Sep.20

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This Week in Schadenfreude: The Mask Comes Off (Even More)

It seems to us, from where we are sitting, that would-be Wisconsin U.S. Senator Eric Hovde (R) is not a good guy. He's a carpetbagger who really lives in California, of course. But beyond that:

• He is an anti-abortion zealot who does not favor exceptions to abortion bans, even for rape or incest.
  
  
• He is anti-LGBTQ, and wants to re-outlaw gay marriage. He's also said that trans people suffer from "insanity."
  
  
• From his 6-million-dollar mansion in his home state of California, he said that poor people who cannot get food stamps are "just another sob story."
  
  
• Despite being only 60, he talks like a cranky old man who wants you to get off his lawn. He believes that young people today cannot "write properly" and don't "understand a good work ethic."
  
  
• He's said that nursing home residents shouldn't vote because they are so close to death. That means Hovde hates young people AND old people.

This is not an exhaustive list, but we think it's enough to give a pretty good picture of the man and his mind.

When someone is a jerk like this, it's definitely schadenfreude time when they get caught with their hand in the cookie jar. And, thanks to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, that looks to be what happened yesterday.

The primary source of Hovde's wealth is the California-founded bank Sunwest that he, as a California native, owns. Previously, he has refused to disclose any information about exactly who he does business with. However, what the MJ-S learned is that, back in December, Sunwest received a transfer of $26.2 million in cash from Banco Azteca in Mexico. The problem here is that Banco Azteca is well-known for doing business with the Sinaloa Cartel, which is one of the largest crime syndicates in Latin America, known for drug trafficking and money laundering.

As far as we can tell, Hovde has yet to respond to the news. And when he does, it's likely he'll deny that anything shady took place, or he'll say he didn't know about it. However, there are many dynamics here that make that a little hard to swallow:

• As we note above, Hovde has tried to keep his banking business under wraps, which is not usually a sign of someone who is entirely on the level.
  
  
• Even for a bank that has several billion dollars on deposit, $26.2 million is a big chunk of change.
  
  
• Banco Azteca is sleazy enough that numerous American banks have permanently severed ties, and refuse to do any more business with it. Think of it as the Deutsche Bank of Mexico.
  
  
• The $26.2 million was transferred in the form of cash, stacked on pallets that required four airplanes to transport. If a Hollywood screenwriter wanted to suggest money laundering, they could hardly paint a more vivid picture than that.

Hovde's opponent, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), appears to be pretty safe, leading in every poll of the race taken in the last few months. That said, a few polls have put Hovde within shouting distance (3-4 points). Presumably, a high-profile reminder of the kind of man he appears to be is not going to help on that front. After all, Baldwin will be able to say, "Donald Trump claims that undocumented immigrants are bringing gang money and violence into the United States. If you want to see who's actually doing that, just take a look at my opponent." (Z)