While America was following the story of the shoe-tapping Senator, Norman Hsu has been caught pumping cash to America’s Democrats—including the Tennessee Democrat Party.

While the Wall Street Journal was busy researching campaign donations to Hillary in the amount of $45,000 from a modest family in California connected to Norman Hsu, someone else was busy tipping off Roll Call to Senator Larry Craig’s restroom arrest that took place back in June. With Congress out of session and not much in the world of news, Larry Craig’s shoe story seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the larger Norman Hsu story. Cruising for gay sex in a men’s restroom trumps shady campaign donations any day. So will the mainstream press seek to cover the Hsu scandal now that Craig has resigned?

Now that the US Senatorial version of Happy Feet is over, will the media do a full court press on the Norman Hsu story?

Locally, our own Knoxville News Sentinel hasn’t yet picked up on the Hsu money that has flowed to Tennessee. (Sunday’s paper did have nearly a full page worth of coverage over the gender games of a long time radio jock(ette) who’s still got his man-equipment but has the boobies and wigs, too. How enlightening and diverse for our family Sunday paper! And in the local news section, too! How embarrassing for the Sentinel.)

Steve Gill has a good write up over at his website about the Hsu funds. Here’s a brief:

The Tennessee media has apparently not figured it out yet, or maybe they are just covering it up, but some of the money from California fugitive and shady Democratic Party moneyman Norman Hsu has rolled into Tennessee. Hsu, who has been one of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s top fundraisers, entered a guilty plea to felony grand theft in California fifteen years ago after being charged with swindling investors. He reportedly agreed to serve three years in prison as part of his plea, but instead left California for New York, where he became heavily involved in Democratic Party politics.

and this:

According to Federal Election Commission records, Hsu donated $20,000 to the Tennessee Democratic Party in two separate $10,000 contributions dated September 28, 2006 and August 7, 2006.

Hsu also donated to Harold Ford Jr.’s campaign. Visit Gill’s site for links to contributions to Ford including numerous donations from Hsu friends and associates.

So what’s the Tennessee connection? I emailed some national reporters who’ve been working on the larger Hsu story to see if they’ve uncovered anything on Tennessee in their investigations. So far, no leads.

I did some online research to see if I could link any names associated with the Tennessee Democrat Party with Hsu. So far, I’ve come up empty.

But somebody contacted Mr. Hsu. Do we think he just picked out Tennessee on a map? If you check out the FEC records, he didn’t give to all the states, in fact, he mainly contributed to individual candidates. Who at the Tennessee Democrat Party picked up the phone three times in 2006 and solicted contributions from Hsu? Was it then Chairman Bob Tuke? Was it Ford? Who was it?

You can click on the above image to make it larger. I’ll have to research the disclosure laws today. I’m fairly in tune with the state laws, but federal disclosure is not my area of expertise. I don’t know if these are separate donations received by the Tennessee Democrat Party IN ADDITION to those disclosed at the state, or if they are supposed to match. I’ll see what I can find out unless someone with the knowledge would like to post a comment. My assumption is that they are separate, and in that case, 2006 would see the Tennessee Democrats receiving $58,000 from Hsu (38,000 state, 20,000 federal), not to mention the approximately $14,000 received by Ford.

Here’s a couple from the FEC:

and this one:

And why does the aggregate recorded at the FEC only say $10,000 for the September donation? Hsu’s name and address is the same in both.