This pay-for-play ambassador business reminds me of Dan Rooney, the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Guy was born into wealth as his dad founded the team, and after college, worked there his whole career, assuming ownership when his father Art died in 1988. I remember back when I was a kid and he released some low-level WR named Cedric Wilson for hitting his girlfriend but then the same thing happened with star linebacker James Harrison and he opted to not release him. One of those guys who likes to act like he's some holier-than-thou moralist unless it hurts the bottom line. Win at any cost I suppose, but those were some shitty optics for the 'devout Catholic' Rooney.
Rooney endorsed Obama in 2008, campaigned for his candidacy and made a good donation to the DNC, $30K. Obama rewarded his loyalty and made him the Ambassador to Ireland:
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The global political and economic issues "are too important these days to send people who aren't qualified," he said.
In a January news conference, Obama said he wanted to build a larger pool of career diplomats, but said it would be "disingenuous" for him to say he would not install political allies in U.S. embassies.
"Are there going to be political appointees to ambassadorships?" he said at the time. "There probably will be some."
David Lewis, Vanderbilt University political scientist and the author of The Politics of Presidential Appointments, said giving coveted ambassadorships to political supporters is a "relatively low-risk way for presidents to repay campaign debts."
"You are not putting them in Sudan. … You are not putting them in the Middle East," he said. But the practice could make it harder "to recruit the best people in the foreign service if all the best assignments" go to political appointees, Lewis added.
All but one ambassador to Ireland since 1927 have been political appointees, according to the State Department. Rooney last year gave $30,000 to a Democratic Party committee that aided Obama's campaign, according to CQ MoneyLine, a non-partisan group that tracks political contributions.
Via http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/fo...land_N.htm
As a side note, here are the
financials of the Steelers' stadium:
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The Steelers play at Heinz Field, which opened in 2001 at a cost of $357 million, with the Steelers putting up $76 million and taxpayers put on the hook for $281 million.
I just love these billionaire team owners who inherit all of their money and then maneuver their way politically to getting it all funded by taxpayers. I suppose it's just another case of 'hate the game, not the player' but that shit bugs me, stadiums are NOT these ''economic engines for the community" that all of the team owners claim they are. I am sure Rooney is making his money back though, John Kerry's wife's (Teresa Heinz of the Ketchup empire) family paid $57 million for the naming rights to the field.
Donald Trump's short-lived reign as the owner of the USFL's New Jersey Generals included a
20 year lease to play at the home of the NY Giants (The Meadowlands), no taxpayer dollars required to build a TRUMP DOME