RIP Mr. Rosenbaum.
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April 3, 2002
At $500 an Hour, a G.O.P. Lobbyist's Influence Is Rising
The New York Times Company
Roger Stillwell
By DAVID E. ROSENBAUM
WASHINGTON, April 2 — In the last six months of 2001, the Coushatta Indians, a tribe with 800 members and a large casino in southwest Louisiana, paid $1.76 million to the law firm of Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist here. Last month, the Bush administration handed the tribe a big victory by blocking construction of a casino by a rival tribe that would have drained off much of the Coushattas' business.
William Worfel, vice chairman of the Coushattas, views the administration's decision as a direct benefit of the eye-popping lobbying fees his tribe paid Mr. Abramoff, more money than many giant corporations like AOL Time Warner and American Airlines paid lobbyists in the same period. "I call Jack Abramoff, and I get results," Mr. Worfel said. "You get everything you pay for."
In the seven years since Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives, Mr. Abramoff, 43, has used his close ties to Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the Republican whip, and other conservatives in the House to become one of the most influential — and, at $500 an hour, best compensated — lobbyists in Washington. He is also an important Republican fund-raiser.
Mr. Abramoff's recent success and importance in Republican circles is a reminder that even as much of official Washington has been focused on the war in Afghanistan, efforts to beef up national security after Sept. 11 and the crisis in the Middle East, the business of lobbying has been humming along quite nicely, more out of the spotlight than usual but more profitable than ever for those with the right connections. Unlike many lobbyists who take almost any client who is willing to pay their fee, Mr. Abramoff says he represents only those who stand for conservative principles. They include three Indian tribes with big casinos and, until recently, the Northern Mariana Islands. "All of my political work," he said, "is driven by philosophical interests, not by a desire to gain wealt
more.....
http://www.citizensalliance.org/Major%20Issues/Campaign%20Finance%20and%20Tribal%20Influence/Tribal%20Lobbyiests%20at%20Work.htm
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