Posted on 01/09/2006 7:15:27 AM PST by SJackson
By his own admission, Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff is a crook. But that isn't the worst that can be said about him.
He defrauded his clients of millions of dollars, bribed public officials, cheated on his tax returns, and deceived lenders to qualify for a loan. But that isn't the worst that can be said about him, either.
He made himself at home in and contributed to the swamp of corruption that fills Washington with its stench. His e-mails to cronies, with messages like "Can you smell money?!?!?!" and "I'd love us to get our mitts on that moolah!!", oozed greed and boorishness. Behind their backs, he crudely mocked those who hired him, calling them "morons," "monkeys," "troglodytes," and "the stupidest idiots in the land." He played fast and loose with what were supposed to be charitable funds. But not even that is the worst that can be said about him.
The worst is that Abramoff is a Jew. Not only a Jew, but an Orthodox Jew — someone who claims to be committed to strictly observing Jewish law and faithfully adhering to the Torah's ethical standards. But instead of upholding those ethical standards Abramoff trampled on them, and a "religious" Jew who behaves so corruptly disgraces not only himself but all religious Jews. He brings his faith into contempt. He is guilty of what Jewish tradition calls, with disgust, chillul HaShem — a desecration of G-d's name.
For me — also an observant Jew — that is the worst thing of all.
(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...
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That is the spin. The call him a "Republican lobbyist" and flat out lie about the contributions made to 'Rats.
He sure fits to a T the stereotypes beloved of anti-semites.
Well,
he IS a republican
and
he was a lobbyist............
so?
It does, Republican haters as well. Likely better to acknowledge he was a Republican, since he was. The fact that his corruption was bi-partisan establishes the fact that when acting outside the law, Republican Party interests weren't the motivation.
He IS a Republican lobbyist.
I have a hard time feeling sympathy for the people whose money he took. They all were trying to game advantage with the government. They weren't senile old people having their credit card numbers stolen. We survived without lobbyists for over a hundred years. We could do it again.
Jack Abramoff highlights:
-organized Massachusetts campuses for Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign.
-After a campaign managed by Grover Norquist and aided by Ralph E. Reed, Jr., Abramoff was elected chairman of the College Republican National Committee. "It is not our job to seek peaceful coexistence with the Left," Abramoff was quoted as saying in the group's 1983 annual report, "Our job is to remove them from power permanently".
-Abramoff "changed the direction of the committee and made it more activist and conservative than ever before," notes the CRNC.
-Abramoff joined Citizens for America, a pro-Reagan group that helped Oliver North build support for the Nicaraguan contras
--joined the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, which once described him as "directly involved in the Republican party and conservative movement leadership structures and is one of the leading fund raisers for the party and its congressional candidates."
Yes, he's a Republican. And a lobbyist. The GOP is not infallible, neither is the Pope, and no, there is not really a Santa Claus.
I think it would be more accurate to say he was a "lobbyist who was a Republican". Putting the adjective "Republican" in front of the noun "lobbyist" is misleading as it could be wrongly interpreted to mean "a lobbyist who exclusively lobbied Republicans". That wouldn't stop the MSM from poor editing, however.
LOL. He's a Republican. Deal with it. It doesn't say he lobbied Republicans exclusively. It accurately describes him as a Republican lobbyist.
By the way, just for the record, I think Abramoff is scum and whoever is found to have been wrapped up with him in a quid pro quo deal deserves to be thrown out or voted out of the Capitol, Republican or Democrat.
unless he was working as a lobbyist for a GOP entity, he's not a Republican lobbyist, but rather a lobbyist with closer ties to Republicans than to Democrats.
Incorrect. He is both a lobbyist and a Republican.
Once again we find Grover Norquist.
I agree. WHY do we have lobbyists? I understand the theory, on paper...but it just doesn't work...man's greed always gets in the way. I say do away with the whole lobbying system. That's not to say that people can't get their voices heard. Why can't they? Why does money have to be involved?
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