I was reading this article in today’s NYT, In Obama’s Pursuit of Latinos, Race Plays Role, and found it rather predictable.

Here we have Obama, pandering as politicians do, and finding what has been happening for years in the area of identity politics,

Mr. Obama confronts a history of often uneasy and competitive relations between blacks and Hispanics, particularly as they have jockeyed for influence in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Bill Richardson, who is Hispanic (and allow me to use the term for the sake of expediency, because as I have mentioned before, there is no such thing as a “Hispanic” vote), is playing his cards close to the chest,

He said he might endorse a candidate before Feb. 5, an endorsement that would clearly influence some Hispanics.

But the article had an interesting bit of information: Hillary’s going around with Antonio Villaraigosa, Bob Menendez and Henry Cisneros.

Villaraigosa became infamous for his affair with Mirthala Salinas, which according to Wikipedia (take that with a grain of salt)

In July 2007, some noted that Salinas’ parent employer, NBC Universal, which is conducting a review of her reporting on the mayor in light of the news of the affair, is also currently campaigning with the city of Los Angeles for approval of a $3 billion, 20-year development plan for which they will need Villaraigosa’s assistance. Some have called this a conflict of interest, but Villaraigosa said that he saw nothing wrong with the situation.

More on Villaraigosa here

Hillary also brings along NJ Senator Bob Menendez (who is Cuban), also the subject of a Federal investigation on the rental of space to a Union City nonprofit agency between 1993 to 2003 at below-market rates while providing senatorial pork to said agency, and also of his dealings with his close friend and associate Donald Scarinci, and an FBI informant.

This being New Jersey, all this brings The Sopranos to mind, and here’s a campaign ad:

Of course, Menendez got reelected. It’s New Jersey, after all.

But Cisneros is a whole different story:

On her first trip after her victory in New Hampshire, Mrs. Clinton flew here, where she was escorted on a tour by prominent Hispanic leaders, including Henry G. Cisneros, a former secretary of housing and urban development, on the “Juntos con Hillary, Una Vida Mejor” tour or “Together With Hillary, a Better Life.”

Cisneros, Bill’s former Housing and Urban Develompent Secretary, was indicted by a federal grand jury with 18 counts of obstructing or attempting to obstruct justice, making false statements and concealing information from the FBI, involving $250,000 in payments made to his mistress.

A true Clintonite, Henry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of lying to the F.B.I., even when

Ms. Jones, once known by her married name, Linda Medlar, secretly tape-recorded 88 telephone conversations with Mr. Cisneros, who is heard acknowledging that the actual figure was closer to $250,000 and that he had not been honest with investigators about the payments.

His mistress didn’t fare as well and ended up in the clink on charges brought in a bank fraud case related to the money she received from Henry. Bill pardoned Henry in 2001, along with Marc Rich and a bunch of others.

Henry’s not the only criminal supporting Hillary. This morning after I was back from an appointment, I came across Ed Morrissey’s post, Mauricio Celis: Hillary Backer, Drug Dealer?

Now the state of Texas has a new investigation of Celis which includes money laundering and suspected involvement in Mexican drug cartels.
…
Celis is a fairly heavy hitter in Texas Democrat circles. How important is Celis? In the last three cycles, Celis donated over $110,000 to Democrats. Donations went to John Edwards, Claire McCaskill, Ken and John Salazar, and especially the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the DNC, the latter two of which accounts for almost half of those donations. Hillary Clinton received a maximum donation of $2300 from Celis in March, presumably for her primary fund

Ed has been posting about Celis since last year when Celis was indicted on charges of falsely holding himself out as a lawyer and impersonating a public servant. At that time Celis chased after a naked woman in a convenience store. He was wearing a bathrobe and managed to flash a fake deputy’s badge (to the intense relief of those present at the store who I am sure didn’t want anything else flashed). Of course, compared to Norman Hsu and the Fujian Chinese fundraising scandal, Celis is very small potatoes. And he’s not on the podium with Hillary.

When WND said years ago that Cisneros was plotting a return to politics I thought it was most unlikely. As you can see, he’s back.

Give it time, so will Celis, bathrobe and all, on the podium next to Henry and Hillary.

UPDATE
Don’t miss also John Edwards’s terrorist connections.
Hillary, Obama, Hispanics, And The Lost Pander

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