In Ga., Abramoff Scandal Threatens (Ralph Reed) a Political Ascendancy

[kpete]

In Ga., Abramoff Scandal Threatens a Political Ascendancy

By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 16, 2006; A01



DAWSONVILLE, Ga. -- Ralph Reed, candidate for lieutenant governor, had just finished his opening statement to the Dawson County Republican Party when retired pulp paper executive Gary Pichon sprang from his seat with a question that cut to the chase:

"Did you accept any gifts, commissions or other payments of any kind from Mr. Abramoff, and are you likely to be a party in the unfolding investigation?"

Silence enveloped the 60 or so Republicans in the auditorium, and Reed's cheerful manner turned tense. "No," he replied. "No to all these."

As everyone knew, Pichon was referring to Jack Abramoff, whose outsize Washington lobbying scandal has reached down to Georgia. Abramoff and Reed -- the former executive director of the Christian Coalition -- have been friends for 25 years, and until recently it had been a mutually profitable association. Now it is proving highly inconvenient for Reed, and threatens to stall a career that has been emblematic of the modern GOP.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/15/AR2006011500915_pf.html

[coldiggs]

1. I think the Abramoff scandal will hurt the whole GOP.

[Proud2BaLiberalMom]

6. MAY THEY GO DOWN IN FLAMES.....

AND BURN IN HELL FOREVER!

SONS O' BITCHES!!!


:grr:

[annabanana]

2. ... couldn't happen to a more deserving

pile of dog turds.. It will be highly amusing to watch this particular hypocritical steaming mass of crap fall.

[jackster]

13. ESPECIALLY that holier than thou POS Reed

n/t

[MuseRider]

3. Ya know

it is just a damn shame, poor Ralph. I can't think of too many people, although the list has certainly grown over the last 20 years, that I would rather see have his career threatened. May we quickly move from threatened to over.

[DemonFighterLives]

4. He hardly knew honest Abe

:argh:
No nothing wrong on all counts

[DELUSIONAL]

5. Oh this is sooooo sad . . . .

NOT!

The creepy baby face is a crook and a liar.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Talk about your unintended consequences...

:nopity:

Oh, and a :patriot: for Big Cajones of the Week to "retired pulp paper executive Gary Pichon"...doing the job that the press should be doing!

edited to salute

[Peggy Day]

8. They have ruined our country

[serryjw]

9. Ralph Reed is up to his elbows in this scandel

I hope Abramoff turns on all of them to save his arse.

[CornField]

10. Oh, Ralphie, the truth will set you free

As reported in the Washington Post in September and October 2004 (paraphrased):

Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, public relations consultant Michael Scanlon, and Southern Regional Chairman of the Bush-Cheney Campaign Ralph Reed hatched a scheme to bilk American Indian Tribes out of millions of dollars in fees and more funds in Republican campaign contributions.

Abramoff and Scanlon hired Reed and his consulting company, Century Strategies, at the tune of $4.2 million dollars to form a coalition with his Christian contacts to sway public opinion in relation to a casinos. When casinos were shut down, key tribal members would then be approached by Abramoff and Scanlon. Opposition would be smeared so that those same key tribal members could win council seats and, in turn, hire both Abramoff and Scanlon in multi-million dollar contracts to try and re-open the closed casinos.

It's been estimated that this scheme cost the tribes an estimated $66 million in fees and additional costs in Republican campaign contributions.

Emails, obtained by the Senate Indian Affairs Committe, which investigated the scheme, show that the partners in crime held little affinity for those being duped. Abramoff in email refers to tribal members and leaders as "idiots" and "troglodytes."

[kpete]

12. $$$before God

"Similarly damaging has been a torrent of e-mails revealed during the investigation that shows a side of Reed that some former supporters say cannot be reconciled with his professed Christian values."

"After reading the e-mail, it became pretty obvious he was putting money before God," said Phil Dacosta, a Georgia Christian Coalition member who had initially backed Reed. "We are righteously casting him out."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/15/AR2006011500915.html

[quiet.american]

11. Guess he passed the GOP candidate test -- he can lie well.

So, he's back in play -- if you can lie well, you go straight to the top in the GOP.