Conservatives treat their constituents like suckers (12)

Ah, projection. Sigmund Freud's description of the psychic defense mechanism of attributing to others one's own repressed base desires and thoughts. What would us wingnutologists do without it?

Linda Chavez, the Reagan era right-wing hack, published a book a few years back called Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and Corrupt American Politics (you can buy a used copy on Amazon for a penny). Today, from the Washington Post, we learn that on the subject of shakedowns, she rather knows of what she speaks:

In the years since she was forced to pull her nomination as Bush's labor secretary after admitting payments to an illegal immigrant, Chavez and her immediate family members have used phone banks and direct-mail solicitations to raise tens of millions of dollars, founding several political action committees with bankable names: the Republican Issues Committee, the Latino Alliance, Stop Union Political Abuse and the Pro-Life Campaign Committee. Their solicitations promise direct action in the "fight to save unborn lives," a vigorous struggle against "big labor bosses" and a crippling of "liberal politics in the country."

That's not where the bulk of the money wound up being spent, however. Of the $24.5 million raised by the PACs from January 2003 to December 2006, $242,000 -- or 1 percent -- was passed on to politicians, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal election reports. The PACs spent even less -- $151,236 -- on independent political activity, such as mailing pamphlets.

Instead, most of the donations were channeled back into new fundraising efforts, and some were used to provide a modest but steady source of income for Chavez and four family members, who served as treasurers and consultants to the committees. Much of the remaining funds went to pay for expenses such as furniture, auto repairs and insurance, and rent for the Sterling office the groups share. Even Chavez's health insurance was paid for a time from political donations.

"I guess you could call it the family business," Chavez said in an interview.

Dig these the sick freaks' gall: a woman who fleeces widows out of their social security checks for a "Stop Union Political Abuse Committeee" with the pitch, "If we stop now, the terrorists win"—and uses the boodle to remodel her kitchen or whatever.

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