Does anybody know this Clown???

[Warph]

Rahm Israel Emanuel (born November 29, 1959) was a lousy U.S. congressman, now Barack Obama's main bully, White House Chief of Staff, the inspiration for a West Wing character, and a huge, huge back-stabing Clown.

Emanuel's clownishness in Washington has been widely reported not only by those who dislike him, and believe me, most do, but also by those who actually consider themselves to be his friends and allies, which cannot be more than three or four idiot savants...  (Elmer Fudd, Chuckie Schumer, Chris Dodo and Pinocchio Joe come to mind).  This is likely because clowns are entertaining and helpful people to be around so long as they are being clowns to somebody who isn't you.  This is best summarized by the phrase, "He might be a Clown, but he's OUR Clown."

The most common phrases used by fellow Democrats to describe Rahm Emanuel are "combative style," "take-no-prisoners attitude," and "attack dog."  All of these, of course, are euphemisms for "Rahm-Bo, the White House Clown!."


Growing up Rahm-bo
Rahm Emanuel (aka: Rahm-bo, "רם עמנואל," Evil-Eye Fleegle) was born in Illinois, although, to look at him you would swear he came out of Dogpatch, USA.  His first name means "high" or "lofty" in Hebrew, but in Dogpatch-ese it means Guttersnipe, which made it almost impossible for him not to grow up to be an egotistical back-stabing Clown.

Rahm-bo's mother, Mammy Emanuel, was a civil rights activist and his father, Pappy, was a Jerusalem-born member of a militant Zionist group that operated during the British Mandate of Palestine.  You can see how young Rahm-bo might've grown up to be a tad aggressive.  Also fueling the fire was an incident in which Rahm-bo severely sliced his right middle finger while working at an Arby's, resulting in the digit's partial amputation.  The most painful part of that experience, which still haunts him to this day, was working at Arby's.

Rahm-bo's brother Ari (aka:: EarthQuake McGoon) Emanuel is a big shot Los Angeles talent agent who inspired the clownish Ari Gold character on HBO's Entourage, giving Jeremy Piven enough fame to pick-up 20 year-old models despite his obvious hair plugs.  Not to be outdone by his little bro, Rahm-bo himself was the inspiration for the clownish Josh Lyman character on The West Wing, played by Bradley Whitford.  With the amazing ability of the Emanuel Dogpatch family to inspire cultural clown icons, it would not be surprising to learn that Rahm-bo's older brother, Ezekiel inspired the Keith Olberclown character on MSNBC's Countdown w/ K Olberclown.  Unfortunately, Zeke's just a totally lame oncologist and bioethicist.


Rahm-bo: The college years
Seemingly defying all clown conventions, Rahm-bo studied ballet in high school... (sounds like a weenie to me).... and was even offered a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet.  Then again, if you think about it, ballet dancers are actually kind of clownish in their own way.  After pirouetting away from a career in the world of classical dance, Rahm-bo found a second position at Sarah Lawrence College, where he détournéd himself a bachelor's degree in 1981.  He then pliéd his way to a master's degree in Speech and Communication from Northwestern in 1985.

One of Rahm-bo's first jobs in politics was campaigning for Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's reelection, where he raised a record number of donations.  His strategy reportedly included calling campaign contributors to say he found their offers so low it was embarrassing, then hanging up on them, shaming them into calling back and contributing more.  People started noticing that Rahm-bo was not just clownish, he was clownish like a fox.

Rahm-bo's first job in national politics was working for Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign, where he helped the little-known saxophone-playing non-inhaler raise a then-staggering amount of $72 million.  After financing Clinton's ride into the White House, Rahm-bo became his senior advisor where his aforementioned "take-no-prisoners attitude," and "combative style" earned him the nickname "Rahm-bo."


The nominees for Best Rahm-bo Moment from Emanuel's stint in the Clinton administration are:
• The time Rahm-bo mailed a rotten fish to a former coworker who made him angry.
• The time Rahm-bo told then-British prime minister Tony Blair, "This is important. Don't (using the F word) it up," before Blair made an appearance with Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
• The time Rahm-bo stood up at a campaign '96 victory dinner and began screaming out a list of Clinton betrayers, stabbing a steak knife into his table and shouting, "Dead! ... Dead! ... Dead!" after each name.

As everyone knows, there's no money in government jobs, but there's a whole clownload of money in the private sector after you've served in a government job.  That's why Rahm-bo left the White House in 1998 to become an investment banker, promptly making $16.2 million in just two years.  (I wonder how many dead bodies that took to put that kind of money together).

After lining his clown coffers with cash, in 2000 Rahm-bo was named to the Board of Directors of government-run mortgage lender "Freddie Mac" by his old friend Bill Clinton.   Rahm-bo's short time on the board resulted in several campaign contribution scandals, and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight accused him and the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention."  In 2001, after resigning from Freddie Mac in SHAME, (hmmm.... that sounds familiar) Rahm-bo sought out the only type of employment suitable for a millionaire clown of questionable integrity: He ran for congress.


Rahm-bo II: Return to Washington
In 2002, Rahm-bo won or bought (nobody knows for sure) a U.S. House seat in the 5th District of Illinois and immediately started being a clown by supporting the Joint Congressional Resolution authorizing the Iraq War.  In case there was any question of his clownishness, Rahm-bo further explained that he supported President Bush on Iraq.

He put another feather in his pointy clown cap when he was named Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman and lead the party to gain 30 House seats in the 2006 elections, capturing the majority for the first time in years.  This victory was not without any clownish drama, however.  Rahm-bo frequently disagreed with DNC Chairman and fellow big-fat-mouth clown, Howard Dean about Dean's "50 state" strategy versus Rahm-bo's strategy of focusing attention on key districts.  Tales of the epic clash between these two miserble clown Titans will no doubt be passed down for generations to come.

Still close to the Clintons, Rahm-bo declared in April 2006 that he would support Hillary Clinton should she pursue the presidency in 2008.  However, when he realized Barack Obama had a much better chance of winning, Rahm-bo dropped the Clintons like they were ballet and joined Team Obama instead.  If Hillary was at all surprised by this, she knows even less about "stab-U-in -the-back" type clowns than Bill says she does.

Rahm-bo's strategic betrayal worked out perfectly, and on November 6, 2008, he accepted the position of President-elect Obama's White House Chief of Staff.  Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner criticized the choice, saying, "This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil and govern from the center."  What he actually meant by that was, "Really, you're gonna make me deal with that SOB clown for the next four years??"


Rahm-bo fun facts
• In his free time, Rahm-bo competes in triathlons, a common endeavor for over-achieving clown jocks who still feel the need to prove themselves despite their long list of accomplishments.
• Because clowns stick together, Rahm-bo was the top House recipient in the 2008 election cycle of contributions from hedge funds and private equity firms.
• When Dick Cheney claimed his own office did not fall within the bounds of the executive branch, Rahm-bo suggested cutting off the $4.8 million the executive branch provides for the Vice President's office.  Cheney must've have admired that move on some level.
• Rahm-bo was so intent on passing Congress's $700 billion bailout bill that he got a special waiver from his rabbi to work through Rosh Hashanah.  It is not known if he has a special rabbinical waiver to be such a huge insufferable clown all the time, like the king of all the clowns, Harry Reid. 

"You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."
---Rahm-bo Israel Emanuel

[Anmar]

I'm not a fan of Rahmbo either, but this is the politics forum, so maybe we should stick to the issues istead of talking about what class someone took in high school.

A few months ago, Colin Powell made some comments about the direction of political discourse in this country.  We've gone from intelligent discussions of issues to this garbage posted above, and it comes from all sides, Olberman, Hannity, Maddow, and Limbaugh.

[Teresa]

ahhhhhhhhh.. I l listen to Hannity and Limbaugh..who I personally think gives us the truth..instead of all the other Liberal namby pamby BS that is everywhere else. 

[Anmar]

lol, Limbaugh and Hannity are entertainers, not journalists.  They are bought and paid for just the same as all the rest of em

[redcliffsw]

Liberals can learn more truths by listening to Limbaugh but there comes a time to move-on
because Rush teaches "conservative republicanism" which really is not conservative in my
opinion.  Besides Rush probably has a good American heritage and some of his past statements
mean that his is opposing his early American ancestors.   

[ELK@KC]

WARPH, our group here thinks this is a good post. Teresa, we agree with you 100%, in fact Hannity does a super job and is well respected for it.. It is expected that the Liberal Left is not going to agree, we don't let that bother us. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even when we think they are totally wrong.

[Anmar]

Maybe all of you missed that several of the organizations that Hannity and others were advertising for (conservative and liberal) were indicted for fraud.

[ELK@KC]

Maybe all of you missed that several of the organizations that Hannity and others were advertising for (conservative and liberal) were indicted for fraud.

No I didn't miss that but if that makes them guilty of something that you think they should be punished for then I guess you think OBAMA should be punished or penalized for the people that he has picked that turned out to have problems with not paying their taxes and other shady dealings. If ABC, NBC or one of the networks does advertising for a company that the officials get indicted for, does that mean the Network is bad. I think your comparison is way off base, and I still think FOX NEWS is the most honest and thorough in their reporting and millions of other viewers obviously agree, as they have a big following. Each to his own opinion.

[Teresa]

Well......... Barack Obama has put my money where his Cabinet is with the news that his newly minted Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, has possibly been evading taxes on his home for years..
How could he do it?
Easy!
He created a sketchy charity in 2002, named it after him and his wife, set its address as his personal residence, and voila, taxes could be gone.

According to the Cook County Assessor's website, the Chicago home of four-term Democrat Congressman and likely new White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, doesn't exist. While the address of 4228 North Hermitage is listed as Emanuel's residence on the Illinois State Board of Elections' website, there seems to be no public record of Emanuel ever paying property taxes on this home...

Why would 4228 North Hermitage property owners Rahm Emanuel and wife Amy Rule not pay property taxes?

One reason could be because Emanuel and Rule declared their 4228 North Hermitage home as the office location for their non-profit foundation appropriately called the "Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule Charitable Foundation".
As a non-profit headquarters, they may consider their home as exempt from paying taxes.

Skeptical? You shouldn't be! After six years, the "Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule Charitable Foundation" has had only two donors.
Can you guess who?
The Rahm Emanuel and Amy Rule Charitable Trust was formed in 2002, when the Chicago lawmaker was first elected. The former Clinton White House aide and his wife, Amy Rule, are its only donors.

USA Today has a great article about Rahm and other Dems, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who are illegally operating charities under their own names while failing to report that information.

America should be proud! They have just elected another corrupt politician who surrounds himself with corrupt supporters. "Yes we can" steal from the government and those we represent

[Anmar]

Rahm Emanual wasn't the first to do it.  He learned the tactic from the Clintons and their foundation.  It's one of the biggest tax loopholes in the code and nearly EVERY rich person, republican, democrat, it doesnt matter takes advantage of it.  You set up a corporation or foundaition of some sort, and transfer any income you get to the corporation.  When you need a new car, or a house, or clothes or any sort of living expenses, the coporation pays.  The corporate tax rate is much lower than the income tax rate and these purchases can all be written off.  It's one of the oldest tricks in the book.

The difference between our politicians is only which team they play for.  The fact remains that they are all playing the game called "ripping off the american people."  Obama is taking from us to give to the people who voted for him, Bush ripped us off to give to the businesses that supported him and his friends.  And here we are sitting around like a bunch of fools taking shots at democrats, acting like the republican politicians are incorruptable angels.  Obama speaks in a certain way to appeal to certain people.  Guess what, it's not you.  Limbaugh, and others speak in a different way to appeal to a different group of people, thats you.  They are both crooks.