Yesterday, when Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) announced his support for former tech lobbyist Harris Miller, Moran said "At this point in my career I am going to support the people I know and the people who supported me.? When Moran said "supported," though, I didn't realize initally that he meant:
$2,000 from Harris Miller on 2/27/98
$2,000 from Harris Miller on 4/04/00
$500 from Harris Miller on 12/20/01
$1,000 from Harris Miller on 5/21/02
$2,000 from Harris Miller on 4/19/04
$2,000 from Harris Miller on 11/01/04
That's $9,500 from Harris Miller to Jim Moran, and that is unquestionably "support." No wonder why Moran endorsed Miller - "you scratch my back I'll scratch yours." Politics as usual in the Washington DC world of lobbyists and influence peddling. Blech.
By the way, speaking of politics as usual, Harris Miller the "loyal Democrat" also gave generously to several right-wing Republicans:
$2,000 to former Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-MI) on 8/10/98
$1,000 to current House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) on 5/19/99
$500 to Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) on 6/8/02
Interesting. I eagerly await the Abraham, Hastert and Sununu endorsements of Harris Miller! Heh.
Finally, just to show you how cynical "business as usual" works in Washington DC, Miller also gave:
$5,000 to Mark Warner's "Forward Together" PAC (on 7/21/05)
So Miller supports Mark Warner for President, right? Well, hold on a sec, because Miller also gave generously to Mark Warner's arch-rival, Hillary Clinton: $1,000 on 11/30/05 and another $1,000 to Clinton on 12/13/05. Note that the Clinton donations were made AFTER Miller's contribution to Mark Warner and just BEFORE Miller declared for U.S. Senate from Virginia. So, has Miller now jumped to the Hillary bandwagon? Or is he just covering his bets as a good lobbyist does? Can we expect a Hillary Clinton endorsement of Miller sometime soon?
Fascinating how this all works, isn't it? Politics as usual: money talks. A different kind of politics: James Webb for Senate.
Go Webb!