; that I approach problems analytically; that I am able to assess the various facts with reference to a problem, and I can make the hard decisions.</b>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geraldine_Ferraro">link</a></blockquote>

Yes, she can make the hard decisions alright - like jumping in to support an old friend with some vicious, well-timed race-baiting. Ms. Ferraro certainly has been <b>analytical</b> these past few days, hasn't she. She sure has shown us her <b>values</b>.

I'm sure Hillary will immediately publicly denounce Ms. Ferraro as a slum lord, unless Hillary is some kind of lying hypocrite...

[uponit7771]

21. Who cares?!?! So what?! WGAFF?!?!? ...did I already ask who cares?!?!

[razors edge]

22. I thought Obama

wasn't black enough, did I miss something? I gotta try harder to keep this bullshit straight.


:sarcasm:

[Catherine Vincent]

23. So Rezko was a slum lord? nt

[enid602]

26. Tony

Yes, in that he bought public housing and was cited for minor infractions like withholding heat during the Chicago winter. But that is just one of his many endeavors; he's also accused of profiting from the pre-Iraq War 'oil for food' program, and of course the subsequent effort to rebuild Iraq.