Why am I not surprised that Ms. O'Donnell is such a successful Teabag Party candidate?
http://www.citizensforethics.org/christine-odonnell-crooked-candidates
Washington, D.C. - She's been called a "complete fraud" by her former campaign manager, and a "perennial candidate who couldn't get elected dog catcher" by the state party chair, but today, Delaware Republican Senate Nominee Christine O'Donnell (R-DE) has a new moniker: one of America's Most Crooked Candidates. The bipartisan list is a project of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and now includes 14 of the most rotten candidates for federal office across the country. Two of these candidates were defeated in primaries.
Adding Ms. O'Donnell to the list was an easy call. It has been years since she had a steady job, and instead has been embezzling funds to finance her personal expenses. Ms. O'Donnell has been living at her campaign headquarters and having her campaign cover the rent, a practice prohibited by the Federal Election Commission.
"Why get a job when you can run for office and illegally have others finance your lifestyle?," said Melanie Sloan, CREW Executive Director. "It is astonishing that as a candidate for federal office, Ms. O'Donnell appears to be stealing brazenly from her campaign contributors."
Ms. O'Donnell also has a tenuous relationship with the truth. For years, she routinely claimed to have a college degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University; in reality she finally received her diploma a scant two weeks ago. Further, she has claimed to have won two counties in her race against Joe Biden in 2008; in reality, she won none.
"Ms. O'Donnell has no qualms about lying whenever it suits her purposes," said Sloan. "Americans have a right to expect elected officials to act with honesty and integrity. Sadly, Ms. O'Donnell epitomizes the antithesis of those values."
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/chec...s-christine-odonnell/story?id=11646637&page=2
hristine O'Donnell Senate Victory Dogged by Financial Questions
In March, the IRS initiated an audit and placed a lien against her for $11,744.59 in taxes and penalties from the 2005 tax year.
"They made up an accusation about an IRS tax lien," O'Donnell said today on "Good Morning America," hours after winning the primary. "The IRS said it was a mistake. They cleared it up right away. We gave my opponent and the Republican administration, showing them that the IRS had admitted to a computer error. They chose to ignore the truth because they don't have a record to stand on."
Since 1994, Farleigh Dickinson University, in New Jersey, has sued O'Donnell five times for outstanding debts of about $5,000.
O'Donnell claims to have graduated from the school 17 years ago -- and claimed to have a degree during her 2006 Senate campaign -- but the school said she did not officially graduate until two weeks ago. In previous interviews, O'Donnell said the school withheld the diploma because of the money. But a school official interviewed by Politco.com said the degree was not conferred because she had not completed her coursework.
"It took me 12 years to pay off my college loans," she told "GMA." "I'm not a trust fund baby. Most Delawareans can relate to having to work hard to pay for their own college education. I was never dishonest about that."
In a March interview with Delaware's News Journal, O'Donnell admitted to living in a three-bedroom home with David Hust, a campaign staffer and Christian rock musician and paying half her rent between $1,645 and $2,020 a month with campaign donations because she uses the home as a campaign office as well.
"I am renting from the campaign," she told the paper. "I'm an unconventional candidate because I believe that we have to make sacrifices."
O'Donnell, who previously owned a home, was also sued by her mortgage holder in March 2008 at the height of her campaign against then-Sen. Joe Biden.
Just another fiscally responsible Republican...
Meet the New Boss...Same as the Old Boss.