Calif. Rep. Rohrabacher Defends Abramoff

[UpInArms]

http://www.forbes.com/business/services/feeds/ap/2006/01/09/ap2438475.html

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., came to the defense of disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff on Monday, saying he's a good person who's been unjustly criticized.

"They're portraying Jack as a monster. I see him more as a good person who's done bad things and has to be punished for doing bad things," Rohrabacher, a longtime friend of Abramoff, said in a phone interview.

"I think that he obviously has done some things that are wrong and illegal and he's going to have to pay the price for it," Rohrabacher said. "I think that a lot of other things that have been characterized as corruption on the part of Abramoff are actually standard operating procedures for lobbying in Washington, D.C. - arranging trips and things like that.

"So I think that he's received a lot of unjust criticism."

Abramoff pleaded guilty last week to federal conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud charges. He has agreed to tell the FBI about alleged bribes to as many as 20 members of Congress and aides.

<snip>

Rohrabacher visited the Northern Mariana Islands on a trip Abramoff arranged while representing the commonwealth, and the congressman's name has surfaced repeatedly in billing papers Abramoff and members of his then-firm, Preston Gates & Ellis, submitted to commonwealth officials in the last half of the 1990s. The Pacific islands' public auditors later questioned some of the charges.

...more...

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. Yeh, and Rorhabacher has no dog in this hunt, eh?

:eyes:

[Catch22Dem]

2. I hope they all defend him

Take every single one of those motherfuckers down. That's what I say.

[JuniperLea]

3. Whatever

I don't see anyone making him out to be a bad guy... he is made out to be what he presented to us... he did some stupid, illegal things that are signs of corruption and greed. Yes, he needs to be punished! You should think twice, maybe three times before you trust someone who has shown themselves to be untrustworthy. Is Rohrbacher trying to say we should trust this man again? Pft.

[MadisonProgressive]

4. Call him an angel as far as I care

then put him away

[0007]

5. Argh! Make this prick walk the plank with Jack

[Tiggeroshii]

6. not so smart

If she and any other Repugs wish to maintaint he house they need to at least give the illusion they don't know Jack. She's openly admitting he was a good, close friend to her. I don't think her Repugt colleagues appreciate that!

on edit:

also, "bribes to 20 congressmen??"

if all these congressmen go down cause of him and resign all at the same time, the Dems will ihave the house (until after special elections are complete) for the first time in about 10 years...

[antiblazer]

7. republican logic

rohrabacher would also argue that hitler was a good man who made some poor choices. repuke idiocy and immorality never cease to amaze me. :eyes:

[DemoTex]

8. " ..a good person who's been unjustly criticized .."

Read: " .. a sleazy criminal who copped a plea to manifold felonies, sold out on his GOP buddies (Et tu, Dana?), all to reduce a potential 100-year sentence to ten in the slammer.." Now, Dana and Jack-Off, will Don Bu$h take care of you? Think about it. What has Bu$h ever done that wasn't for himself. You all are fucked. Literally.

[wordpix]

17. great photo, LOL, hey everyone come see Bush cabal don

[David Zephyr]

9. Dana is sending a friendly "signal" to Jack who is singing to the Feds.

This is a pathetic, yet orchestrated publicly signaled plea to Jack Abramoff, who is spilling his guts on GOP Congressmen to go easy on him.

This is so transparent it makes me gag...and it will heighten the prosecutors' attention to Dana, not away from him.

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. Pictures. We need pictures of these "supporters" embracing him

They'll play really well in November.


Adios, Dana.

[Nomen Tuum]

11. This is what happens when you eat too much LSD

Ol Dana used to boast about all that acid he ate as a teenager.

Folks, don't do drugs, you'll turn into a Republican, too!

[AndyTiedye]

12. He Musta Got Some Bad Stuff

[mitchtv]

13. Hi nomentuum

Nope, it hasn't worked yet, believe me I've tried

[sendero]

14. Yeah..

.... the law and order crowd who'd just as soon lock up every person who ever committed a crime and throw away the key get all misty and philosophical when one of "their own" is caught committing one.

The hypocrisy is unbelievable. And I can believe a lot.

[Eugene]

15. Rohrabacher's defense is purely self serving.

Rohrabacher is in this up to his chest. Naturally, he insists
that this isn't what it looks like.

He not only took Abramoff's money and dined at his restaurant,
he personally vouched for Abramoff in the SunCruz fiasco.
If he doesn't find a way to wiggle out of this, he's toast.

[NVMojo]

16. making a tribe take out life ins. on their elders to give benefits to Jack

makes him a good person??? That's what he did to one tribe he screwed over who couldn't pay him in full.

[wordpix]

18. Why did Rohrabacher go to Marianas? Doing research into how to set up

sweatshops for California's Mexican workers?

[struggle4progress]

19. From Big-Time Lobbyist to Object of Derision (NYT)

... Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican who is a college friend of Mr. Abramoff's and has been his most steadfast defender on Capitol Hill, declined to discuss him in an interview, issuing a brief statement instead saying:

"Washington can be intoxicating at times, and I think over the years there have been many people who have been seduced into very bad decisions by the lure of power and money, and Jack obviously made some very bad decisions. He has made some mistakes and some very bad decisions and now he's going to have to pay the price" ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/politics/10lobbyist.html?hp&ex=1136869200&en=d029c26014d44bbe&ei=5094&partner=homepage

"If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog," as Givem Hell Harry usta say ..

[leesa]

20. Well, of course he defends him...he uses the same ethics playbook

They are both ethically disabled.

[kineneb]

21. Rohrbacher, Abramoff, DeLay, et al. -what they need is an island

An island rather like Elba, where they will be forced to live out their days. With each other.

Hubby says "Ooh- new version of Survivor!"

[mitchum]

22. You're wrong, Dana; he's a vile piece of shit "who has done bad things"

rancid garbage wrapped in semi-human skin

[54anickel]

23. They used to say that about Ed Gien too - "nice enough guy that did

some sick things".

:wtf: ...things that have been characterized as corruption on the part of Abramoff are actually standard operating procedures for lobbying in Washington, D.C.

Rohrabacher just made the best case for campaign reform and cleaning up the mess at K Street and their "standard operating procedures" that I've read in a long time.