FOLLOW THE MONEY
The Surprising Story of People on the Take from China
“From the White House to Capitol Hill, from the diplomatic corps to the national security establishment to the executive suites of Wall Street and Silicon Valley, American elites have sold the rope that will hang us to Beijing.”
― Peter Schweizer, Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win
Sleazy Deals in Public
We’ve all heard about Hunter Biden’s underhanded deals with Ukraine and China with strong evidence that ALL the Bidens are involved. Occasionally, the press reports on one-off deals that people have made with China, or suspect relationships, like the one Eric Swalwell had with a Chinese spy.
Until now, I thought this was a rare occurrence. But at the same time, don’t you ever wonder how almost every politician enters office only moderately successful, but leaves a multi-millionaire? Although the pay is pretty decent by regular-people standards, you aren’t going to get rich on it, particularly as the stock market isn’t all that reliable.
I bet it isn’t something that you think about much, and I didn’t either, until I read Peter Schweizer’s book, “Red-Handed – How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win.” I had read “Clinton Cash” previously, so when this new book came out, I grabbed it. Conservative writers are often criticized for twisting data and coming down on the Left. This book was an eye-opener in telling us what we didn’t know and having the data to prove it.
Red-Handed
The literal meaning of this word implies someone getting caught, but except for this book, no one is “getting caught” or being punished. What you learn is that both Left and Right have been enriching themselves through deals with China, dating back quite far. Some dealt with Mao, others now with Xi. But what they are doing is only in their own interest; every one of these people is committing treason in my opinion.
Schweizer begins with politicians, naming names and citing data. The Biden family is dealt with in detail, of course, but he moves on to how Diane Feinstein got rich. Her husband did a lot of deals with China while DiFi acted as apologist. She worked hard to get China Favored Nation Status. If you check the history, she began negative, but warmed as deals rolled in. And like many, she blocked all attempts to understand the true origins of Covid.
Mitch McConnell is named as well, with connections between Chinese leaders and his wife paying off well for both of them. John Boehner also did a lot of favors for the Chinese, helping him acquire wealth. Lobbyists seek out those who wish to enrich themselves through political service, and sadly, it is very easy to tempt them. Many politicians conspire with the lobbyists to protect Huawei, TikTok and the Belt and Road initiatives.
You may cite quotes where these people have damned the CCP for certain things, but note that China has always had the motto:
“Big help, little badmouth.”
Schweizer moves on to Silicon Valley. These leaders need the rare earths China monopolizes, but even more, they want the billion customers. So, they will deal with the enemy. Bill Gates leads the pack with his assistance in censoring content China didn’t like and outsourcing a ton of jobs. During Covid, he was a leader in talking about alternative theories for Covid (aside from the most likely – the lab leak). After Sergei Brin left, Google started getting tight with China, to its company’s benefit.
Cisco, Facebook, Twitter and even Elon Musk have been willing to do things for China that are not in America’s best interest for their own gain. Peter ***Thiel, often a thorn in people’s sides in the Valley, tried to warn people of the costs of caving to China, but he was ignored.
The financial sector is also a player. Do you invest with BlackRock? Aside from their slavish devotion to ESG investing, which is NOT in your interest, they have had a lot of financing from China. Larry Fink is pretty open about it, without anyone being concerned. Why?
Former political stars also have blame for their too-cozy relationships with China which stood to enrich them. Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, the Bush family and Justin Trudeau. Universities love Chinese money and are willing to propagandize for them in exchange for wealth. As we have seen, sports figures are out their standing up for China’s demands.
What Should Be Done
Rules and laws should be applied consistently and often. There are laws against bedding down with China and even Congress has sets of rules. And yet, since so many are doing it, they don’t enforce them. Yes, we might have to get a lot of new leaders in place after the ones who are doing this are thrown out of office and/or imprisoned, but it would be worth it. Send a powerful wake-up call to everyone that this is not how you get rich. When rewards are great and penalties small, why wouldn’t people take advantage? Unless, of course, they were moral.
And take your kids out of the universities doing this indoctrination. More will rise up to take their place and by ignoring the big ones who take Chinese money, your kids will likely benefit with less debt.
