Just two years ago, Christopher Dodd was a popular U.S. senator from Connecticut doing what ambitious lawmakers with long and distinguished careers in Congress have always done -- run for president.But now, with his political career on the rocks after numerous controversies, Dodd has become the poster boy for critics who say the inevitable ties between longtime members of Congress and special interests are undermining efforts to revive the economy.
"He literally thinks he's going to play a critical role from saving us from ourselves," Christopher Healy, the Republican Party chairman in Connecticut, said of the Democratic senator.
"It's like putting the arsonist in charge of the volunteer fire department. He knows where the fire is because he set it. But beyond that, he can't offer much help."
Dodd is now flailing to save his 35-year congressional career in the swirling wake of an amendment he authored in the $787 billion stimulus package. That amendment, signed into law by President Obama, grandfathered in bonuses that would have been cut off by the bill but had already been promised to employees of companies that received government bailout money.
The issue exploded when it became known that the American International Group had given $165 million in bonuses to its executives after being bailed out by the U.S. government.
Dodd initially denied last week that he had any role in crafting the exemption language, then changed his tune a day later, saying that Treasury officials pressured him to make the change to protect the government from potential lawsuits.
Dodd is closely linked with AIG, whose employees and political funds have donated $300,000 to his campaign fund over the last decade, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. - FOX News Story
It is funny how you don't here a whole lot about his ties and the political problems he is having unless you check out FOX News. The other Networks are keeping it buried.
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