Let's pretend that you were an entrepreneur who knew how to run a company well and you built a reputation of even saving companies that had gone "belly up." One day the federal government comes to you hat-in-hand and asks you for a HUGE favor; if you'll agree to work for a dollar a year to save a big organization like A-I-G with the promise--in writing--that you'd be paid a bonus of a hundred-million-dollars or so would you do it? Sounds pretty good, huh? Some business executives did it several years back and got a huge payday as a reward. . They worked diligently with the federal government--which had given them several billion dollars to pay off AIG's debts and to restructure the company. They saved AIG and hundreds of jobs and the fear of a further financial collapse of other financial groups both here and in Europe. They were rewarded with the agreed-to percentage of the bailout and split somewhere in the range of $160 million. It was completely above-board and under a legal contract they had signed with the state of New York. Unfortunately the CEO and his assistants lived in Connecticut and the attorney general made sure the state lived up to its old abbreviation: Conn.
Seizing on the opportunity to bolster his political career, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal knew he had a sure-fire way to get his name before the public, especially the voters in his state who had little or no knowledge of economics. Playing the "class envy" card he shuffled the deck and filed suit against the AIG executives demanding the money back. He had ABSOLUTELY NO legal leg to stand on. These men had broken no laws and didn't take anything they were not entitled to. He also used the lame excuse that the state was not bringing any criminal charges against these men only demanding the money back. He then said it had something to do with Connecticut's "Wage Protection Law" which also was bogus. But with a U. S. senate seat twinkling in his eyes, Blumenthal knew this was his golden moment, not theirs.
Talk show host Glenn Beck (heard every weekday morning from 9-noon here on WTKS and 10 on Sunday) got Blumenthal on his then-nightly Fox News interview show and comminsed to rake the A-G over the proverbial coals. With laser focus Glenn hammered Blumenthal asking him time and time again what law did these executives break and by what authority was he seeking to seize the money? Blumenthal had no answer and nothing to back it up except saying that was the "taxpayers' money" and the taxpayers deserved to have it back. One of the few times in history a Democrat has actually even pretended to care about how taxpayer money was spent. But Blumenthal was counting on America's lack of economic education and on that point he was spot-on. Beck again asked under what law and legal authority did Blumenthal have to take back money that was legally paid to those executives. Blumenthal stumbled through some legal mumbo-jumbo that made absolutely no sense saying that these men were not entitled to the money because--are you sitting down--they didn't do anything!
What's worse, the paid thugs from ACORN (Barack's ol' buds) and union goons got involved financed from the George Soros crowd and others. "Someone" chartered buses, loaded them up with radical protesters and transported them to the houses of these executives where they proceeded to terrorize them, their wives and children. What did Blumenthal and his confederates do about it? Some police were on hand to make sure things didn't "get out of hand." Beck asked Blumenthal if he'd gone on TV saying this was an outrage--Blum-ming Idiot said he didn't think it appropriate to get involved. Then he went back to the bonuses and stated that these executives might be getting even more money. Glenn again asked if THAT was against the law. Blum-baby said it was, "...against public policy." DO WHAT??? This idiot was the chief law enforcement officer of the state making up this garbage and telling Glenn it "....should have been against the law." Are you kidding? I think Laura and I should be hosting a NATIONAL radio show too--but we're not and Congressman Buddy Carter and our senators are not screaming at the various networks demanding that it happen either. There's no law saying we should and this is supposed to be a country of LAWS.
One other thing about the Blumster--he served in the U. S. Army (God bless him for his service) during the Vietnam era. But when he was campaigning he sort of made it sound like he went there. Like me, he did not...he served in the era not in the country of Vietnam. When challenged by veterans' groups he apologized for the "misunderstanding." He now sits in judgement of a truly decent and honorable man who has been an outstanding federal court judge for about a dozen years. Said judge will no doubt be a superb Supreme Court Justice and he deserves better than to be badgered by cretins like Blumenthal and frankly all the other Democreeps who are looking down their collective noses at this fine gentleman.