Buck McKeon-- Arrogant In His Corruption

You're not going to find anyone in Congress more corrupt than Buck McKeon. True, there are quite a few as corrupt-- on both sides of the aisle-- but no one is more corrupt. He's way up there in the top ranks of major league criminals like John Boehner (R-OH), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Joe Crowley (D-NY), Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm, Fred Upton (R-MI)... the real lowlifes who take special interest money to build their own power while altering national policies and priorities. Boehner knew just what he was doing by putting McKeon at the head of the House Armed Services Committee. Is McKeon as bad as people like Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Jerry Lewis, Duncan Hunter, Sr.? Oh yes-- very much so. And it's undending and a genuine danger to national security.

The local media in Santa Clarita covers up for him; they're his cronies and like being catered to by the highest ranking elected official in the area, even one as unsavory as McKeon. So they never uncover anything about his shenanigans-- and rarely report on what national sources find. Case in point-- last week Kent Cooper at Roll Call in DC, the scene of so much of McKeon's criminal activities, published a story, Chairman McKeon Dines Off His Own PAC And Defense Industry. When you take into account that McKeon's media cronies already know he's retiring from Congress next year to work as a K Street arms industry lobbyist, you'd like there might be some mention of this. But you'd think wrong.

Seventeen employees of a major defense contractor gave $18,600 to the Chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services during the second quarter. The Chairman continues to take money from companies that have government contracts and legislative interests before his committee.

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., is chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services. His Buck McKeon for Congress committee reported receipts of $139,660 and spending of $139,532 during the second quarter, leaving $521,043 cash on hand as of 6/30.

Receipts included $86,555 from PACs and other committees. Boeing PAC gave $1,000; SAIC Voluntary PAC gave $2,000; Honeywell International PAC gave $1,000; Huntington Ingalls Industries SHIPPAC gave $1,000; Textron Inc. PAC gave $1,000; United Technologies Corporation PAC gave $1,000; among others.

The committee also received $51,571 from itemized individual contributors. He received $26,846 from those in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. He received $16,500 from those in California.

Seventeen employees of Northrup Grumman contributed $18,600, including $2,600 from Wesley Bush (CEO, Northrup Grumman) and sixteen other executives each giving $1,000. Thirteen contributions were received on the same day.

The committee paid his wife, Patricia McKeon, $15,618 for payroll.

The committee spent $4,184 at the Capitol Hill Club; $1,995 at Sonoma Restaurant; $689 at the Ritz Carlton; $441 at Ruth’s Chris; and $350 at 2941 Restaurant.

The committee held a mid-June fundraising event in Henderson, Nevada, spending $4,762 at the RioSecco Golf Club; $3,714 at the G Valley Hotel; and $3,452 at Hanks Steakhouse. The committee received only $1,225 from Nevada donors. Also in Nevada, Dave McKeon, son of Rep. Buck McKeon, is running for Clark County GOP Chairman. The election is July 17th.

The committee also spent $1,810 at Red Sox-Fenway Park for a Boston fundraiser. There were no contributors listed from Massachusetts.

The committee transferred $50,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee.

McKeon may be retiring, but he wants to get away with whatever he can before he has less access to the immense bribes he can command from his perch at the Armed Services Committee.

Bad-- but not the way Michael Jackson meant it