The Filthy Four
Posted by Tim Tagaris on March 27, 2006 at 11:48 AM
After a weekend of buzzer beaters, blowouts, heartbreak, and euphoria, the "Unsweet Sixteen" has been whittled down to the "Filthy Four." There are no feel good cindarella stories in the field, just a collection of the corrupt. Here are the finalists and how they got there.
For a refresher, here are the original brackets (see below). You can also find the pre-game analysis
here and
here.
The Bush Adminstration BracketBecause these games were played in secret location and without oversight of any kind, it's very difficult to report on how Vice President Dick Cheney emerged from the high-powered field. Cheney's the kind of player that won't give up even when the world is telling him he just can't go on. His early training at Halliburton--a company that did business with Iraq when he was CEO and was investigated for their ties to Iran in 2004--created the take-no-prisoners attitude that's made him such an asset to the Bush Administration. And after a series of failed predictions that would have stopped more seasoned players in their tracks, Cheney just keeps moving forward. He led his teammates in a pre-war game plan that was breathtaking in its brazenness, but fell apart when it came time to implement it. He said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction--when he didn't. He said that Al Qaeda was linked to Iraq--when they weren't. Just nine months after he said the Iraqi insurgents were "in their last throes" the country teeters on the brink of civil war. And now, even though the Iraqi police have been infiltrated by the very insurgent forces they are trying to control, Cheney continues to see victory within his grasp.
The House BracketJust as Josh and I predicted, Bob Ney came out of Ohio to upset some bigger names in the House bracket, including Tom DeLay and Duke Cunningham. Ney was known as the "Mayor of Capitol Hill," until he was forced to step down after being identified as Representative #1 in Jack Abramoff's Federal plea bargain. Ney is comfortable playing on the road as well--he to play his first round game in a federal prison to accomodate the Duke-Stir's travel "limitations," and he's traveled to Scotland with Jack Abramoff and sent his staff to the Marianas Islands. Whether he's granting federal contracts to the clients of his political patrons or using the congressional floor as a commercial for Jack Abramoff's casino cruise line, Ney is well recognized as a power player who relentlessly uses his position to box out the competition. The fact that Ney has been able to keep it together and is even running for reelection despite the steadily closing net of a Federal investigation has shocked political insiders.
Senate BracketDon't let his cool demeanor fool you, Bill Frist is a serious competitor whose killer instincts were honed during his early days in medical school, when he repeatedly adopted cats from local animal shelters, pretended to give them homes, and then used them to practice his surgical skills. But there's no question that despite the ice water in his veins, Frist has repeatedly choked when it counted as Senate Majority Leader. He failed to get the job done for Bush on the Dubai Ports World deal; he failed to pass asbestos reform after declaring it to be the Senate's "top priority"; he couldn't block the extension of the Patriot Act, open up ANWR to drilling, or get Harriet Miers confirmed; and his efforts to ensure he could limit debate on judicial nominations were thwarted by members of his own party. Of course, his recent failure to focus on his long game may be because he's distracted by the ballooning investigation into his recent sale of $10 to $30 million of HCA stock--a sale of stock that he didn't know he had to prevent a conflict of interest he previously said didn't exist.
Pioneers and Rangers BracketThe early favorite of the corruption tournament, Jack Abramoff, is a strong inside player (with at least a few Republican Members of Congress, and a certain President) who uses his domination of the paint to get what he wants for his lobbying clients--after keeping a bit for himself, of course. Abramoff has spent 20 years working in Republican politics preparing for this tournament--though some whisper behind closed doors that he paid his way into the tournament, much like he paid his way into the White House. Abramoff might be a bit distracted since he is busy cooperating with the FBI, but since he just got his sentencing postponed in his Florida fraud case, so there's no reason he shouldn't be fresh for the tournament. With the $20 million he bilked from Indian tribes, the $3.41 million he invested in campaign contributions for Republican Congressman and Senators, the quality time he spent on overseas trips with Congressmen and their staff, and the clandestine White House meetings with President Bush and Karl Rove, there's no question that Abramoff can dominate this tournament. If Abramoff brings his A game, everyone else might be playing for second place.
http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/03/the_filthy_four_1.php
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
