Stunned Son of Stun Gun Runs
Kerik declines Homeland Security nomination: why Bush lost his hand-picked henchman
By Bill Van Auken
13 December 2004
With Bernard Kerik’s sudden withdrawal as the nominee to become the new secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, the Bush administration has confronted its first major crisis in its efforts to reconfigure itself for a second term.
The episode involving the former New York City Police Commissioner is by no means a minor matter, given the ceaseless invocation by the Bush White House of a supposed terrorist threat as the justification for all of its policies, both foreign and domestic.
With Kerik, Bush and his handlers believed that they had someone ideally suited to the job. The ex-cop’s claim to fame stemmed from having stood at the side of then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani at the moment the first tower of the World Trade Center fell on September 11, 2001. White House aides gushed last week that Kerik’s mere presence would bring “9/11 symbolism” to Bush’s cabinet.
Kerik’s other principal qualification was his unquestioning loyalty to his benefactors, most principally Giuliani, whom he served as chauffeur and bodyguard when Giuliani was running for mayor of New York. Giuliani reciprocated, first by making him head of the city’s jails, and then of its police department.
The official explanation given for Kerik’s decision to decline the nomination was his sudden discovery that he had a “nanny problem.” As the story goes, while completing a review of his personal finances, he discovered to his supposed surprise that a woman he had hired to work in his home did not have legal immigration status, and that he had not paid payroll taxes on her behalf.
Few familiar with Kerik’s career believe that this supposed lapse in judgment was the real reason for his decision not to seek the nomination. Some have cited his financial activities after leaving city government along with his benefactor Giuliani at the end of 2001, which have made him a very wealthy man. Much of this wealth has come from serving as a pitchman for security-related companies that do business with US government agencies. His biggest windfall—$6 million—came from selling stock given him as a board member of Taser International, the maker of an electric stun gun, whose increasing use by US police departments has led to a number of deaths.
By Bill Van Auken
13 December 2004
With Bernard Kerik’s sudden withdrawal as the nominee to become the new secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, the Bush administration has confronted its first major crisis in its efforts to reconfigure itself for a second term.
The episode involving the former New York City Police Commissioner is by no means a minor matter, given the ceaseless invocation by the Bush White House of a supposed terrorist threat as the justification for all of its policies, both foreign and domestic.
With Kerik, Bush and his handlers believed that they had someone ideally suited to the job. The ex-cop’s claim to fame stemmed from having stood at the side of then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani at the moment the first tower of the World Trade Center fell on September 11, 2001. White House aides gushed last week that Kerik’s mere presence would bring “9/11 symbolism” to Bush’s cabinet.
Kerik’s other principal qualification was his unquestioning loyalty to his benefactors, most principally Giuliani, whom he served as chauffeur and bodyguard when Giuliani was running for mayor of New York. Giuliani reciprocated, first by making him head of the city’s jails, and then of its police department.
The official explanation given for Kerik’s decision to decline the nomination was his sudden discovery that he had a “nanny problem.” As the story goes, while completing a review of his personal finances, he discovered to his supposed surprise that a woman he had hired to work in his home did not have legal immigration status, and that he had not paid payroll taxes on her behalf.
Few familiar with Kerik’s career believe that this supposed lapse in judgment was the real reason for his decision not to seek the nomination. Some have cited his financial activities after leaving city government along with his benefactor Giuliani at the end of 2001, which have made him a very wealthy man. Much of this wealth has come from serving as a pitchman for security-related companies that do business with US government agencies. His biggest windfall—$6 million—came from selling stock given him as a board member of Taser International, the maker of an electric stun gun, whose increasing use by US police departments has led to a number of deaths.
posted by A. J. Franklin @ 11:29
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