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Carnahan turns to embattled Senator for fundraising help

June 12, 2009

Embraces Dodd despite sweetheart mortgage deal, AIG bonus giveaways

JEFFERSON CITY –Robin Carnahan continues to refuse to answer questions about her positions on issues important to Missourians, but Congressional Quarterly has revealed her association with a controversial partner in Washington: embattled Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd. According to CQ this week, Carnahan has formed a joint fundraising committee with Senators Dodd and Michael Bennett (D-CO).

Carnahan apparently sees no problem with a partnership with this Washington liberal, even though Dodd has been at the center of several recent controversies which have caused his approval ratings to plummet. Among other issues:

• Dodd received two “VIP” mortgages through a “Friends of Angelo” program at Countrywide Insurance while serving as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
• After denying any involvement in the legislation, Dodd admitted that he was responsible for the taxpayer-funded bonuses that were paid out to AIG executives in the Democrats’ massive so-called “stimulus” bill.
• Despite mounting evidence of their financial troubles, Dodd declared that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were “fundamentally strong.” Less than two months later, both companies were taken over by the federal government.

“They say you are known by the company you keep. Robin Carnahan has teamed up with Chris Dodd, the author of the AIG bonuses, a ‘Friend of Angelo’ who received a sweetheart mortgage deal, and the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee who fell asleep at the wheel while the economy collapsed,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Despite his involvement in these controversies, Carnahan is standing with Dodd, who has spent more than three decades in Washington and will now serve as her mentor and fundraising partner. As she continues to hide her positions on the issues most important to Missourians, voters will be able to judge her by the company she has chosen to keep.”

Dodd and Carnahan have a history that goes back more than five years. In April 2004, Dodd appointed Carnahan to the Board of Advisors of the Election Assistance Commission—a blatant attempt to pad her resume when she ran for Missouri Secretary of State.

Now, Dodd’s role in the worldwide financial meltdown has made him extremely unpopular in his home state of Connecticut. A recent Quinnipiac survey found his approval rating at 38%. Despite Dodd’s low approval rating, Robin Carnahan has demonstrated that she is out of touch with Missouri values by continuing to stand with her fellow liberal.

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