I've been thinking about this story since I first read it this morning. I really wanted to get my thoughts straight. According to the report, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson made remarks at a public meeting that explained that he had refused to award a contract because the contractor had criticized the President.
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 contractor.
"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 Bush.' 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.'
"He didn't get the contract," Jackson continued. "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."
I have absolutely no idea whatsoever if any law was broken by doing this. But if this story is true, and not made up out of the whole cloth to illustrate Jackson's point (which is a completely different discussion), then Jackson is just plain dumb here. This is a place no rational person wants to go, ever. This is a Pandora's box that should remain closed.
On the other hand, if a contractor actually said this to Jackson, he's a complete idiot and has no business doing business with the government. Freedom of speech does not grant immunity from consequences. Shooting your mouth off for absolutely no other reason than to feel good about yourself is a recipe for disaster. Any businessman who thinks they can badmouth the customer and thrive is just plain dumb.
On the dumb scale, they are both at the same level.
Thanks for confirming what we already knew. You rightwingers have no committment whatsoever to the rule of law, once you get your fat little fingers near the money pots.
The customer is the American people, not the Bush administration. When you hold executive office you do so as a steward of the public interest, not of partisan interest. No American citizen should suffer economic consequences for daring to state their opinion to a federal official. In fact, if one cannot express displeasure to a federal official about the policies of the government, then you have a form of government which is unrecognizable to American principles.
I think you have totally lost your moral compass in the downward swirl of this administration. Get of the boat now, is my only advice, while you still have a chance to salvage your self-respect.
Tano,
You’re wrong, and you’re tedious.
Any businessman who thinks they can badmouth the customer and thrive is just plain dumb.
The customer is the taxpayer, not Bush.
On the other hand, if a contractor actually said this to Jackson, he’s a complete idiot and has no business doing business with the government.
I agree that the contractor’s alleged behavior was less than tactful (or “stupid,” in the vernacular). And it may make him a political idiot, but who cares? If he would’ve done the best job, he should get the contract. That’s why we have laws requiring meritocratic treatment of contract bids.
The customer is ultimately the taxpayer, but is represented by the elected officials and their appointed (and confirmed) representatives.
The situation is exactly analogous to employment in a large company. You ultimately work for the corporation but if you tell your immediate boss he’s a jackass, don’t expect to be working there tomorrow.
Clear enough?
Clearly you are spinning like mad Gaius.
You don’t understand the basic principles of this country. The government is NOT THE BOSS. The contractor was a citizen (aka one of the bosses). The federal official is the employee – the public servant. The official has a moral and legal responsiblity to uphold the laws, and to apply them fairly on our behalf (ever hear of “equal protection under the law”?). Any one of us could have been that contractor – a citizen offering services to the government. There is an absolute requirement for fair and nonpartisan treatment. And that isnt dependent on forgoing your right to free speech.
If you can’t accept this because it comes from “libruls”, then go check out Captain’s Quarters and see his take on it. One of the rare times that I have ever agreed with something that he said, but it seems that even some right-wingers (though obviously not all) have at least some respect left for the rule of law.
Clearly, your reading comprehension isn’t too good.
“On the dumb scale, they are both at the same level.”
Wow. Nowhere near your level though.
Hey thanks, coming from a law firm, that’s high praise.