Was Obama Ignorant About Channeling Earmarks To His Family? Of Course Not…

It seems when Barack Obama served in the Illinois State Senate, not only did he use earmarks, but he also used them to funnel money to his own family:

Obama facilitated two grants that put state money in the hands of Michelle Obama’s cousin; Capers Funnye. Funnye received $75,000 from Obama for his organization, Blue Gargoyle, for adult literacy and youth group activities:

As a state senator, Democrat Barack Obama awarded $75,000 in government grants to a Chicago social service organization led by a rabbi who is also his wife’s cousin, records show.

In 1999, Obama arranged for $50,000 for adult literacy and counseling services offered on Chicago’s South Side by a group called Blue Gargoyle. A $25,000 grant for the group’s youth services followed the next year.

The group’s executive director when the grants were awarded was Capers Funnye, a South Side rabbi and Michelle Obama’s first cousin once removed.

Funnye (pronounced fun-NAY) said Monday there was nothing improper about the way Blue Gargoyle obtained the grants. Obama did not encourage him to apply for the money, he said, and Funnye denied using family connections to pressure Obama to approve the application.

As is commonplace in Obamaland, Obama is portrayed as being innocent in all of this. Ed Morrissey provides the following analysis:

So Obama had no idea that his wife’s cousin ran this group when he earmarked the money? That seems very, very difficult to believe. Funnye had to apply for the grants, and his name would have been on the application. Just the act of filing that application with Obama makes it clear that he sought favors from Obama, specifically Obama, and that Obama granted them.

Funnye claims that the earmarks (called “member initiatives” in Illinois) met legislative guidelines, but none existed during that period for earmarks. Legislators could spend taxpayer money without restriction and used the system to reward constituencies — and cronies. The governor wanted a major public-works bill passed, and in order to get that, made hundreds of millions of dollars available for politicians like Obama to spread around. In other words, the governor (Republican Jim Edgar at that time) paid off the legislature with earmarks that strengthened their political standing in their districts.

Posted by PUMA Pundit

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