Most of the time I don't bother with stories that are national in scale. Plenty of other people better than I can do that. But when an aspect of a national story has a local connection, I think it's worth reporting. This is especially the case if the Longmont paper barely glosses over it, or as in this case doesn't mention it at all. Quite often the paper will republish an Associated Press story; I didn't see that done either.

The story here is disgraced Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu and the connection to Colorado congressman Mark Udall, who also has announced he is running for the U.S. Senate in 2008. At first glance the $1,000 Udall accepted from Hsu seems fairly small and he's said he's going to donate it to the Colorado National Guard Foundation. Of course there's more to this story, there always is.

Anyone with an ounce of brains should be wary of what I'll call the " 5 C's", The Clinton Chinese Campaign Contributions Connection. Do the names John Huang or Maria Hsia ring a bell? I know some of you would like to forget or sweep this under the rug, but at least 17 people were convicted for fraud and funneling money from Communist China to the Democratic National Committee. Further, Al Gore attended a fund raising event at a Buddhist temple. It is illegal under U.S. law for religious organizations to donate money to politicians or political groups due to their tax-exempt status. The DNC had to return this $100,000.

So, a 15-year Chinese fugitive from the law wants to " help" out the DNC, any takers? You bet, plenty. Names like Clinton (Hsu's a " Hillraiser"), Kerry, Kennedy, Boxer, Feinstein, Franken, and Obama lined up. And of course, Colorado's own Udall. On top of the $1,000 he's giving back, let's not forget the $5,000 he got from the Hsu funded "For A Change PAC", the $10,000 from the Hsu funded "Searchlight Leadership Fund" (Harry Reid's PAC), and $40,000 from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees, also recipients of large Hsu donations.

Given recent history of Chinese contributors (more "Friends of Bill"), wouldn't you run for the hills if someone like this approached you? This speaks poorly of Congressman Udall and his staff's judgment at the very least. If accepting these donations were no accident or coincidence, it says much worse. Cunningham and Abramoff better make room for company, and I'm not talking about visitors.

©2007 Chris Rodriguez/Wrongmont.Com
(Chris Rodriguez is a Longmont resident, and the editor and publisher of Wrongmont.Com, a community website that raises local issues to increase public awareness and interest)