Newsweek: A Washington Tidal Wave

[Pirate Smile]

A Washington Tidal Wave
Blackjack: Members of Congress rushed to give back money. DeLay stepped aside. Reformers pledged to fix the system. Can anything change the Capitol's money-hungry ways? Behind the Abramoff lobby scandal.



By Michael Isikoff, Holly Bailey and Evan Thomas
Newsweek
Jan. 16, 2006 issue - First came the dinner invitations, then the tickets. Staffers in the office of former House Majority leader Tom DeLay could dine—usually, free of charge—at Signatures, the expense-account restaurant conveniently owned by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Then they could sit in his skybox at Washington's MCI Center, home of the NBA Wizards and NHL Capitals. Before too long, recalled a former GOP leadership aide—who, like almost anyone on Capitol Hill these days, declines to be identified talking about his relationship with Abramoff—the DeLay staffers began to think that Abramoff's box at the arena was their box, and, in the cozy way of Washington, it might as well have been. "Jack was sort of like a drug dealer," said the former staffer. "He'd give them a little taste and then get them hooked."

It may be convenient for Hill staffers to think of Abramoff as insidious, subtly corrupting idealistic but naive public servants. Actually, Abramoff was about as subtle as a madam in a whorehouse. He milked (and bilked) clients exuberantly. "Guess what I just scored?" he e-mailed his old friend, former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, celebrating the Gulfstream jet that he had arranged to fly their party (including Congressman Robert Ney) to Scotland for a weeklong golf junket. "Fire-up the jet baby, we're going to El Paso!!" he wrote his partner—and former DeLay press aide—Michael Scanlon, announcing the acquisition of a Texas Indian tribe, the Tiguas, as a lobbying client. "I want all their MONEY!!!" replied Scanlon. "Yawzah!" chimed in Abramoff.

There are, to be sure, congressional rules that require staffers to report all gifts and bar them from accepting any with a value of more than $50. But in the world of Abramoff, compliance was, at best, spotty. Business interests in the U.S.-run Northern Mariana Islands hired Abramoff to block federal labor regulations meant to crack down on sweatshop abuses. The lobbyist led congressional staffers on a fact-finding expedition to the Western Pacific. "There were charter-fishing-boat trips, lavish dinners, massages," said the former leadership aide. "Nobody ever reported any of that stuff."

The party ended last week with Ab-ramoff, looking like a character out of a gangster movie in a black fedora and black raincoat, leaving federal court after pleading guilty to defrauding his clients and conspiring to bribe public officials. To reduce his jail sentence, Abramoff was talking to the Feds about as many as a dozen congressmen who had been the recipients of this largesse. The panic on Capitol Hill was palpable; lawmakers scrambled to give away or return their campaign donations from Abramoff and his clients, led by House Speaker Dennis Hastert ($67,000). All denied any wrongdoing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10756433/site/newsweek/

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. The cartoon is perfect

Yep, rats on a sinking ship. This week is going to be so much fun. :popcorn:

[rodeodance]

2. below is victim talk, not talk of 'convenience'

..."Jack was sort of like a drug dealer," said the former staffer. "He'd give them a little taste and then get them hooked."

It may be convenient for Hill staffers to think of Abramoff as insidious, subtly corrupting idealistic but naive public servants.

[acmavm]

3. The only way to clean up politics is to wrap barbed wire and dig a moat

around the republican side of the aisle.

[babylonsister]

4. Abramoff: subtle as a madman in a whore house! Love it! nt

[Lorien]

16. "Madam" in a whore house; though he had turned GOPs into

both whores AND Johns!

[tularetom]

5. Maybe its just me but

where is the connection between delay and jackoff? The clip makes it look like delay was surrounded by corruption (his aides, Ney, Hastert) but somehow he wasn't involved. I take with a grain of salt anything I read in Newsweek (although the cartoon is pretty funny).

[Rose Siding]

6. Isokoff's taking steno again

DeLay is "under a weak money-laundering charge"? :eyes:

And here, he gets to the heart of the matter for us:

"The real scandal may be how lobbyists fleece their clients, conning them into believing that campaign contributions are essential to protecting their interests in Congress."

Bail, Mike, bail!

[troubleinwinter]

18. ...contributions are essential to protecting their interests in Congress

Uhmmm... isn't that EXTORTION?

[mrdmk]

19. Here is another on

<snip>
But they were soon lapping at the trough just as greedily as the Democrats—only with better discipline
<end of snip>

Thank you for the B.S. commentary Mr. Isokoff, that is really good journalism!

[NMDemDist2]

7. wonder how many of the Dems who took tribe $$ fell in this catagory?

Then Abramoff turned right around and offered his serv-ices to the Tigua Indians to lobby to get Congress to open the casino back up. "I wish those moronic Tiguas were smarter in their political contributions," Abramoff e-mailed Reed. "I'd love us to get our mitts on that moolah!! Oh well, stupid folks get wiped out."

[roseBudd]

8. rated it a 5, it's only got 70 votes so far n/t

[StClone]

9. Delay steps down no biggy to Talking heads

Compare to Clinton's 24/7 penis induced panic, I have to ask where is the urgency and air of crisis that the head of the (R) party is a crook as it appears much of the ruling party.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

10. The drug-dealer analogy is spot-on.

These guys have been acting like Tony Montana simulacrums for years. Arrogance while breaking the law in any way they can. But then, look at the generation they are from: is there any question that at least some of them know the pleasures and vicissitudes of two Texas Gag Rails of fine, ether-washed, Peruvian Flake, right off the kilo block, straight up the hooter?

To these (unproudly, nay ashamedly) quite experienced eyes(as a consumer...), these guys behaved in a manner that is exactly like old skool coke dealers. Not a bit of difference.

I wonder how they learned that ethos? I'll betcha I can guess...

[Cha]

11. My, my, my...

"Actually, Abramoff was about as subtle as a madam in a whorehouse. He milked (and bilked) clients exuberantly."

Who's the trogo-dyte now?.." He liberated various Indian tribes of a total of $82 million for his various lobbying schemes (while referring to Indians as "troglo-dytes" in his e-mails).

I would be one pissed Native American ..reading all this.

[patdem]

12. This is not a very strong piece against lawmakers..it almost forgives them

and basically says, oh well, you pay to play..that is the way it is and will ever be.

DAMN IT! NO! According to Ney there is not a scatillion of difference between a legal contribution and a bribe and you cannot prove it is a bribe to there...nanananananan!

I say we stop ALL money contributions...all gifts all personal contact with lawmakers..there should be SCHEDULED meetings and those meetings should be LISTED AND ADVERTISED!

If our lawmakers are meeting with powerful heads of industry and NEVER with constituents then we will KNOW not to vote for them again!

This two year wait..or that past lawmakers not have access to the floor is a JOKE as is the ONE YEAR WAIT NOW obviously these hill staffers made money doing SOMETHING for money between the time they left capital hill and the time they started taking paychecks one year later...this is bogus crap..and AMERICA NEEDS TO GET GOOD AND OUTRAGED!

[sweetm2475]

13. A Washington Tidal Wave

By Michael Isikoff, Holly Bailey and Evan Thomas
Newsweek

Jan. 16, 2006 issue - First came the dinner invitations, then the tickets. Staffers in the office of former House Majority leader Tom DeLay could dine—usually, free of charge—at Signatures, the expense-account restaurant conveniently owned by lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Then they could sit in his skybox at Washington's MCI Center, home of the NBA Wizards and NHL Capitals. Before too long, recalled a former GOP leadership aide—who, like almost anyone on Capitol Hill these days, declines to be identified talking about his relationship with Abramoff—the DeLay staffers began to think that Abramoff's box at the arena was their box, and, in the cozy way of Washington, it might as well have been. "Jack was sort of like a drug dealer," said the former staffer. "He'd give them a little taste and then get them hooked."

It may be convenient for Hill staffers to think of Abramoff as insidious, subtly corrupting idealistic but naive public servants. Actually, Abramoff was about as subtle as a madam in a whorehouse. He milked (and bilked) clients exuberantly. "Guess what I just scored?" he e-mailed his old friend, former Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, celebrating the Gulfstream jet that he had arranged to fly their party (including Congressman Robert Ney) to Scotland for a weeklong golf junket. "Fire-up the jet baby, we're going to El Paso!!" he wrote his partner—and former DeLay press aide—Michael Scanlon, announcing the acquisition of a Texas Indian tribe, the Tiguas, as a lobbying client. "I want all their MONEY!!!" replied Scanlon. "Yawzah!" chimed in Abramoff.

There are, to be sure, congressional rules that require staffers to report all gifts and bar them from accepting any with a value of more than $50. But in the world of Abramoff, compliance was, at best, spotty. Business interests in the U.S.-run Northern Mariana Islands hired Abramoff to block federal labor regulations meant to crack down on sweatshop abuses. The lobbyist led congressional staffers on a fact-finding expedition to the Western Pacific. "There were charter-fishing-boat trips, lavish dinners, massages," said the former leadership aide. "Nobody ever reported any of that stuff."

The party ended last week with Ab-ramoff, looking like a character out of a gangster movie in a black fedora and black raincoat, leaving federal court after pleading guilty to defrauding his clients and conspiring to bribe public officials. To reduce his jail sentence, Abramoff was talking to the Feds about as many as a dozen congressmen who had been the recipients of this largesse. The panic on Capitol Hill was palpable; lawmakers scrambled to give away or return their campaign donations from Abramoff and his clients, led by House Speaker Dennis Hastert ($67,000). All denied any wrongdoing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10756433/site/newsweek/

[NMDemDist2]

14. here's proof the tribes gave $$$ that Jack-off didn't approve

Then Abramoff turned right around and offered his serv-ices to the Tigua Indians to lobby to get Congress to open the casino back up. "I wish those moronic Tiguas were smarter in their political contributions," Abramoff e-mailed Reed. "I'd love us to get our mitts on that moolah!! Oh well, stupid folks get wiped out."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10756433/site/newsweek/page/2/

[Surya Gayatri]

15. May they all drown

in this cesspool of their own making. SG

[texpatriot2004]

17. Agreed n/t

[Nostradammit]

20. "Fire-up the jet baby, we're going to El Paso!!"

God help me, that's the perfect catch-phrase for these insidious jerks!

I will always, from this day forth shout out, "Fire-up the jet baby, we're going to El Paso!!"

whenever I see a photo of Jack Abramoff.