House Dems Celebrate Scandal-Tainted Democrat’s Election to Congress

July 13, 2011

FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: Nancy Pelosi (CA-08), Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Jim Clyburn (SC-06), Steve Israel (NY-02), Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), John Tierney (MA-06), Niki Tsongas (MA-05)

Pelosi Celebrates Scandal-Tainted Democrat’s Election to Congress
House Democrat Leader Fought to Have Controversial Candidate Janice Hahn Join Her in Washington

Washington — It seems House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi will do whatever it takes to continue her reckless government spending and borrowing spree as she welcomes the newest member of her caucus, the controversial California Democrat Janice Hahn. Leader Pelosi could not be happier, having endorsed and fundraised for Hahn during her campaign despite damaging ethics charges and ties to corrupt and violent gang members. Clearly, Pelosi is most concerned with having another ally in Congress to push her big-government agenda that continues to crush job creation and borrow limitless amounts of money from foreign countries like China.

“Nancy Pelosi campaigned and fundraised for her hand-picked candidate in California, so now Janice Hahn is off to Washington to rubber-stamp the Democrats’ failed policies despite her ethics charges and ties to violent felons,” said NRCC Communications Director Paul Lindsay. “It is clear that Pelosi and her Democrat colleagues are becoming increasingly desperate as they bolster their ranks with scandal-plagued individuals like Hahn who put themselves and their questionable ethics before their own constituents.”

It was widely known that Janice Hahn gave certain lobbyists very close access when she was a Los Angeles City Councilwoman:

“The best lobbyists — those like Ek — do even more. They make public policy. Ek is so close to Councilwoman Janice Hahn that he practically serves as a freelance chief of staff. Hahn’s staff members bring their problems to him, and he offers solutions that work for her, and for his clients. … Hahn, who declined to comment for this article, has previously said that such relationships don’t influence her decision making.” (Gene Maddaus, “How Lobbyist John Ek Gets His Way at City Hall,” LA Weekly, 4/21/11)

And Hahn has been often criticized for her closeness to violent gang members in Los Angeles:

“City Councilwoman Janice Hahn, 3 years ago, abruptly cut-off this interview. During this 25-minute session, we were pressing Hahn for more than we were getting as we asked her about using gang members as paid intervention workers. Three times her press aide interrupted and tried to stop the interview. It ended with a final question: should convicted drug dealers and rapists work as gang intervention workers?” (Chris Blatchford, “Gang Intervention Money Controversy Not Over Yet,” KTTV, 7/7/11)

Nancy Pelosi must be thrilled that she now has an additional ally to help her push back against the American people’s calls for government to live within its means. Even though Janice Hahn is a flawed and controversial figure, Pelosi is undoubtedly thankful for a new ally as her failed partisan agenda continues to borrow endlessly from foreign countries like China and make a bad economy even worse.

House Dems Celebrate Scandal-Tainted Democrat’s Election to Congress http://ow.ly/5DFA2 #madeinwdc

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