Thomas A. Daschle waited nearly a month after being nominated to be secretary of health and human services before informing Barack Obama that he had not paid years of back taxes for the use of a car and driver provided by a wealthy New York investor.

Daschle, one of Obama's earliest and most ardent campaign supporters, paid $140,000 to the U.S. Treasury on Jan. 2 and about two days later informed the White House and the Senate Finance Committee, according to an account provided by his spokeswoman and confirmed by the Obama administration.

Can the Democratic Liars, Cheaters and Corrupted idividuals of this OBAMA/BIDEN Administration please be kept to an absolute minimum? Why after all the slams at Bush and his administration is the American public having to be subjected to this by a group claiming to be representing change.

The poor people who support this racist hippocritical group have been enslaved by this Bossman - Master mentality party for far too long. The sad part is how they have been brain washed into believing the people are working for them, and truly believe it. If having Obama in the president spot and still seeing this corruption, so early in his term doesn't demonstrate this, I do not know what will ever change the poor souls who have been used by the Democrats for so many years. Remember, this is the party that was, has and always has been holding people down, for their own benefit. It is frustrating seeing how many belive they are truly working in their favor. How many more incidents will it take for you to see what is very plain or are you too far gone to ever see beyond the curtain they put before your eyes.

No, you are not dreaming, it is Obama and the Democrats who are in bed with these lobbyist, cheaters, liars and corrupt individuals.

If it was wrong for Bush, the one who was blamed and despised by democrats, it should not be accepted by the flock of blind following the Donkey. Wake Up and Demand REAL CHANGE! Don't let them continue to get away with believing they are on your side.

Obama Administration has no problems with Key Position Appointees not paying taxes or cheating on their taxes. Obama and democrats feel it must be that they simply overlooked these little items and it is no big deal. After all, should our leaders be expected to do what's right or actually obey the laws that average citizens are expected to, of course not. Let's not spend too much time on these little piddly things. Do as I say, not as I do.

MG, is this the state of corruption never seen in our history, these Washington self serving paper hangers are openly corrupted and they are not held accountable, But are elevated to higher positions! I would think the people would call for impeachment and remove these criminals! There is no excuse who these people think they are! N. Korea is one step from pushing the button and the coward which assumed to take money from our national defe3nse opens the door to war!! This is insanity and shameful!!!!!

That was then, this is now. He has become one of the inside the beltway, "nobody knows the Senate like I do" purveyors of the corruption we voted to change.

"No BMW for Daschle; he was an ordinary guy."

Tom's stepped up a tad now hasn't he? How in the world do you owe $100,000+ for "personal limo services"? Paying at a 30% tax rate, that means he had about $300,000 worth of limo rides. Where the hell was he going, LA to NY, then back again?

The audacity of extravagance.

Imagine, if just for a minute, if Daschle and Geitner were Republicans. The sub-human cry from the Democrats would be deafening.

What's stunning is how RICH Daschle and his wife have become. Tom's stint in the Senate certainly drove the two of them to new heights financially.

Goes to show, it's not what you know, it's who you know.

Actually most of our concern is the money he got from speechs to health insurance companies or their subsidiaries and his wife's Big Pharma lobbyist days. "As UnitedHealth subsidiary Ingenix defrauded Americans, Daschle was its 2008 keynote speaker"
http://www.ingenix.com/2008leadershipforum/video/Daschle.htm
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/2/1/74823/12530

"    CUOMO ANNOUNCES INDUSTRY-WIDE INVESTIGATION INTO HEALTH INSURERS' FRAUDULENT REIMBURSEMENT SCHEME

   Database Company Ingenix - Used by Dozens of Insurers - at Center of Scheme

   Cuomo Notifies Ingenix and its Parent, UnitedHealth Group, of Intent to File Suit; Subpoenas 16 Other Companies

Several months later, on May 12-13, 2008,  Tom Daschle, was the Keynote speaker at the Ingenix "meeting" at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Florida.

At the same meeting, Tom was followed to  the Ingenix podium by Karen Ignagni the chief lobbyist for America's Health Insurance Plans."

When democrats said they wanted change they weren't saying send a guy with this history to push health care reform through. Unless there is some deal struck we don't know about. AHIP is never going to support a public health care option. Why is Daschle chosen given this history then?

I thought it odd that this article posted in the middle of the Super Bowl (which I am watching); and then I realized that I was actually checking this, during the game.  I need a 12 step program, or a career in politics.

a comment beyond the issue and politics. about 5 years ago I studied in Mexico. happened to be boarding a plane at the same moment as Tom D., wife, and a young couple with children (assumed son with wife or the other. Anyway, it finally clicked with me who he was, I nodded and thanked him for his good work in government and moved on to my seat. I believe they were returning from a vacation. Tourist seats and Tom took his turn taking care of the crying baby right behind me. Tourist seats and crying baby to care for and a gentleman with airline help and all. Yep, a normal guy with family and a gentleman too. It was a snapshot image of someone I had only before seen in the TV tube. I was sorry to see him lose. BMW or not, he would have got my vote. Does a person in governemnt have to be poor or behave poor to be decent? I don't think so.

Tax cheats & influence peddlers, great changes a-foot!

Welcome to changeville!

How about he directs his dIfI and his pELOSI to pursue a "fairness doctrine"?  As in some "fairness" to their subjects.  How about a rule on banks (or even any bank enforcement?) that says deposits into an individual account MUST be done the same as withdrawals?  IE: if withdrawals clear from your account instantly, deposits clear INTO your account just as fast?  How about he takes a civil rights stance against "snob zoning" a HUGE problem here in the NorthEast "Rules" that are used as a hammer to discriminate against classes & races undesireable to a community.  How about he even address HIS PROMISE for "green jobs & alt energy" and support the cape wind farm here in MA that little Eddie Kennedy doesn't want to have to see?  If he doesn't support that then he is a joke!  How about directing some stimulus dollars to ANYTHING that might (gasp) actually HELP THE G-D ECONOMY??  Hint monuments in rich cities don't help working people pay mortgages!

They say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Is it any wonder that Congress is out of touch with ordinary citizens and was willing to let Wall Street go unregulated for such a long, long time?  

They also say if you shake a hay stack and a needle drops out, chances the haystack is loaded with needles.  So far, we've seen at least two needles with not very much shaking.  Food for thought.  

I been listening to the republicans lately and they seem to have all the answers right now. Where were all these solutions four or five months ago, back then it was 'serious ghetto' politics smearing anything and everyone. I just wish they would give a common sense suggestion to help or sit down and shut the **** up.

Unpaid taxes - no metter who you are, you're gone from office. No exeptions. No free passes. It's over. See ya.

Great game last night. I assumed the Steelers would win but the Cardinals came back .... and just when I thought THEY would win the Steelers pulled it out.
Damn.
I like the Steelers as much as I like our new president, and that's a lot of dislike. At least BHO can only be elected twice as opposed to Pitts winning 6 Super Bowls. On the other hand, Obama can wreck this country in a short time and the Steelers can't hurt anything.

More corrupt bodies to add to Obama's administration.  What a lying hypocrite.

why do you think most politicians run for office its not the representation of the people its whats going to benefit them the most...If you take a look at all the corruption with in the last few years then its true and there are more still there who just havent been caught yet....They all stick to gether and they are able to get the best lawyers to get out of the situation...It wont change and will continue...I dont care which party there the same...Until President Obama cleans up the situation or the American people get off there couches then it will continue...Theconstituion will continue to be We The Politicians.

TAX CHEAT ... CROOK ... PERFECT FOR OBAMA'S CABINET.

HE GETS A '''WAIVER''' FROM OBAMA!

Is there a place to get email addresses for specific commentators? Or how can one get in touch with MSNBC?

Here's what I think. Everyone should shut-up about who did what when, taxes, divorce, whatever. God help me if someone dug into everything I may or may not have done in my lifetime. That is beside the point. Change has to come to the media. Stop creating discord. Stop trying to make stories something bigger than they are. You have no credibility. Why? You did nothing to emphasize the horrendous machinations of the Bush administration.

Stop the madness. Shut-up and let President Obama do his job. And for all the Republicans - get over yourself. Work with him or get voted out of office.

On the other hand, Obama can wreck this country in a short time and the Steelers can't hurt anything.
                   Monkberry Moon
******************************************************
Again........selective memory on the last 8 years. WHO do you Republicans THINK you're fooling?

OOps! Maybe President Obama better start considering another one. No waiver for this one.

I appreciate his "coming clean" about where he had been deceitful in the past.   The act takes courage and oftentimes restores power and awareness to that person.  

It has been my observation that all of us, not just some of us, lie, cheat, steal, etc.   We do stupid things which rob ourselves of awareness and power to effectively deal with everyday matters.  From the moment of committing a "mistake" or wrongful act, it takes a certain amount of "energy and attention" to keep the wrongdoing stuffed undercover and concealed from others. As a result,  thinking/awareness becomes "clouded".      

It would be a smart person who takes the opportunity to continue with his "house cleaning" so that power gets restored.

Chances are good that he'll make stupid mistakes like this again and I don't mean mistake like an accident, I mean mistake like consciously doing something he shouldn't do.  Hopefully he makes of this a life lesson.   I'm sure he is angry with himself over this...but that will pass.    

We should celebrate these acts, not decry them!   This is good news, not bad news.   The change that is necessary in Washington has to do with Washington getting its MoJo back.  We need clear thinking,  people operating with power not clever types acting like cockroaches  to avoid the getting caught or found out.

I think  I am witnessing is the kind of change we need.   There are EASY ways to justify his motive for coming out about his taxes that would make this appear less of an act of courage and more a move for political survival.   That may be true, but  I am going to suspend this judgement.   Something just rings right about this man's act at this moment, at this time that does not leave me as skeptical.    A shift in the "Washington environment" has begun, a shift to openness and honesty AND IF IT IS TRUE, THINGS LIKE THIS WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

Not everyone decides to act courageously...some just resign from their posts or stay and live out a twisted life inside a corrupt environment that has come to be known as Washington.  
 
Throwing stones never made any difference,  it's just one mistake following another.

Imagine, if just for a minute, if Daschle and Geitner were Republicans. The Republicans would back them to the hilt. They would somehow block the votes of the Democrats and do everything in their power to get them in office. When the GOPers complain they need only to look at Gonzo and some of the other choice candidates of the previous Administration and then shut their mouths as their hypocrisy would be showing again.

What about all those other names that have not been nominated for jobs in the new administration?  Who else has not paid the total tax bill.  The IRS should be checking all the top income execs.

What about all those other names that have not been nominated for jobs in the new administration?  Who else has not paid the total tax bill.  The IRS should be checking all the top income execs.

Stop the madness. Shut-up and let President Obama do his job. And for all the Republicans - get over yourself. Work with him or get voted out of office.
Chandler W. (Sent Monday, February 02, 2009 9:21 AM)
__________________________________________________
Why? There are no blues states anyone can claim are successfully run. Matter of fact most of the housing bubbles were in blue states, caused by LIBERAL lending most of which happened because of the same corrupt FannieCrats Obama has filled his cabinet with. So where is the hope? Hope for what? Hope to have unions running amuck in red states voting for any two faced doublespeak lawyer the Fanniecrats can scrape up? No thanks. We'll just ride the storm out until the majority of Americans wake up to what you folks really are. What's really a real shame is we can't keep you folks in one area of the country with no one to protect you from each other. Now that would make for comedy gold reality TV.

It seems there are no honest politicians.

Government has made the man rich...He doesn't represent the change we need in Washington... http://www.enewsreference.com

Can you imagine the  main stream media reporting if Sarah Palin or the Clintons forgot to pay 100K in taxes?  And, is this the way how Obama plans to bring ethics and change to Washington DC, by appointing people that do not pay taxes?

Corporate jets?, bonuses for non-performance on financial returns, now $300,000 for a limo driver?. While I strongly support Obama, this has got to end. How about real restrictions on excess on anyone who gets a handout. Real Americans have to find their own way around...that should go for CEO's, lobbyists, and politicians (except the president). Disgusting...I still like Daschle, but am real disappointed in his succumbing to the Washington excess.

Here’s my problem with all this:  hypocrisy after preaching.

I’m a Republican.  I didn’t vote for Obama.  But he’s my President now, and I support him as far as I can.  Just because he was elected President, though, doesn’t mean that a loyal opposition should cease to exist.

I keep hearing from Democrats that if Daschle and Geitner were Republicans, the GOP would have closed ranks behind them and agreed that they suffered from “innocent mistakes” such as not paying tens of thousands of dollars in taxes they owed.  And the Democrats are right; I admit it.  We’ve all seen it before.  But here’s the difference:  in the last election, Barack Obama campaigned on bringing change to Washington.  In fact, he absolutely excoriated John McCain for having lobbyists involved in his campaign.  Then, after vowing not to hire lobbyists, he changes his tune once he’s in office.  Now, I don’t think Mr. Obama did this disingenuously – I don’t think he made his stand never intending to follow it.  I think he learned a very important lesson:  that what you say on campaign is sometimes hard to follow through on.  I understand this.  It’s always harder to tear something down than it is to maintain or build it.

But what I don’t understand is Mr. Obama’s insistence on hiring people who have these problems with taxes.  Of course, we can blame their accountants, but who has ultimate oversight over their accountants?  The person who hires the accountants, I would think.  If they can’t maintain oversight over their own finances, how can we be expected to believe they can maintain oversight over a massive federal bureaucracy?  

Additionally, Mr. Daschle, while not a declared lobbyist, apparently was the next best thing, receiving a lot of money from health care concerns.  Would he be able to convincingly recuse himself from anything having to do with these companies as Secretary of Health and Human Services?  I suppose he might be slick enough to pull it off, but why even let him try, especially since he apparently took his time telling Obama’s team that he had these problems.

And all this on the heels of a campaign promising change, and ripping the Republican Party for their “old boy, business as usual” politics.

It makes me think of a televangelist preaching about the wages of sin, telling us all we’re going to burn in hell because of the wicked lives we lead, and then he gets caught with a cheap prostitute in the back seat of a car.  Suddenly we have to “understand” and offer forgiveness.  

The lesson is, don’t preach if you’re not able to follow through.

We must remain focused. Senator Daschel is and has been working closely with Seantor Kennedy on the new kealth reform package.

1. We must remain focused and not allow them to give us "something shiney" to keep us yaking about what he (Sen. Daschle) use to be. This just another attempt to block health care reform.

2. I can't knock a man that can make money from his accomplishments in life. I only want to know if he has stolen any.

3. I live in a "red state" and there are a lot of foreclosed properties in the so call elite neighbirhoods, actually there are more in those that the moderate to lower income neighborhoods.

4. F.Y.I. hasn't anyone been listening? The "Banks" can't find the motgages that they have listed on their books.

If we focus and demand that every one of those people are squeky clean, then we will remain in the situation we are in. There is no one that is actually qualified to lend their support or expertise to this crisis that is not mared in some way.

We had the evil and I perfer the lesser of the evils.

I have said, for years, it's the biggest whore house in the world, and the best government money HAS bought!! When the FBI's budget is independent of Congress and they are ALLOWED to investigate OUR government, we may get CHANGE!?

Probably wont happen in my lifetime, but I would sure like to see the mainstream media do a special on special on these hypocritical politicians. Unfortunately since this is one of the "Mesiahs" apostoles we wont see it happen. Probably wont even get a fifteen second blip on without it saying it was an "honest mistake".

Reminds me of the best line in the campaign: "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig."

Paying taxes is a personal responsibility.  Most public figures are not good stewards of their own finances.  Unfortunately--we have moved away from looking at personal financial management and true character issues to looking for hidden homosexuality, patriotism and other non-issues when determining who to vote for in elections.  Given the manner in which this was discovered and ultimately disclosed, I don't see a problem with it.  He has paid the back taxes and the interest.  Now, if it happens again, he needs a new CPA or needs to take better care of his finances and personal affairs.  I will also add that it is unusual for things like this to be taken care of so quickly.  He had to have known about it prior to being nominated for the HHS position.  As for Geitner, that was a huge blunder given his line of work.  I really hate read the comments that are just cruel attacks on the entire administration.  There are numerous people, both Republican and Democrat in government, with tax and financial problems.  It is how they choose to handle these issues that we should be concerned about, not that the issue exists at all.  With that being said, lay off the new administration.  Yes, I felt the same about the knocks that were made early on about W.  

Politicians are just that "politicians", oh I love this chess game. I am just waiting to see who actually wins.

I am hoping that we the people will.

Obama's gola is to destory this country.  What do you expect from 150 years of pent up black suppression.  "Whitey" is in a world of hurt now, and I do not mean "Whitey" from Leave it Beaver

Daschle is a crook, he's a cheat, he's corrupt, he's incompetent--everything that washington perpetuates. The worst we have to offer. O'bama, same as everyone else.

Do you think I can hide the babysitting money I earned from the neighbors? Or the $33.90 of interest from a savings account? Of course not. Because I am just an ordinary citizen. The politicians are not above the law, they should not get special treatment. Obama has no problem with these people because he comes from Chicago, Blago land, he didn't feel he did anything wrong either.

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