Posted on 01/30/2006 12:53:40 PM PST by CyberAnt
Democrats Do Have A "Big" Abramoff Problem
"Chairman Dean set a new standard for Abramoff Democrats today and it's clear that Sen. Reid did not make the cut. Dean specifically stated it was 'a big problem' if any Democrats wrote letters on behalf of Abramoff Indian tribes, which is exactly what Harry Reid and other Democrats did. Howard Dean has displayed a stunning level of hypocrisy on this issue, however it now appears that he may be interested in holding his fellow Democrats accountable."
- RNC Communications Director Brian Jones
DNC Chair Dean: If Any Dems Wrote Letters On Behalf Of Indian Tribes Jack Abramoff Represented "That's A Big Problem":
Fox News' Chris Wallace: "[I]f We Find That There Were Some Democrats Who Wrote Letters On Behalf Of Some Of The Indian Tribes That Abramoff Represented, Then What Do You Say, Sir?" (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)
DNC Chair Howard Dean: "That's A Big Problem, And Those Democrats Are In Trouble, And They Should Be In Trouble, And Our Party, If The American People Will Put Us Back In Power In '06, We Will Have On The President's Desk Things That Outlaw All Those Kinds Of Behaviors." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)
FACT: Democrat Leaders Did Write Letters On Behalf Of Indian Tribes Jack Abramoff Represented:
Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): "Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid Of Nevada Sent A Letter To [Interior Secretary Gale] Norton On March 5, 2002 ... The Next Day, The Coushattas [An Indian Tribe Represented By Abramoff] Issued A $5,000 Check To Reid's Tax-Exempt Political Group, The Searchlight Leadership Fund." (John Solomon, "Lawmakers Pressured Interior While Getting Large Donations," The Associated Press, 11/18/05)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA): "Harkin Wrote At Least Three Letters In 2003 Pressing The Government To Release Federal Money To Help The Sac & Fox Tribe In His State Cope With The Temporary Closing Of Its Casino Due To A Tribal Dispute, According To Interior Department Documents Obtained By The Associated Press And Records Provided By Harkin's Office." (Sharon Theimer, "Lobbyist Helped Sen. Write Tribal Pleas," The Associated Press, 12/3/05)
"[Team Abramoff Lobbyist Michael D.] Smith Met With The Senator And Also Offered Suggestions For The Letters, Harkin Spokeswoman Allison Dobson Said. 'Absolutely, He Did Contribute To Those Letters,' Dobson Said, Adding That She Wasn't Sure What Smith's Suggestions Were." (Sharon Theimer, "Lobbyist Helped Sen. Write Tribal Pleas," The Associated Press, 12/3/05)
"The Letters To The Interior Department And National Indian Gaming Commission Between June And November 2003 Came As Harkin's Campaign And Political Action Committee Harvested Donations From Smith And Greenberg Traurig Tribal Clients." (Sharon Theimer, "Lobbyist Helped Sen. Write Tribal Pleas," The Associated Press, 12/3/05)
"Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., Who Was Engaged In A Tight Re-Election Race In 2002, Sent Her Letter March 6, 2002. That Same Day, The Coushattas Sent $2,000 To Her Campaign And She Received $5,000 More By The End Of That Month. By Year's End, The Total Had Grown To At Least $24,000." (John Solomon, "Lawmakers Pressured Interior While Getting Large Donations," The Associated Press, 11/18/05)
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI): "[There Were] Half-Dozen Letters Written Or Signed By 14 Lawmakers On Behalf Of The Tribes. One Was Written Jan. 23, 2003 By [Democrat Sen.] ... Debbie Stabenow ... On The Saginaw's Behalf." (Sharon Theimer, "Lawmakers Helped Abramoff Tribes Get Federal Money, Collected Donations," The Associated Press, 11/25/05)
"Stabenow Got $2,000 From The Saginaw In March 2002, Around The Time [Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT)] Sent His First Letter Requested By The Michigan Lawmakers. She Later Thanked Burns In A Senate Speech For His Help. She Received $2,000 More From The Saginaw About Six Months After Her 2003 Letter." (Sharon Theimer, "Lawmakers Helped Abramoff Tribes Get Federal Money, Collected Donations," The Associated Press, 11/25/05)
Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI): "[There Were] Half-Dozen Letters Written Or Signed By 14 Lawmakers On Behalf Of The Tribes. One Was Written Jan. 23, 2003 By [Democrat Sen.] Carl Levin ... On The Saginaw's Behalf." (Sharon Theimer, "Lawmakers Helped Abramoff Tribes Get Federal Money, Collected Donations," The Associated Press, 11/25/05)
DNC Chair Dean Falsely Claims No Democrats Have Been Accused Of Delivering Anything For Jack Abramoff:
DNC Chair Howard Dean: "[B]ut The Point Is That Not One Democrat Either Knew It Or Acted On It. Nobody Got Anything Out Of The Democrats From Jack Abramoff. No Democrat Delivered Anything And There's No Accusation And No Investigation That Any Democrat Ever Delivered Anything To Jack Abramoff, And That's Not True Of The Republicans." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)
FACT: Dems Have Been Repeatedly Implicated In The Abramoff Investigation:
"Law-Enforcement Authorities And Others Said The Investigation's Opening Phase Is Scrutinizing ... Byron L. Dorgan, North Dakota Democrat; And Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat ..." (Jerry Seper and Audrey Hudson, "Abramoff-Linked Probe Focuses On 5 Lawmakers," The Washington Times, 1/11/06)
"Democrats Have Taken A Special Interest In [Team Abramoff Lobbyist And Former Reid Staffer Eddie] Ayoob's Clients. Of The Eight Tribes Ayoob Represented When He Was With Greenberg Traurig, Reid Acted In Behalf Of Or Moved Legislation Benefiting Six." (Rebecca Adams, "The Game's The Thing: Reid Has Been A Ready Ally To Abramoff-Linked Interests," Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 1/16/06)
Larry Noble, Executive Director And General Counsel For The Non-Partisan Center For Responsive Politics: "I Would Say, Broadly Defined As A Question Of The Tribes' Buying Influence In Washington, It Includes Democrats." (Donald Lambro, "Dean Denies Party Ties To Abramoff," The Washington Times, 1/11/06)
CNN's Ed Henry: "I Want To Underline Again, There Are Democrats Implicated In [The Abramoff Scandal] As Well. So [Democrats'] Argument About A Culture Of Corruption May Not Resonate With People Across The Country." (CNN's "CNN Live Today," 1/3/06)
Henry: "[D]emocrats Like Byron Dorgan Of North Dakota ... [Are] Returning The [Campaign] Money Because They've Been Implicated At Least Generally In This Investigation ..." (CNN's "CNN Live Today," 1/3/06)
DNC Chair Dean Falsely Claims Dems "Pretty Clean" On Abramoff Affiliated Money:
Fox News' Chris Wallace: "[I]t Is Certainly True That Republicans Got Twice As Much Money From Abramoff-Related Contributions Than Democrats Did, But Democrats Aren't Clean In This Area Either, Are They?" (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)< /P>
DNC Chair Howard Dean: "Yeah, They Are Pretty Clean, Chris. And I'll Tell You Why." (Fox News' "Fox News Sunday," 1/29/06)
FACT: Democrat Campaign Committees Received Over $1.2 Million In Abramoff Affiliated Contributions:
"[A]bramoff Was Careful To Add At Least Two Democratic Lobbyists To His Group During His Five Years At Greenberg Traurig. By The End, Seven Of His Lobbyists Were Democrats." (Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Derek Willis, "Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations," The Washington Post, 6/3/05)
"According To Documents And Tribal Officials Familiar With The Abramoff Team's Methods, The Lobbyists Devised Lengthy Lists Of Lawmakers To Whom The Tribes Should Donate And Then Delivered The Lists To The Tribes. The Tribes, In Turn, Wrote Checks To The Recommended Campaign Committees And In The Amounts The Lobbyists Prescribed." (Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Derek Willis, "Democrats Also Got Tribal Donations," The Washington Post, 6/3/05)
DNC Has Received $177,273 In Abramoff Affiliated Money. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
DNC Has Received $112,073 From Abramoff Affiliated Lobbying Firms. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
DNC Has Received $65,200 From Abramoff Affiliated Indian Tribes. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
DCCC Has Received $629,246 In Abramoff Affiliated Money. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
DCCC Has Received $103,746 From Abramoff Affiliated Lobbying Firms. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
DCCC Has Received $525,500 From Abramoff Affiliated Indian Tribes. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
DSCC Has Received $434,123 In Abramoff Affiliated Money. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
DSCC Has Received $111,143 From Abramoff Affiliated Lobbying Firms. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
DSCC Has Received $322,980 From Abramoff Affiliated Indian Tribes. (Political Money Line Website, www.tray.com, Accessed 1/4/06)
** NOTE: The Jack Abramoff Affiliated Indian Tribes Are The Agua Caliente Band Of Cahuilla Indians, Chitimacha Tribe Of Louisiana, Mississippi Band Of Choctaw Indians, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Of Michigan And The Tigua Indian Reservation From 1997 To 2004. Abramoff Affiliated Lobbying Firms Are Preston Gates From 1997-2000, And Greenberg Traurig From 2001-2004. **
A Product Of The RNC Research Department
LOL! I haven't heard anything - but I've been expecting some disruptors to show up and spew their stuff.
Well .. the RNC has the right to post their stuff anyway they want. I never let that stop me from reading GOOD STUFF.
I see all of this lining up just right for Hillary and Bill to make their move. Reid is dirty on this deal and as much as he screamed and crowed about him not taking any of that money - he's not long for the scrap heap. Now Dean has spent all the money and is dumb enough to make a general statement about 300+ Democrats who all have to raise funds for re-election - and no one elected official has every dime of their campaign funded by the Nuns of St Mary's. Never ever claim others are innocent - speak for yourself alone.
BTW, I have no problem with lobbyists paying politicians who are like minded on issues. If a lobbyist walks in to an office and explains their position to the pol and they agree with that position, then that is not corruption, its democracy. I wouldn't expect a lobbyist for gun control to shell out loads of cash to Sen. Allen, but they certainly should be able to support and present their positions to those who agree with their ends.
Lobbyists who work on behalf of corporations are paid to help get the government to make business better. Business is better, we get more jobs, more income, higher wages, etc. Not everything is nefarious - regardless of how movies portray everything.
Excellent find and thanks for posting this. I just sent this to the station manager of channel 2 in the San Francisco area.
Right after New Years, their morning show had a local Congress Rat on for several minutes saying this was all a republican problem thanks to DeLay and President Bush.
It's just the only place I've ever seen it done like that.
I think Hillary supported Dean being DNC chair because she was afraid to allow him to run for pres. That is part of the agreement Dean made - DNC chair - he will not run for pres. I don't think Hillary can risk Dean running - especially since it's his "kooks" who appear to be controlling all the money.
Of course .. Dean could resign at the right time and have all that 527 money to run with. If that happens, the dems will be out of power for 50 years instead of 40.
The core is melting and they have Homer Simpson at the controls.
Dean is parsing words - because Dean believes that the public is too stupid to figure out that the dems got lots of money from Abramoff - they just didn't get any of Abramoff PERSONAL donations.
This scam won't work - as this research by the RNC shows.
agua caliente indeed!
Thanks Liz for that great info.
Thank you!
Yes, Chris did a great job. Our local San Diego guy, Mark Larson, interviewed Chris today and they were both laughing at some of Dean's answer.
I believe that we should use their lack of Abramof money against them. It does NOT indicate their virtue- but rather their WEAKNESS. After all, what is the point of lobbying inept losers? The whole point is to influence people with power. The Dems have none!
The tribes all tried to keep pace,
As Jack’s Washington bets were placed.
Dean said he’d scalp ‘em
For taking the wampum,
Now its Chairman Dean who is redfaced.
eye no wut u meen. sum foks dont no what the shift keey duz ether ore the diffirens bitween
their / they're
your / you're
to / too / two
cant / can't
And, it's amazing that some folks have no clue in using a comma, semicolon, or a paragraph break.
The list is endless.
The ironic part is .. we have to remember that it was just a few short years ago the dems were able to get away with this stuff .. but not anymore.
But .. the 527's have all the money .. and the e-list ..?? Don't they ..?? So if Dean flies the coop - he has a ready supply of money and people.
Actually .. he may have planned this all along .. and it is a brilliant plan.
You're correct. In Florida alone .. 50,000 new repubs have been registered - with less than 4,000 for dems. Interesting!
wd- out by the end of the week
good call
hd is my favorite dem- gillespie should put him on the payroll!!
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