Abramoff Golf Trip a Wedge Issue in Florida

[babylonsister]

Abramoff Golf Trip a Wedge Issue in Florida
By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Staff

The partisan edge that Republican Tom Feeney typically enjoys in east-central Florida’s 24th Congressional District is by design — essentially his own design. As speaker of the state House, he oversaw Florida’s most recent congressional redistricting, then segued in 2002 to win the first election in the newly drawn 24th District.

Those lines have served Feeney well so far in a district that stretches from Orlando suburbs to part of the “Space Coast” along the Atlantic shore. He won with 62 percent of the vote in 2002, ran without a Democratic opponent in 2004, and easily weathered the national anti-Republican tide in 2006, defeating Democratic computer programmer Clint Curtis with 58 percent.

Yet an ethics controversy can erode even a built-in advantage such as the one Feeney enjoys, and the incumbent has had to work to contain questions that have been raised about his past ties to influence peddler Jack Abramoff. The congressman’s cloudier prospects have also drawn him something he has lacked in each of his past three House campaigns: a politically experienced opponent, former state Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, who may face competition from a rematch-minded Curtis in next year’s Democratic primary.

Feeney, like several of his Republican colleagues who faced election problems in 2006, has had to deal with the revelation that he participated in one of several expensive golfing trips to Scotland arranged by lobbyist Abramoff, who was later convicted on corruption charges.

The lawmaker has denied any wrongdoing, and his staff argues that the Abramoff story is “old news.”

Me: isn't that what was said about the DSM?

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