The Greening of Italia Federici - article

[_dynamicdems]

This is just horrible!

The Greening of Italia Federici
By Michael Scherer
Salon.com
Friday 18 November 2005


"To buy influence at the White House, GOP operative Jack Abramoff gave $500,000 in tribal loot to a Gale Norton pal who heads an "environmental" nonprofit.

Italia Federici is a minor Republican player in Washington, the sort of dime-a-dozen functionary who can build a career trading favors in backrooms and producing political campaigns for moneyed interests. Her specialty is the environment. She leads a conservative front group called the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy, or CREA, a tiny outfit, originally founded by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, that argues it is healthy for forests to clear-cut trees, good for the air to weaken air-quality controls, and "environmentally responsible" to drill for oil in the Alaskan wilderness."

rest of article: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/111805C.shtml

Another highlight:

"There was far less disagreement about what Federici had done with the tribal money she collected from Abramoff's clients. CREA spent it on initiatives that had nothing to do with the Native American tribes, but much to do with furthering President Bush's agenda. In April 2002, for example, CREA ran a $40,000 full-page ad in the Washington Post praising the environmental merits of the president's plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"We are also going to do something mean to Senator John Kerry," Federici wrote Abramoff, a few days before the ad ran. She then described a video CREA had packaged that showed Sen. Kerry leaving an Earth Day celebration and stepping into a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle. She sent the video to at least two television programs on the Fox News Network, "The O'Reilly Factor" and "Hannity and Colmes." "I am letting EVERYONE know that you are the only reason we have the funding to do this," she gushed to Abramoff in the same e-mail."

[karynnj]

1. Interesting

Sickening that she got any tribal money to push ideas 180 degrees from the native American position on the environmant. (With the Kerry ad - the problem is that it's somewhat fair if true - if cut and paste it'e not. Kerry's long standing committment to the environment stands on its own and if it were a campaign event he likely didn't get involved in the logistics.

[fedupinBushcountry]

2. This hearing

is on http://c-span.org/. Click on
Senate Hearing on Indian Tribal Lobbying (11/17/2005).

This part on Kerry comes in at at 1:17 min. into the hearing. This woman was lying through her teeth, the whole exchange is really worth watching.

[_dynamicdems]

3. What a miserable lying &^%$@

Watching her makes it even worse. Sickening.

[ginnyinWI]

6. I saw some of it yesterday

What struck me was how both Dorgan and McCain were totally pissed at this woman--her attitude, her denials, and her interupting the Senators! At one point I think it was Dorgan who said, "I'm going to ask you one last time not to interrupt me!" She sounded a lot like Condi when she would say, "Well, you see, Senator...

[frogmarch]

4. Wow, that's a great article!

Too bad most people will never see it and will continue to have no clue about what's going on.

Good for McCain and others who are digging into this.

Italia is like one of those inflatable dolls certain men buy. Poor Republican crooks. The air is leaking out of their date.

[_dynamicdems]

7. LOL!

"Italia is like one of those inflatable dolls certain men buy. Poor Republican crooks. The air is leaking out of their date."

:rofl:

McCain is an enigma. Bipolar perhaps?

[rox63]

5. The level of corruption

in the * administration is astounding. Every time I think it can't get worse, it does. :wow: :puke:

[_dynamicdems]

8. They make Nixon look like Jimmy Carter by comparison. n/t