Correntewire: $450 million slush fund for Bush from Canadian lumber deal, just in time for the mid-terms

Submitted by lambert on Wed, 2006-08-30 00:44.

Yes, it seems that Bush has indeed wangled himself and Unka Karl $450 million smackeroos in a slush fund they can get their paws on right now and do anything they want with. Surprise! The story has a lot of detail, but the bottom line is simple: The terms of the Softwood Lumber Agreement with Canada will give Bush complete control of an escrow account with $450 million in it, controlled by a board that Bush appoints, and which can be used for any purpose whatever, with no Congressional oversight.

Hats off to the Kossacks for frontpaging this story, which I’m going to analyze below. (The cocktail weenie-scarfing SCLM, of course, has missed the story completely.) Is the story “interesting, if true”? Let’s see.