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CORRUPTION CAFÉ: a trendy place for Republican feasting,
an editorial by Patrick Lancaster, 17 January 2006
Perhaps the ever-unraveling Jack Abramoff scandal will scare or disgust Congress so badly that elected leaders will clamor for complete openness and finally report all sources of campaign funding. The sordid story unfolds like a dirty napkin, as freewheeling lobbyists spread tainted Abramoff money around Washington DC thicker than bar-b-que sauce on a pork sandwich from a greasy-spoon diner.
Like hungry restaurant customers, Republicans at all levels of government never even bothered to consider if taking funds extracted using threats and other intimidation tactics was ethical or just. They just bellied up to the bar and put on feedbags under a “No Refunds” sign. According to CNN online, the most recent customer to leave the feeding-trough in shame is Bob Ney who gave up his prime chair position on the House Administration Committee on Sunday January 15, 2006. Like other Republican leaders, Ney gave the cash to “charity” instead of returning it to defrauded tribes.
Even Republican Governor Riley, while claiming to have never actually met Abramoff, will donate his share of the loot to a favorite charity instead of returning the funds to original contributors but you can bet the southern meat truck does not stop with him. US Senator Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) also admits to a contribution that began with Abramoff in 2003. Tracing a rump-roast from hog parlor to lunch counter is easier than following the hidden political money trails slithering through pork-barrel politics, unless you catch them with napkins in place ready to munch.
Is it the fault of Congress? In many cases representatives may not want to know where funds come from, which brings the phrase ignorance is bliss to new depths. Certainly, when elected officials have plenty to hide, it is necessary to keep the public from knowing sources of dirty money: but can we blame Republicans who deliberately remain ignorant?
It is certainly not fair to blame tribes, since primarily non-Native casino investors or developers made most of the original donations. These same investors have been gambling mainstays in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Biloxi for a very long time and do not represent the views of tribal councils. In many cases, these gambling cohorts were the very culprits that threatened or otherwise coerced their Native partners in the first place.
Gov. Bob Riley claims he was in the dark about the exact manner in which lobbyists, under the cover of U.S. Family Network received gambling money to finance him and others in elections. It is now important to be as fair to him and other Republicans as they are to Native Americans.
As a congressional representative in the late 1990s, Gov. Bob Riley signed a fund-raising letter for a nonprofit group closely tied to clients of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to a recent report in The Washington Post. The letter, written on behalf of the U.S. Family Network, announces a petition to block the Atmore Poarch Band of Creeks from building a casino in Alabama.
In all fairness to the governor, no one will call Riley totally ignorant of Native needs, after he wrote a letter that also hints at near local connection to the Choctaw Band of Abramoff victims. Is it fair for non-Native Casino partners to threaten tribes in Mississippi and Louisiana with big economic losses, while promising their participation will reduce competition and keep Alabama money flowing into their casinos?
With some contributions as small as $1,000, it seems unfair that Alabama Republicans got such slim slices of pork from the Mississippi Choctaw gambling partners, since the casino gave $250,000 to the U.S. Family Network. Instead of tricking him into taking a piece of poisonous pie, this network should thank Bob Riley for his kind letter and welcome him into the “family.”
It also seems unfair to keep the governor ignorant about this bitter buffet of bribery and extortion because Michael Scanlon was press secretary for Riley during his first term in Congress. Old friends should be more considerate and give the guy some warning before feeding him tainted cash. After leaving the Riley post, Scanlon moved on to the meat market of recently resigned House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) and then finally joined the lobbying operation of Jack Abramoff. Headwaiter Scanlon of this fast-cash café also recently pled guilty to bribing public officials (including congressional representatives) and defrauding tribes under the guise of lobbying.
The southern take-out counter is indeed small potatoes, compared to the all-you-can grab buffet Native gambling concerns served up under duress across America. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee reports that in 2004, Mr. Abramoff and Michael Scanlon charged 6 tribes at least $66 million. There are, however, no refunds at the Republican buffet, as most officials opt, like Riley to give these ill-gotten gains to their favorite charities. Do political campaigns of other Republicans represent “charities?”
Maybe the most unfair aspect of all is allowing Scanlon, Abramoff and DeLay to pick up the tab, since so many enjoyed stuffing their coffers, at political take-out windows during the Republican feeding frenzy.
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