‘Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president?’

May 9, 2006

I think it’s probably fair to call on Housing and Urban Development Secretary [tag]Alphonso Jackson[/tag] to resign over this one.

Jackson, a former president and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, was among the featured speakers at a forum sponsored by the Real Estate Executive Council, a national minority real estate consortium.

After discussing the huge strides the agency has made in doing business with minority-owned companies, Jackson closed with a cautionary tale, relaying a conversation he had with a prospective advertising [tag]contractor[/tag].

“He had made every effort to get a contract with HUD for 10 years,” Jackson said of the prospective contractor. “He made a heck of a proposal and was on the (General Services Administration) list, so we selected him. He came to see me and thank me for selecting him. Then he said something … he said, ‘I have a problem with your president.’

“I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘I don’t like President [tag]Bush[/tag].’ I thought to myself, ‘Brother, you have a disconnect — the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn’t be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don’t tell the secretary.'”

Here’s the punch-line: Jackson rejected the contract, admittedly because he didn’t like the guy’s criticisms of the president. “He didn’t get the [tag]contract[/tag],” Jackson said. “Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the [tag]president[/tag]? Logic says they don’t get the contract. That’s the way I believe.”

So, to summarize, the secretary of HUD admitted, in public, that he denied a qualified minority contractor funding because the contractor said he didn’t like the president. In Jackson’s mind, this is “logical.”

This is probably illegal, and is definitely moronic. If some congressional Dems made an effort to follow up on this, it’s the kind of incident that could force Jackson to [tag]resign[/tag].

Update: Think Progress sketched out some legal analysis and suggests Jackson broke the law.

I have a hard time believing that BushCo. is using the NSA to spy on its political enemies because of the logistics involve in doing so. However, whenever I read something like this, it makes me think that BushCo. would be motivated enough to solve those logistics problems.

  • Hurting their enemies–no matter the facts–is SOP (standard operating procedure) for BushCo Inc. All hail, the Regal Moron.

  • So Alphonso Jackson discriminates against two out of every three Americans. I see he’s taking Bush’s “You’re with us or against us” admonition seriously.

    This type of activity is what every American hates about government: that somehow our tax dollars are being used in a political patronage system to reward loyalty to one party and to screw the other. No wonder folks keep calling for smaller government after reading about crap like this.

  • There is a theory in Psychology called the “false consensus effect”. Basically, it occurs when a group of like minded individuals isolate themselves such that they reinforce the false perceptions they each hold.

    In the model, they tend to operate in a vacuum whereby outside views and opinions rarely penetrate the dialogue in order to broaden the view and the conclusions of the group.

    Seemingly, this administration and its appointees are operating as a textbook example of this phenomenon. I can’t think of a better way to explain the otherwise absurd statements and actions of so many of these individuals. Mr. Jackson is simply a classic case. He must be completely oblivious to the reaction such remarks will elicit. Amazing!

    more observations here:

    http://www.thoughttheater.com

  • Secretary of HUD is considered a no-show job in this administration–except for handing out money to Bush cronies. So, to this moron’s understanding, he was just doing what little he had to do for his “job”. Yes, he should be forced to resign. This would be a good one for Conyers, or Feingold or Boxer to take on. Disgusting.

  • There is no “objective world” out there, and there are no “deserving cases” as such. There’s only the Regal Moron and his butt-kissing minions. “You’re either with us, or you’re the embodiment of evil. I’m the Decider.”

  • Jackson’s action is clearly wrong and Bush should call him on it.

    However, we can’t escape the most significant factoid from the article (buried near the bottom):

    “In 2005, 16% of HUD contracts, or about $167 million worth of work, went to black-owned businesses. Hispanic-owned businesses received 7%, or $71 million. That combined 23% is up from 6% in 2000, the year before Jackson was named deputy secretary of the agency.”

    Who knew that Bush had so many black and Hispanic cronies?

    Also, black and Hispanic-owned businesses only got 6% of HUD contracts under Clinton? Did not know that.

  • WOW! Got to love these people! Shall we chip in and have a pizza delivered to the ACLU office tonight. I’m sure the will be working overtime drawing up this law suit. What a maroon! Now would be a good time to ask for investigations into the operations of all the Cabinet offices. This si serious and we need to make sure all the Secretaries are not behaving in this way.

    Is Bush trying to become the worst President ever? The least liked and the least trusted? Even a blind squirrel finds a nut. These guys are a mess.

  • Comment by jake: “Who knew that Bush had so many black and Hispanic cronies?”
    You’ll know doubt see all of them in close up at the next Republikan National Convention.

    Comment by MNProgressive: “Is Bush trying to become the worst President ever?”
    No, he no longer has to try–he’s already there! Now the task is getting so far ahead on heinousness that no future President can catch him.

  • So by this logic, anyone who doesn’t agree with Bush doesn’t have to support the American government – which from the USDA to HUD, from Iraq to Iran, seems intent on disregarding both reality and political accountability – by paying taxes, right?

    Why should we reward someone who doesn’t like us?

  • The patronage component of this current crop of thieves is the most disgusting part of what is going on. From Cheney’s Halliburton to this recent incident, I am forever reminded of the arrogant looting of public resources, and the blatant theft of the people’s property. Teapot Dome and Robber Barrons move over; you have been usurped by the real pros. These people actually believe that they own the government and it is their own private gold card that they need never reconcile or account for.

  • Jake, I would take the numbers reported by Jackson skeptically. It is possible that the books were cooked. I tried to find any reports of such misconduct at HUD via Google but came up empty. However I did find that a minority program at the Commerce Department did overstate it success. The auditors report is here.(pdf)
    Cooking the books is a way of life for BushCo. Don’t be surprise if ,down the road, Jackson’s number also turnout to be bogus.

  • Good point rege. Although I would think that the GAO could have some data to support or disprove that claim.

    I also tend to lean toward agreement with the TP conclusion that Jackson likely just admitted to breaking the law. Stupid. Just plain stupid.

  • “Why should I reward someone who doesn’t like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don’t get the contract. That’s the way I believe.”

    Well, the way he believes sounds like what I call corruption. Sadly, not only does the douche not see it, but touts it. I guess he’s just following in the footsteps of W. and sticking to his beliefs over reality.

  • Jackson’s recounted actions are most certainly illegal, but I get a very strong feeling his story isn’t the least bit true. Any contractor who sought a contract from a Bush appointee and said he didn’t like Bush to Jackson’s face would have to be some kind of idiot. More likely, Jackson got the impression this guy didn’t like Bush, and changed the story to “brag” that he has been using his office to keep out “those liberals.”

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