Rep. Doolittle: A Devoted Friend of Sex Slavery
Rep. Doolittle: A Devoted Friend of Sex Slavery
The Northern Marianas are the site of America’s most shoddy labor practices. Human “brokers” bring thousands there to work as sex slaves and in cramped sweatshop garment factories where clothes (complete with “Made in U.S.A.” tag) have been produced for all the major brands.
The workers are “paid barely half the U.S. minimum hourly wage,” and are “forced to live behind barbed wire in squalid shacks minus plumbing, work 12 hours a day, often seven days a week, without any of the legal protections U.S. workers are guaranteed.”
Thanks to Jack Abramoff, who lobbied against better worker protections, that’s the way conditions stayed. But Abramoff couldn’t do his work alone. McClatchy reported this weekend:
Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) helped Jack Abramoff secure a lucrative lobbying contract with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1999 and then assisted the now-disgraced lobbyist’s efforts to route federal money to the islands and defend its garment industry, newly obtained documents show.
The California Republican accepted $14,000 in contributions from Abramoff… The first contribution came just a few weeks before Doolittle endorsed the election of a key commonwealth politician crucial to Abramoff winning the contract. The last Abramoff contribution came as the Northern Marianas lobbying contract was expiring in December 2001.
Doolittle’s excuse: he had “traveled to the Northern Marianas in 1999 on a congressional trip and saw none of the abuses or ‘reported inhumane working conditions.’” Which obviously means they weren’t happening.
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47 Responses to “Rep. Doolittle: A Devoted Friend of Sex Slavery”
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Yeah and I’m little riding hood. so when is the repukes smutt going to end?
August 7th, 2006 at 5:44 pmhe was paid NOT to see the abuse…..that’s kinda obvious
August 7th, 2006 at 5:45 pmI honestly don’t know how any of these filthy, greedy pigs lives with himself. I just don’t.
August 7th, 2006 at 5:50 pmNo wonder we have so many racist problems in this country. I guess all those who died for civil rights and to free the slave was done in vain. We need to know all those who hang on to the horror of our past. Now it’s understandable why Tony Snow can get away with his racist remarks. I fear some of our elected official will try to bring slavery back to full form. No wonder our troops are taught to kill and hate the teachers are our own government. To think Mel Gibson’s comment got such an out cry as our leaders are bringing back our past. What happen and were did we go wrong. We can such a good job and being a role model for equality and democracy only to have it vanish by the Bush Administration. I guess Katrina was no accident after all as the victims were left to die on purpose. Satan is running our government we need God back.
August 7th, 2006 at 5:51 pmI wonder if Rep. Doolittle (r) CA has ever been on a “fact finding trip” to the Marianias?
August 7th, 2006 at 5:56 pmDon’t get me wrong: I think Rep. Doolittle (What an appropriate name!) is Corrupt and paid to turn a blind eye to that situation, but IMO, “A Devoted Friend of Sex Slavery” might be just a little over the top.
Just a thought.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:00 pmAnd, speaking of Tom DeLay in the previous thread, let’s not forget HIS role in all of this. Delay promised someone (I believe one of the sweatshop owners, but I could be wrong about that) that the proposed bill demanding that US Labor Laws apply to the Northern Marianas Islands would never see the light of day because he, Tom DeLay, was in charge of scheduling floor votes, and that bill was never going to get a vote on the floor (according to DeLay.) I don’t know if it ever did. I would be surprised if it did because I don’t see how anyone with a conscience could vote against it. Oh, yeah, I forgot. Never mind.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:00 pmbut it makes for a great headline.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:01 pmWaiting for dipshit “I hate Liberals” to chime in at any moment. Lets see how he spins this one folks….
August 7th, 2006 at 6:03 pmIMO, just ignore “I hate Liberalsâ€. At least he’s up front in his paranoia, which is convienent as one doesn’t have to waste time deciding whether he’s one that can have a conversation with…
August 7th, 2006 at 6:08 pmThe Republican party has messed with all or our minds long enough. What has set decent reasonable people back on their heels for 5 years is the fact that they are decent and reasonable. The Repugnant party has simply been wiling to use the decency and good will as an opening to do their dirty work. But we’ve caught up. The man in the photo of this post looks like a human snapping turtle, without the human. It is time to bring back the grownups and claim our future. Our mistake has been to see these people as reasonable. They are not. Our future is not going to be the low class future that the Republican party would have for us - all of us outside the top 1% that is. Why? Because we are better than that ulitmately. And that is the truth.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:10 pmThink of how bad things would be with those horrible secular humanists running things.
Comment by Bluedog49 — August 7, 2006 @ 6:08 pm
You mean those of us condemned to Hell for not believing? :)
Only religion could get people to believe that words speak louder than actions…
August 7th, 2006 at 6:11 pmWatch out Doolittle, this is how they got the Tsar(czar?).
August 7th, 2006 at 6:17 pm#6, Maybe, but here’s a quote that is pertinent…
Doolittle said Friday that his support for the Northern Marianas hasn’t waned.
“They are the territory that is actually self-sufficient and hard working,” he said. “Some of the others are just welfare states. … Big labor should lay off them and the Democrats should quit trying to kill them off because they don’t fit their particular agenda.”
August 7th, 2006 at 6:17 pmIf self sufficient and hard working means slave labor, then maybe the quote is very accurate…
Don’t get me wrong: I think Rep. Doolittle (What an appropriate name!) is Corrupt and paid to turn a blind eye to that situation, but IMO, “A Devoted Friend of Sex Slavery†might be just a little over the top.
Just a thought.
Comment by S.D. — August 7, 2006 @ 6:00 pm
S.D. — there is a bill in the House that would raise the labor standards in the Marianas. It’s co-sponsored by over 200 members, so its passage is virtually guaranteed. Doolittle and Tom DeLay were among the few who blocked it from even coming to a vote. There’s no secret about what’s happening on these islands. Yes, the headline is dramatic, but Doolittle’s efforts to keep these people in such horrid conditions are also dramatic.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:21 pmWant some more on this guy?
August 7th, 2006 at 6:22 pmDoolittle has also come under fire for an earmark he secured for the company PerfectWave Technologies, owned by alleged co-conspirator with jailed former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) Brent Wilkes. Doolittle “told The Washington Post that he helped steer defense funding, totaling $37 million, to a California company, whose officials and lobbyists helped raise at least $85,000 for Doolittle and his leadership political action committee from 2002 to 2005
Doolittle has stated that Wilkes was a close friend and stated that he hopes the charges against him are proven false.
Doolittle was intorduced to Wilkes by former Tom DeLay chief of staff Ed Buckham, who is currently under investigation in connection to the Jack Abramoff scandal
I have never been to the Marianas, sounds like a tourist attraction for the likes of Rush Viagra Limpmember. Its about the money, the cheap labor means more for the owners, and guys like Dolittle are more of the same. Actually this is boring. The headline is over the top and gives the trolls ammo.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:24 pmThe entire system is corrupted by corporate money, this is just another microcosmic example. Next.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:25 pmHow are “progressives” and liberals any better since they are supporting the creation of detention camps for Americans in America? Read Homeland Security Contracts for Vast New Detention Camps at http://news.pacificnews.org/ news/ view_article.html?article_id=eed74d9d44c30493706fe03f4c9b3a77#
August 7th, 2006 at 6:26 pmA representative government of the people you say? Doolittle diddled while the do nothing congress was bought by big business. Hasn’t been one iota of legislation passed for the common good of the American taxpayer…but, don’t worry for the professional politician…he’ll get by.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:28 pmWhat’s interesting is the story that Alberto Gonzales and the “boys” at Justice may not pursue criminal charges against these criminals until after the elections, so as not to “influence” the outcome of the elections. Pardon my French but if there is someone who may be a criminal, who is running for public office, I’d like to know about it BEFORE I make him a Congressman or Senator from my state. INFORMED voters make better decisions.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:28 pmJust look at that guy. Does he not look like he should be the bad guy on Law and Order SVU?
August 7th, 2006 at 6:36 pmS.D. — there is a bill in the House that would raise the labor standards in the Marianas. It’s co-sponsored by over 200 members, so its passage is virtually guaranteed. Doolittle and Tom DeLay were among the few who blocked it from even coming to a vote. There’s no secret about what’s happening on these islands. Yes, the headline is dramatic, but Doolittle’s efforts to keep these people in such horrid conditions are also dramatic.
Comment by Nico —
Nico,
August 7th, 2006 at 6:49 pmWill it “ever see the light of day”?
And to think that this same political party impeached Bill Clinton for a couple sloppy blowjobs.
August 7th, 2006 at 6:50 pmI thought the same thing when I read that, Bones!
August 7th, 2006 at 6:51 pmAnd since when does the Judiciary NOT do their jobs to aid someone’s election?
That’s ridiculous!
#6 - “A Devoted Friend of Sex Slavery†might be just a little over the top.” - -
Comment by S. D
******You think????? Remember, NOTHING is “over the top” here at Think Progress if it helps bring down Republicans….
August 7th, 2006 at 7:01 pmif there is someone who may be a criminal, who is running for public office, I’d like to know about it BEFORE I make him a Congressman or Senator from my state. INFORMED voters make better decisions. Comment by bones
“I am entirely persuaded that the agitations of the public mind advance its powers, and that at every vibration between the points of liberty and despotism, something will be gained for the former. As men become better informed, their rulers must respect them the more.” –Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Cooper, 1802. ME 10:341
August 7th, 2006 at 7:02 pm#11 - “Think of how bad things would be with those horrible secular humanists running things.” - Comment by Bluedog49
*****Not all “religious” people are moral or credible - but when I think of the secular humanists, i joke that “the devil is in the details”…Secular humanists are not per se immoral, but I find them “unfortunate”….
August 7th, 2006 at 7:06 pmWho the hell is JT?
August 7th, 2006 at 7:24 pmNot over the top at all. These hypocritical bible beaters lie cheat and steal. I am sick of all of them.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:34 pmNot over the top at all. These hypocritical bible beaters lie cheat and steal. I am sick of all of them.
Comment by Yankeluh — August 7, 2006 @ 7:34 pm
Me, too. Let’s start an insurgency.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:43 pmSo Doolittle approves of outsourcing slavery. He looks at the label in his clothes which read “made in the USA” and thinks his clothes are made within the 50 States. Naw… can’t be…
Just can’t trust those Republicans to do the right thing.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:47 pmWith guys like this Capitolism flurishes. Labor is his slave.
August 7th, 2006 at 7:52 pmIs he a shareholder? Do the gals work for him? Were his tips free?
Ain’t it nice to have represenatives like him?
America moves foward?
Don’t forget Richard Pombo’s role in all this worker exploitation, prostitution, and forced abortions. If you live in his district, please work hard for Jerry McNerney to replace him.
August 7th, 2006 at 8:18 pmCaption Contest:
I’m thinking about God. No, really, I am…
August 7th, 2006 at 9:31 pmwhat is the GOP character that makes every one of its member a sleeze ball and criminal? Yet they are shameless enough to talk about family values.
August 7th, 2006 at 9:54 pmAnd as it turns out… Dolittle’s good friend, Rep. John Sweeney, R-NY-20, went to the Mariana’s (on a trip that doesn’t seem to have been reported) in January 2001 to lobby the Mariana’s on behalf of his good friend lobbyist Jack Abramoff…
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/7/28/2164/54076
Sweeney 1st trip to CNMI
http://www.saipantribune.com/ archives/ newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=11223&issID=552&archdte=1/ 8/ 2001%2012:00:00%20AM
Fly Over for Sweeney and CNMI Gov
http://www.saipantribune.com/ archives/ newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=11311&issID=556&archdte=1/ 12/ 2001%2012:00:00%20AM
Sweeney urges lobbying by CNMI
http://www.saipantribune.com/ archives/ newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=11337&issID=557&archdte=1/ 15/ 2001%2012:00:00%20AM
GREENBERG TRAURIG HOFFMAN LIPOFF ROSEN
1221 BRICKELL AVENUE
MIAMI, Florida 33121
03/13/2001 1000.00 1000.00
Reliant Energy PAC
P.O. box 4567
Houston, Texas 77210
03/22/2001 500.00 500.00
Greenberg Traurig Contribution to Sweeney: 4/6/01 - $1,000
http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?21990105504
Sweeney and Doolittle:
http://www.saipantribune.com/ archives/ newsstorysearch.aspx?cat=1&newsID=12890&issID=617&archdte=4/ 9/ 2001%2012:00:00%20AM
“The speaker’s schedule also included meetings with two members of the important House Appropriations Committee, Representatives John Doolittle (R-CA) and John Sweeney (R-NY)”
Edward C. Wallace
200 Park Ave
New york, New York 10166 Greenberg Traurig 05/07/2001 500.00
Shareholder 500.00
Fitial meets with US Leaders
http://www.saipantribune.com/ archives/ newsstoryarch.aspx?newsID=12856&cat=1&archdte=4/ 6/ 2001%2012:00:00%20AM
Doolittle writes Dear Colleague letter for CNMI garment industry
August 7th, 2006 at 9:56 pmhttp://www.saipantribune.com/ archives/ newsstoryarch.aspx?newsID=13317&cat=1&archdte=5-1-2001
Rep. Doolittle must either be voted out in November, or forced to resign in total shame!
August 8th, 2006 at 12:37 amGee, he doesn’t LOOK like a pervert, does he?
Pass the KY.
August 8th, 2006 at 12:57 amVisit Dump Doolittle for the latest on his re-election bid.
Dump Doolittle
August 8th, 2006 at 12:59 amDoolittle must either be voted out in November, or forced to resign in total shame!
August 8th, 2006 at 3:37 amHey mumnuts,
Stopping the GOP terms for discribing Jack Abramoff.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Abramoff is a convicted felon. Abramoff is not a disgraced lobbyist.
Stop this disgraced lobbyist crap. No lobbyist has ever been given grace, or has grace, or or ever shown grace. You must have grace before you can be dis-graced.
August 8th, 2006 at 7:38 am[…] many times means Made in a Sweatshop […]
August 8th, 2006 at 10:48 am[…] Think Progress […]
August 8th, 2006 at 5:34 pmmaybe didnt see any of the alleged prostitution because they were all busy with Bill Clinton at the time?!?!?!
“trip and saw none of the abuses or ‘reported inhumane working conditions.’†Which obviously means they weren’t happening.” — banish the thought that someone other than a lefty could say something that was true..omg!
August 8th, 2006 at 6:38 pm#6 Are you a troll? Of course he is a devoted friend of sex slavery, just like Delay and Burns he has fought against labor reform in the Marianas. You know, these assholes are forcing women into prostitution and then mandatory abortions. Yeah, over the top. Get educated. Stop following the MA party line.
August 9th, 2006 at 12:06 amMinimum wage laws are bad for workers. The Northern Mariana Islands should not have minimum wage because that will reduce jobs and cause poverty for the people of the island.
January 11th, 2007 at 2:54 pm