Dems Cling to Tainted Corzine Cash as Other Democrats Flee Under Pressure

December 9, 2011

FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: Jim Cooper (TN-05), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Nita Lowey (NY-18), Ed Markey (MA-07), George Miller (CA-07), Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Donald Payne (NJ-10), Charlie Rangel (NY-15), Steve Rothman (NJ-09)

Cooper Clings to Tainted Corzine Cash as Other Democrats Flee Under Pressure
Tennessee Democrat Continues to Keep Campaign Contributions After Jon Corzine’s Firm Squandered Over $1B From American Families

Washington — Jim Cooper’s fellow Democrats who took Jon Corzine’s political contributions are finally buckling to the pressure and fleeing from their scandal-plagued former fundraiser. However, Cooper continues to pocket Corzine’s cash even after Corzine’s firm lost over a billion dollars in his customers’ money, devastating local farmers and seniors across the country. If Cooper continues to hang on to Corzine’s donations after he was forced to testify before Congress on potentially illegal activity on Wall Street, it would exemplify the kind of hypocrisy Tennessee voters are tired of in Washington.

“Although Jim Cooper’s Democrat colleagues have begun to dump their Jon Corzine donations under increasing political pressure, Cooper has managed to cling to his tainted cash,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “The longer Cooper holds on to Corzine’s contribution after he squandered billions from farmers, seniors and families across the country, the more hypocritical Cooper will be in the eyes of his constituents in Tennessee.”

Jim Cooper has taken $1,500 from Jon Corzine. (CQMoneyLine, accessed 11/03/11)

Kathy Hochul (D-NY) donated her Corzine donations after increasing political pressure:

“Hochul’s spokesman, Fabien Levy, tells PI that the congresswoman will divest of the Corzine donation ‘to avoid further distraction’ and that she’s ‘donated the contribution to the Daemen College Center for Veteran and Veteran Family Services’ in Amherst, N.Y.” (Anna Palmer and Dave Levinthal, “NRCC to attack Hochul on Corzine case,” Politico‘s Influence Newsletter, 12/08/11)

Corzine’s company, MF Global, squandered hundreds of millions of dollars from pension plans for seniors:

“A class of investors, led by four public pension funds, claimed losses of $1.1 billion on MF Global shares after the firm disclosed that a broker in its Memphis, Tennessee, office lost $141 million in a few hours in unauthorized trades.” (“MF Global Trustee Says All Collateral May Not Be Returned,” Bloomberg, 11/21/11)

Potentially thousands of farmers are also missing money after Corzine lost their money to Enron-style bets on Wall Street:

“The havoc wreaked by MF Global’s bankruptcy filing has been felt not just by Wall Street investors and traders, but also by wheat and corn growers, cattle ranchers and pig farmers. Dotting the Farm Belt, many who used the commodities market to protect against price swings are finding their money locked up and their hedges unwound due to the firm’s downfall.” (Jerry A. DiColo and Dan Strumpf, “MF Global Collapse Felt in Farm Country,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/7/11)

Jim Cooper’s Democrat colleagues have begun to crack under the political pressure their disgraced ally’s donations have brought. The longer Cooper holds on to his tainted Corzine contributions, the worse his hypocrisy will be in light of Corzine’s reckless Wall Street gambling with customer money.

Dems Cling to Tainted Corzine Cash as Other Democrats Flee Under Pressure http://ow.ly/7Uikm #madeinwdc

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