Foul smelling pay to play scandals are nothing new to politics, however Scott McGinnis has portrayed himself to be an honorable man.  McGinnis accepted 300,000.00 dollars from a political foundation to write an essay that any typical geological company could have written and certified for around 5K-10K dollars.  Not only did McGinnis accept the $300,000.00 dollars for the work, but he did not perform or complete the requested work.  The smell does not end there.  By all appearances the political entity that paid the 300,000.00 dollars was from the Malik and Seeme Hasan Foundation which has little to no business using, publishing or developing a geological report.  Now we get into the cover up of this scandal.  The only “news” making the news is weather the unpublished article had accurate quotations and footmarks.  Who the really cares about common data logging being properly foot-marked even if it is a common theme with McGinnis’ history or writing.  Several of the local news commenter’s giving McGinnis a pass on this back room payoff and pay to play politics are proclaiming it as innocent everyday politics.  Can a light be shined on the stain of this obscene cronyism?  Open up the financial records of this transaction and let us see where the money went.

These opinions are solely of my observations from my direct contact with the individuals involved.  If I am missing some great piece of information please let me know.  Let me declare that I was a Scott McGinnis supporter for a period of 3-6 weeks in the late fall of 2009.  I have since gained a firm belief that Dan Maes would be the best candidate to serve as Governor of Colorado.  I also was a supporter of Ali Hasan who in my determination had the most reliable message on reforming the Secretary of State office.  I also have the utmost respect for Malik Hasan and his foundation.   I have since backed the majority conservative candidate JJ Ament as the best man with experience to win the seat.

Also, I would like to open up this discussion with those of the Tea Party that have proclaimed McGinnis as the vetted and proven candidate from Washington that they find would be the best Governor for Colorado.  When it comes to having the money for a campaign, how proud are you of how Scott raised his money or who he will work for in the Capital?  When the oil and gas company who bought his seat now come to your backyard and begin drilling for oil without your permission.  Or the electric solar panel lobby that will force you to use, and subsidize them for the least efficient sources of electricity to their profit.  I want to battle ideas with the scholars of corruption in today’s politics as you would know how best to combat this issue.

Fredrick Lindner

Arapahoe Tea Party Coordinator

www.arapahoeteaparty.com

 

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McGinnis said this was a "non-issue". For this voter, it IS an issue. I want candidates running who are ethical, and in my opinion, he is not. I don't, and won't, support him if he is the candidate. Who, exactly, decides early on who the candidates are going to be from the Republican Party? Perhaps, we need to get rid of them too.
Victoria Livingston
I received the following e-mail this afternoon, but have not been able to verify it. I am not a fan of Scott McGinnis, but in the interest of fairness, I thought that it should be included here.

Jack Ott
.....................

Below is a letter from Mr.Plunk (sent to Mr Hubbard at the Denver Post) Mr. Plunk is the gentleman that the Post cited was plagiarized by Scott, he has made it very clear that was not the case - let's see how big a print, if at all the Posts makes any kind of retraction.

Subject: Re: Query from Denver Post

Dear Mr. Hubbard,

I write to you with respect to your July 14 article and the related editorial which make reference to my past writings and your untrue allegations that gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis may have plagiarized my work.

First, I note that no one from the Denver Post contacted me prior to publishing these scurrilous claims. So, I express to you my outrage that your newspaper would publish such claims and information about me without contacting me in advance. It seems to me highly discourteous and unethical for a news organization to practice such shabby journalism.

Next, let me wholly and unequivocally dispel your untrue suggestions that my works may have been plagiarized. If your colleagues had bothered to follow basic professional journalistic ethics by contacting me, I would have set the story straight.

In short, during the 1994-1995 period in question, I was actively communicating with various US Congressional offices in my capacity as an Asian affairs analyst at a major Washington, DC non-profit think tank. I got to know Rep. McInnis and key members of his staff at that time, and I found that I generally agreed with the Congressman's views on US-Korea relations.

Your paper's article takes aim at a 1994 op-ed article and a 1995 House Floor speech by Rep. McInnis. The Congressman's staff invited my input into both of those written works, and I was pleased to contribute to them in the editorial process. So while some of the words there indeed are mine, they surely are not "plagiarized". I was very pleased and proud to have advised and assisted Congressman McInnis on those two straight-forward policy analyses.

With record now set straight for you, I trust you can understand my dismay over this outrageous travesty by your newspaper. I will look forward to hearing about and seeing what steps you might take to correct the record.

Sincerely,

Daryl M. Plunk
Jack Ott said:
I received the following e-mail this afternoon, but have not been able to verify it. I am not a fan of Scott McGinnis, but in the interest of fairness, I thought that it should be included here.

Jack Ott
.....................

Below is a letter from Mr.Plunk (sent to Mr Hubbard at the Denver Post) Mr. Plunk is the gentleman that the Post cited was plagiarized by Scott, he has made it very clear that was not the case - let's see how big a print, if at all the Posts makes any kind of retraction.

Subject: Re: Query from Denver Post

Dear Mr. Hubbard,

I write to you with respect to your July 14 article and the related editorial which make reference to my past writings and your untrue allegations that gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis may have plagiarized my work.

First, I note that no one from the Denver Post contacted me prior to publishing these scurrilous claims. So, I express to you my outrage that your newspaper would publish such claims and information about me without contacting me in advance. It seems to me highly discourteous and unethical for a news organization to practice such shabby journalism.

Next, let me wholly and unequivocally dispel your untrue suggestions that my works may have been plagiarized. If your colleagues had bothered to follow basic professional journalistic ethics by contacting me, I would have set the story straight.

In short, during the 1994-1995 period in question, I was actively communicating with various US Congressional offices in my capacity as an Asian affairs analyst at a major Washington, DC non-profit think tank. I got to know Rep. McInnis and key members of his staff at that time, and I found that I generally agreed with the Congressman's views on US-Korea relations.

Your paper's article takes aim at a 1994 op-ed article and a 1995 House Floor speech by Rep. McInnis. The Congressman's staff invited my input into both of those written works, and I was pleased to contribute to them in the editorial process. So while some of the words there indeed are mine, they surely are not "plagiarized". I was very pleased and proud to have advised and assisted Congressman McInnis on those two straight-forward policy analyses.

With record now set straight for you, I trust you can understand my dismay over this outrageous travesty by your newspaper. I will look forward to hearing about and seeing what steps you might take to correct the record.

Sincerely,

Daryl M. Plunk

This email does need to be verified. But even if it is true, the original plagiarism charges were vetted and found to be true.

My opinion is that McInnis should step down from the campaign so the GOP might have some hope of winning. But I was never a McInnis fan in the first place. In general, I am not impressed with many of the GOP candidates.
Latest News!!!! McInnis is a liar. The slick little politician from Washington tried to accuse an 82 year old professional of plagiarizm. What we have already suspected of this ex-congressman has gone a step further in the flare of attempted coverup. Of course we already knew this...
This is exactly the kind of politician the Tea Party should oppose. "Opposing corruption on both sides of the political aisle."

Does anyone else despair of the choices Republican Coloradans have for the next election? Despite how much people may like Dan Maes, I am afraid he may be like Arnold Schwarzenegger - good at running a business but out of his league in politics, especially starting at the top as Governor. Not a good place to get OJT.

Fredrick Lindner said:
Latest News!!!! McInnis is a liar. The slick little politician from Washington tried to accuse an 82 year old professional of plagiarizm. What we have already suspected of this ex-congressman has gone a step further in the flare of attempted coverup. Of course we already knew this...
Plagiarism is always wrong, in my opinion.

What is more wrong in his case is at least the appearance of a political payoff. For $150,000.00 per year, Mr. McGinnis did not apparently feel that he was working full time for the Hassan Foundation. WHAT, exactly, did he think he was being paid for? This is the type of corruption that many politicians seem to feel is business as usual. This indirect buying of political influence is what causes "we the people" to become disgusted and cynical about all of our leadership.
Donna, I completely agree.

Donna Aydelott said:
Plagiarism is always wrong, in my opinion.

What is more wrong in his case is at least the appearance of a political payoff. For $150,000.00 per year, Mr. McGinnis did not apparently feel that he was working full time for the Hassan Foundation. WHAT, exactly, did he think he was being paid for? This is the type of corruption that many politicians seem to feel is business as usual. This indirect buying of political influence is what causes "we the people" to become disgusted and cynical about all of our leadership.
Wishful thinking - a Republican candidate line-up I would prefer over what we have now:

Jane Norton - Governor candidate, Dan Maes Lt. Gov
Bob Shaffer - Senator
Bill Owens - Colo Party Chair

While I am dreaming, how about a Jan Brewer (Ariz. Gov.)/Sarah Palin team for next Presidential election?

IMHO, Dan Maes might be good, but needs some political experience. Palin, like Obama, is too young right now to be President, but give her some more years and more experience.

Have to admit my bias for female candidates. Black men got the vote before women. Now that we've had a (half) black president maybe we can break the next big barrier and elect a woman - two would be even better! For those who favor Newt Gingrich for president, how about an adviser or Chief of Staff position for him?
I spoke with some more people on the topic of what was the scope of work that McGinnis was to perform for the Hasan Foundation. Upon the congressman leaving Washington there was a push to make Colorado water a more beneficial resource to our state. The Hasan foundation hired Scott McGinnis to continue his work to defend, promote, and educate the benefit that Colorado water can be a more prominent resource for our state. I was also provided a link to an interview with the founder on the subject.

http://www.coloradostatesman.com/content/991967-mcinnis-plagiarism-...

From my observations and from the most recent news about how McGinnis gained the articles, it looks like McGinnis is an even weaker person than originally believed. McGinnis did little more that collect a paycheck with plagiarized work, when he should have been lecturing, speaking, meeting, and educating the public to the benefits of Colorado Water.

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