It seems that some of that
Obama-Reid-Pelosi stimulus money, which was supposed to be used to help create jobs here at home, may be helping to stimulate the Chinese economy instead. This would be on top of
the help that the Chinese would get competitively if Obama's cap-and-trade proposals are ever enacted.
As reported by
MSNBC, top Democratic fundraisers, union supporters and lobbyists with links to the Obama White House are behind a proposed wind farm in Texas that stands to get $450 million in stimulus money. This would be fairly routine but for the fact that A-Power Energy Generation Systems, a Chinese supplier of wind turbines, would operate the farm and its turbines would be built in China. The Chinese are also bringing some financing of their own to the project.
In other words, we will be helping to subsidize jobs in China with American taxpayer-supplied stimulus money and going into further debt to the Chinese at the same time.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has already set a precedent for helping to divert stimulus money to benefit the Chinese economy, ostensibly because so-called "green" jobs are being created in his home state of Nevada as a result of a Chinese-built wind farm in Henderson, Nevada.
As
MSNBC reported, Reid's campaign to save his own Senate career in the last election received thousands of dollars in donations from the wind farm’s backers and Reid stood on stage with them, including with the Chairman and CEO of A-Power Energy Generation Systems, at a campaign event.
A-Power Energy Generation Systems has a joint venture partner in the United States by the name of U.S. Renewable Energy Group, a Dallas investment firm. It just so happens that the leader of China's U.S. partner, Cappy McGarr, has given heavily to Democratic candidates across the country and was an early backer of President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. In addition to his own contributions, McGarr actively solicited contributions for the Obama campaign from his friends and associates.
In return for his largesse, McGarr has had an open door to the administration to pursue his business interests, which include his investment in his joint venture with the Chinese company that is seeking access to American taxpayers' stimulus money. McGarr has visited the White House at least eight times so far, according to visitor records disclosed by the White House.
Furthermore, according to
MSNBC‘s report, before he announced his new renewable energy venture with the Chinese company that would seek access to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi stimulus slush fund for hundreds of millions of dollars, McGarr met with Pete Rouse, an Obama confidante who has since been named acting chief-of-staff in October 2010 after Rahm Emmanuel announced his departure. In addition to going after the $450 million stimulus grant, A-Power’s SEC filings indicate the joint venture is pursuing a Department of Energy-backed loan guarantee.
Not surprisingly, the White House has denied granting any special favors to a large Democratic party contributor and Obama supporter who just so happens to be in bed with a Chinese company that is seeking to siphon off stimulus money meant to help create real jobs in the United States.
MSNBC may be inhabited by left-wingnuts like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. But they deserve praise for going after this obvious political pay-back at the American taxpayers' expense.
Joseph Klein is the author of a recent book entitled
Lethal Engagement: Barack Hussein Obama, the United Nations and Radical Islam.
