Shocker: Democrat Funneling “Stimulus” Money To Friends With No-Bid Contracts
Hope. Change.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter has awarded some of the state’s first stimulus money to his former employer in a no-bid contract.
Ritter hired his former law firm, the Washington-based Hogan & Hartson, in a no-bid contract to review stimulus spending, The Denver Post reported Friday. It said the firm was paid $40,000 in stimulus money through June.
Aides to the governor insisted the contract was properly awarded. The state attorney general’s office deemed the contract necessary to allow the state to have speedy legal advice about stimulus money. The contract is too small to require competitive bidding.
Ritter worked for the Denver office of Hogan & Hartson in 2005, leaving the following year when he ran for governor. The law firm has about 1,300 lawyers across the country and specializes in public finance, real estate, white-collar litigation and environmental and governmental regulation.
In case you’re wondering, because the article doesn’t mention it, Governor Ritter is a Democrat.
And if you’re surprised that the government throwing massive amounts of money it doesn’t have at a problem as complex as the recession would result in that money being squandered and/or diverted to the friends and allies of the politicians you really shouldn’t be. I’m convinced that such shady, quid pro quo arrangements were more the intent of the “stimulus” spending spree than any sort of economic rescue.
Which is why our politicians are considering a second stimulus spending spree even as it becomes more and more clear that the first one fell flat.
