The AP tries AGAIN to smear Harry Reid

[RSchewe]

Lobbyist Confirms Talks With Reid's Office

WASHINGTON (AP) -- One of Jack Abramoff's ex-colleagues confirms he contacted Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's office on behalf of the influential lobbyist but says he does not believe Abramoff's billing records accurately reflect the extent of his work.

Ronald Platt, a lobbyist who worked with Abramoff at the Greenberg Traurig firm between 2001 and 2004, said he contacted Reid's office in 2001, as the billing records show, about the timing of minimum wage legislation affecting one of Abramoff's clients, the Northern Mariana Islands.

"When Abramoff first arrived at Greenberg Traurig, I did a new colleague a favor by simply asking Reid staffers about when the minimum wage legislation affecting the Mariana Islands would be voted upon by the Senate. I communicated this to Abramoff," Platt said in a statement e-mailed Friday evening to The Associated Press.

The AP reported on Thursday that lobbying firm billing records obtained under public records law from the Marianas showed that Abramoff billed the islands for 21 contacts in 2001 with Reid's office.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ABRAMOFF_REID?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-02-11-09-24-53

...and again, there they go with the misleading headlines. They confirmed talks about what? This is getting ridiculous.

[RufusEarl]

1. Here's a good link about Reid, it explains everything I wanted to know.

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/2/9/163540/9804

[NVMojo]

2. yep, the Repuke marketing machines are working overtime to make

Reid look like DeLay so they can soothe their souls.

[global1]

3. Maybe There's Really Something To This To Tie Reid To Abramoff....

I heard yesterday about a compromise on the Patriot Act and I heard Reid is supporting it. I wonder if they are blackmailing him into support for the PA or else they will come out with info on Reid/Abramoff? Just a thought.

[RSchewe]

11. Maybe you should read this:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/2/9/21271/57960

[patdem]

4. All this proves is that Abramhoff is indeed a crook!

How did Reid vote on the minimum wage in the Mariannias?

[NYCGirl]

5. From Media Matters:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200602100001

The AP also suggested that Reid coordinated with Abramoff regarding legislation to raise the minimum wage that would also have applied the U.S. minimum wage to the Northern Mariana Islands, which Abramoff opposed. But the article never mentioned that Reid was a co-sponsor of the bill. The AP also failed to note what subsequent action Reid took on the legislation; in fact, Reid supported the bill's passage in a May 6, 2002, speech on the Senate floor:

REID: The Fair Minimum Wage Act would increase the Federal minimum wage by $1.50 over 2 years. We are not asking it be kept up with inflation from when it was first established. About 80,000 Nevadans and about 9 million Americans would get a raise up to $6.65 during the next 2 years. This modest proposal would bring the real value of the minimum wage within a penny of the value it had in the 1980s.

Moreover, the Abramoff aide that Reid met with to discuss the minimum wage bill in 2001, Ronald Platt, contends that the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss Reid's position on the legislation. In response to the AP article, blogger Joshua Micah Marshall contacted Platt about whether Reid had taken any action against the minimum wage bill following their meeting, to which Platt responded, "I'm sure he didn't":

According to Platt, the purpose of his contacts was to see what information he could get about the timing and status of the legislation. Reid's position on the minimum wage issue was well known and there would have been no point trying to get his help blocking it. That's what Platt says. "I didn't ask Reid to intervene," said Platt. "I wouldn't have asked him to intervene. I don't think anyone else would have asked. And I'm sure he didn't."

[rodeodance]

10. and they have a TAKE ACTION--contact AP about this.

Take Action!

Contact information:

Associated Press
Associated Press

http://www.ap.org/pages/contact/contact.html

The Associated Press
450 W. 33rd St.
New York, NY 10001

Main Number
[phone]

When contacting the media, please be polite and professional. Express your specific concerns regarding that particular news report or commentary, and be sure to indicate exactly what you would like the media outlet to do differently in the future.

[electropop]

6. RIght: in what sense is receiving a quesiton indirectly, some kind of

crime? I don't hear anything the least bit damaging to Reid in this. Hell I contact Reid all the time. Is he aware of my existence? Probably not.

[Kierkegaard]

7. No matter if there's any substance to this story.

It's already dropped its payload. There will be no end of 'Yeah, but the Dems are involved, too. Harry Reid went for the money!" Watch for it in an election campaign near you.

[woldnewton]

8. Remember that pic they posted of him on one of their recent stories?

They picked the worst possible pic where he was as stressed as could be, and tried to make him look like something out of Quasimodo. The anti-Democratic bias in that 'news organization' is repulsive!

[Botany]

9. Any ?s about this should be sent to

[e-mail]

Reid explained all this on Ed's show ..... not unless he was lying this story is crap.

Ask Vern to replay the whole interview between Ed & Reid or have Reid back on.

Creative Response Concepts are working overtime on this ...... (my best DU :tinfoilhat:
not the brightest light on God's Xmas tree thought)