Blackwater CEO Part of GOP Scheme to Sandbag Dems

[babylonsister]

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004363.php

Prince, Solid Republican, Also Supported Green
By Paul Kiel - October 2, 2007, 4:23PM

Perhaps it slipped Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-CA) mind when he was detailing Blackwater CEO Erik Prince's Republican bona fides*, but Prince is not only a supporter of Republican candidates. Last summer, he and his wife shelled out $10,000 in contributions for a Green.

It was part of an effort by connected Republicans (lobbyists and millionaire CEOs among them) to recruit Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli to enter the 2006 Senate race. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) was trailing Dem moderate Bob Casey in the polls -- and Romanelli, the scheme went, could take some of those liberal votes away from Casey.

Ultimately Republicans raised more than $150,000 for Romanelli (who once told me, "This is America, money is like air. It's out there. You just have to be tenacious enough to go get it.") in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to get him on the ballot.

*Update: Actually, Prince's Green contributions didn't slip Issa's mind. Or rather, Issa appeared to at least be remotely familiar with them -- which, unfortunately, ended up making him look rather silly. Here's Issa during a second round of questioning:

Issa: “I heard a rumor that your company or somebody in your company had given to the Green Party, do you know about that?”

Prince: “Coulda been.”

Issa: “OK, I just wanted to note that there were people on both the far left and the far right relative to the Chairman {Henry Waxman (D-CA)} who may have benefited by your company…”

[aquart]

1. Speak, Duke. Tell us about Darrell.