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Wednesday, November 30, 2005

A: When you accept it on behalf of someone else.

Far be it for me to begrudge someone else cheaper home heating oil, I could use some myself (though none of this batch is going to me), but this strikes me as fraught with ethical issues. Will William Delahunt be able to express a trustworthy opinion on South American strongman Hugo Chavez while Chavez is helping Delahunt bring home the bacon?

OpinionJournal: Oil for Friends - Hugo Chávez repays his Congressional amigo

Money can't buy love, unless you're Anna Nicole Smith. But these days a little heating oil can buy friends in Washington, especially when they come as cheap as Democrat William Delahunt. Massachusetts wants bargain oil prices to help it through the winter. Venezuelan tyrant Hugo Chávez wants influence in Washington. Leave it to the Congressman from the Commonwealth and a Kennedy to close the deal.

Last week Venezuela announced that its U.S.-based Citgo Petroleum would sell 12 million gallons of home heating oil at a 40% discount to help the poor in Massachusetts. The deal was announced by Mr. Delahunt on the lawn of a beneficiary before Thanksgiving, with Congressman Ed Markey at his side. "This today is about people, it's not about politics," Mr. Delahunt said with a straight face. Massachusetts-based Citizens Energy, run by the Kennedy clan, will be one of the distributors.

"To Citgo, to the people of Venezuela, our debt," the Congressman pledged...

Nothing like being beholden to an anti-American demagogue. At least we pay Saudi Arabia full price to spread hatred of us. No one owes anyone anything.

...Mr. Delahunt's lobbying for the dictator undermines any official U.S. pressure on Mr. Chávez to behave more humanely, which is precisely why Mr. Chávez is returning the favor by plying Mr. Delahunt with cheap oil.

For less pliable Americans, el jefe del Caracas has a different policy. On Monday, a U.S. Congressional delegation led by House International Relations Chairman Henry Hyde and ranking Democrat Tom Lantos was barred from entering the country and held aboard their aircraft for two hours. The delegation's itinerary had been known to Venezuelan officials for weeks. For a little more discount oil, perhaps Mr. Delahunt will explain to his colleagues how this was all just one big misunderstanding.

Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: When is a bribe not a bribe?.

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I am quoted in this Boston Globe article about the aftermath of J Street's ill-fated Congressional trip -- cosponsored with CMEP -- to Israel: Delahunt's journey to Mideast upended - Canceled sessions stir debate among advocates for Israel. I spoke... Read More

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