Political Favoritism.

Source: Dallas Business Journal

Heaven help you if you don't like Bush in this country. Your lines may be tapped, the FBI may show up at your door one fine day, you may be labeled "unpatriotic," you may disappear, and now, you may even lose out on jobs or projects for which you've been waiting.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson certainly thinks this way.

Jackson, a former president and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, was among the featured speakers at a forum sponsored by the Real Estate Executive Council, a national minority real estate consortium.

After discussing the huge strides the agency has made in doing business with minority-owned companies, Jackson closed with a cautionary tale, relaying a conversation he had with a prospective advertising contractor.

"He had made every effort to get a contract with HUD for 10 years," Jackson said of the prospective contractor. "He made a heck of a proposal and was on the (General Services Administration) list, so we selected him. He came to see me and thank me for selecting him. Then he said something... he said, 'I have a problem with your president.'

"I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'I don't like President Bush.' I thought to myself, 'Brother, you have a disconnect -- the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn't be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don't tell the secretary.'

"He didn't get the contract," Jackson continued. "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."

Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University, said canceling a government contract due to political views "is not a door you want to open."

"Whether or not it's legal, it certainly draws your judgment and the judgment of your office into question," Jillson said. "It's just not the tone you want to set."

Really now.

So besides being unable to be open about your feelings in an online forum or out in public without being attacked and told to "love this country or leave it," you have to pretend that you love Bush just to get a job, too?

What the hell is wrong with this country? It's like all the progress we've made since the '60s...all the lessons we learned...everything has been erased from our history, from our brains.

At least some are looking into the situation. The Raw Story reports:

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) called on President Bush to ask for the immediate resignation of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson if a report about government contracts being awarded based on the contractor's opinion of President Bush are accurate, RAW STORY has learned.

Rep. Waxman and Rep. Frank Call for Full Investigation Into HUD Contracting Under Secretary Jackson

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Rep. Barney Frank called for a full investigation of all HUD contracting decisions during the tenure of Secretary Alphonso Jackson. In a letter to Secretary Jackson, they demanded all documents related to the advertising contract discussed in his April 28 speech as well as contracts he was involved with during his time at HUD.

"The Bush Administration has a track record of rewarding its friends and ignoring the rules," said Rep. Waxman, Ranking Member of the House Government Reform Committee. "The government has no right to blatantly withhold contracts simply because an American citizen dislikes the President. This raises new questions about the integrity and judgment of the Bush Administration."

"Politics has no place in the awarding of federal contracts. If the report in the Dallas Business Journal is accurate - and it is a highly respected publication - then President Bush must repudiate these comments, reverse HUD's course and assure the American people that politics plays no role in the government contracting process," said Rep. Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee.

"I simply find these comments to be outrageous and unconstitutional. It troubles me to read that the contract in question would have sailed through the process because it was a good proposal, however, since the person has a particular viewpoint or doesn't like your policies they are denied the ability to do business with the U.S. Government. Mr. President, in the name of our democracy and the confidence the American people have in our government, you must engage and instruct Secretary Jackson to reverse course and leave politics at the door," continued Rep. Frank.

[Update:] Apparently, Jackson is an even bigger jackass than imagined. According to an article from NOLA.com, he wants "only the best residents" at the River Gardens development (a mixed income housing development with apartments being set aside for former St. Thomas residents). Because most St. Thomas residents were either "wannabe gangstas" or people who took in "wannabe gangstas". Now normally, I'd understand the "we only want people who pay their rent on time" part, but in these times--especially in the South--you know what "only the best residents" translates into.

Wow, man...I think most African-Americans would find that you're a damn sell-out, just like Condi.

Tags: [U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson], [Alphonso Jackson], [Real Estate Executive Council], [General Services Administration], ["Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president?"], [Cal Jillson], [Southern Methodist University], [canceling a government contract due to political views "is not a door you want to open"], [HUD secretary refuses to award man with contract based on political views], [Sen. Frank Lautenberg], [Rep. Henry A. Waxman], [Rep. Barney Frank], [Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Rep. Barney Frank called for a full investigation of all HUD contracting decisions during the tenure of Secretary Alphonso Jackson], [Sen. Frank Lautenberg called on President Bush to ask for the immediate resignation of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson if a report about government contracts being awarded based on the contractor's opinion of President Bush are accurate], [House Government Reform Committee], [Bush Administration], [House Financial Services Committee]