'Lobbyist's Credit Card Bill Outs DeLay Trip' BUSTED! Again!

[in_cog_ni_to]

There's a page 2 to the article...don't miss it! :hi:


'Lobbyist's Credit Card Bill Outs DeLay Trip'
Delay's Trip to Golf Resort Paid for by Abramoff

<snip>March 2, 2006 — The paper trail seems so obvious, it makes you wonder whether anyone ever worried about getting caught. When Congressman Tom Delay and his wife flew from Houston to a golf resort in Scotland, in June, 2000, the first class air fare cost $14,001. A big ticket item for a public servant. But someone else was paying.<snip>


<snip>
One aspect of Abramoff's corruption scheme was the free trips he provided to politicians to the Super Bowl, a golf resort in Scotland and the northern Mariana Islands in the South Pacific.

An ABC News hidden camera recorded Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, as he arrived in the northern Marianas and was greeted and hugged by Abramoff.<snip> :rofl::rofl:

<snip>
"There are many members of Congress who will not sleep well tonight," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that monitors government decisions to ensure their fairness. "This is a blockbuster of an investigation that will reach deep inside the power structure.<snip>

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1679189&page=1

[MadMaddie]

1. Delay's going down, down..down...down...

:popcorn: :rofl:

[ThomCat]

29. He's been going down on Abramof for years.

(Not an image I wanted in my head, but there you go.)

[Skidmore]

2. Jack !!hugged!! Tom???

I thought Tom didn't know Jack.

:rofl:

[ronnykmarshall]

3. It was a double.

A plant by the LIEberal media.

[obreaslan]

40. "I wish I could quit you!"

:rofl:

[MADem]

4. LOVE THE VIDEO!!! What is that thing on DeLay's HEAD????

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1467769

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. LOL!!! OMG...WTF is he wearing???

:rofl::rofl::

That video is EXPLOSIVE!!!

[MADem]

6. It looks like the DUM DA DA DAAAAAAHHH!! margerine crown!! nt

[Janice325]

19. That video is hysterical!!!!

I love the way they hug each other.
Yeah, I hug people that I don't know just like that as well.

[Roland99]

25. AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!

:rofl:

[Gato Moteado]

7. nice!

hammer comes down on the hammer.

[annabanana]

8. Now that is just plain gorgeous!

What a pretty flowered hat he's wearing in the video.
....laughing, exhausted...

[Beetwasher]

9. "I've Never Hugged Jack Abramoff!!"

"It all depends on what your definition of 'hug' is."

[in_cog_ni_to]

10. I cannot WAIT to hear his spin on that!

:popcorn:

[tridim]

15. "The beard fooled me, I thought I was hugging Grizzly Adams"

How much proof do we need? Lock em all up now!

[Pithy Cherub]

11. May Abramoff have more receipts that implicate more former faux

friends? DeLay is a political dead man walking! deLay wants the votes to formally pronounce him politically dead to them. DeLay could graciously save us a lot of loud laughter by just resigning now and presenting himself to the prison of Texas's choice. :rofl:

:popcorn:

[in_cog_ni_to]

12. "There are many members of Congress who will not sleep well tonight," said

Fred Wertheimer :) Me thinks Abramoff has a BUNCH of receipts.:rofl:

[mtnester]

13. And the first congressman expected to be indicted as a result...

BOB NEY - thank you thank you thank you

I hate to say it this way, but, if Ohio Repub criminals keep getting outed as corrupt, this will only help us in 2006.

And so the snowball machine keeps churnin!

[Toots]

26. I don't know, it almost seems like criminal activity is a badge of honor

for a lot of people in Ohio. They keep voting them in even after knowing about the corruption. With a hearty AMEN to boot.

[myrna minx]

14. BUt but but--Tom Delay said that he an Abramoff aren't friends.

You know, I often travel with an hug people I don't know. :rofl: :rofl:


*off in the distance I head a bow tie twirling out of control.**

[malaise]

16. He merely 'delayed' this

lovely information :rofl: :rofl: Gosh Delay in the hat hugging Jack is priceless. I hope KO has this for all to see.

[BrotherBuzz]

17. Here's hoping Doolittle and Pombo aren't sleeping well tonight...

Methinks their moment in the limelight will be closer to the midterm election....:rofl:

[in_cog_ni_to]

18. Sweeeet, eh?

The timing couldn't be better. :rofl: I hope they play the Delay hugging Abramoff video as often as they played the Howard Dean "scream" video. Maybe Olbermann will start the ball rolling tonight!:bounce:

[AlCzervik]

27. the ltte's in the scabee about his interview with the Bee have been

awesome, his bas is slipping away--Doolittle i mean. Pombo is such, i can't even think of a decent adjective for the likes of him.

[Greyskye]

32. Damn, you're not kidding!

I went to take a look - he's getting slapped left and right! http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/letters/story/14223829p-15048748c.html

Thanks for mentioning this! :toast:

[AlCzervik]

33. isn't it wonderful?? So many ltte's from rw folsom and Auburn using

the adjective "Arrogant" my favorite one referred to him as Doolo--aka JLO, i laughed my ass off when i read that.

[BrotherBuzz]

44. Thanks for the link - great read that made me feel warm and fuzzy

It's a gold mine with nuggets strewn about everywhere. :rofl:


In his Jack Abramoff scandal interview, Doolittle asks us to believe that he is the dull-witted piano player in the brothel, "shocked, shocked!" to find that his friends Tom DeLay and Abramoff are the worst sort of "pay-to-play" political pimps. We are asked to believe that they just forked over piles of cash to Doolittle because they liked his pious lifestyle.

.....

Those who voted for this man in the past have a right to be insulted by Doolittle's comment: "I don't think people understand quite what motivates political giving anyway. Believe it or not, the main thing that motivates it is friendships, I think." Regarding convicted felon Jack Abramoff, Doolittle says: "If you had a friend who was a lobbyist like that and he liked you, he was able to procure quite a bit of support for you from the clients he represented."

Guess we Republican voters just didn't realize how things work in Washington! Now we can sleep at night knowing that we're in good hands as long as Doolittle values those close friendships on our behalf!

.....

Doolittle says he has done nothing wrong. Let's review some facts: Doolittle has taken large contributions from defense contractors whose products he pushed in Congress. One of these same contractors has been indicted for bribery of another congressman. Doolittle was brought into the House leadership by Rep. Tom Delay and acted as DeLay's right-hand man. DeLay has been reprimanded three times by the House Ethics Committee and is under indictment in Texas. Doolittle became personal friends with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, took large sums of money from Abramoff's clients and his wife became a business associate of Abramoff. Now Abramoff is the center of the biggest lobbying scandal in decades.

Did Doolittle break the law? We don't know yet. Is he for sale? Clearly.

.....

It seems that if Rep. John Doolittle's answers are all completely honest, he is admitting to having an appalling inability to judge character. It seems that all a person needs to be Doolittle's friend is to be a wealthy conservative Republican. Doolittle's admitted inability to judge character disqualifies him to hold any senior management position anywhere. I certainly don't want such a dupe to represent me in any venue, least of all in Congress.

.....

Re "John Doolittle, in his own words," Feb. 18: I was struck by the recurring theme running through Rep. John Doolittle's answers: "I honestly don't remember," "There again I don't remember exactly" and "I don't know if it was that." Doolittle's memory is faulty. Doolittle's judgment of character is faulty. But Doolittle's ability to evade and self-justify is superb. As a resident of the 4th Congressional District, I look forward to Doolittle's own words hastening his departure from Congress

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

20. Isn't DeLay still on the congressional committee INVESTIGATING Jack

Abramoff?

[AlCzervik]

21. love that last snip you posted, i hope abc news leads off with this

tonight, or even second would be ok. I really, really hope this gets some traction.

[Catherine Vincent]

22. Damn you're good! I guess the title of your thread is what works.

I posted this story earlier today and only received two responses. Ho hum. :-)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=556976&mesg_id=556976

[Dem2theMax]

23. Some days, it's just SO much fun to come to DU and read the news!

"There are many members of Congress who will not sleep well tonight,"

I can see Jackie and Tommy now.

:evilgrin:

[11 Bravo]

24. Now, let's be fair.

Who among us has not been walking through an airport when suddenly seized by an uncontrollable urge to leap into the arms of a total stranger, and give them a hug.

[sutz12]

34. Well, maybe ......

a leggy blonde with a large bosom.

But a middle aged bearded man, not so often. :evilgrin:

[Initech]

28. See, Rush, that's how the LIBERAL media works! BUSTED!!

:woohoo:

[sofa king]

30. So... ABC has been sitting on this tape for what, seven years?

And they only release it now? It's great to see, I guess, but maybe they should have floated that back in 2003, when Abramoff was charged.

At this point, America's fate is sealed. In 2003, we might have had a fighting chance to save our nation.

[sutz12]

35. No shit.

[converted_democrat]

31. Did he really think no one would find out, or did he just not care? n/t

[Logiola]

36. the sheets at the end..

anyone seen these? i did see a bunch of democrats on there.. do you know who?

[sofa king]

37. I have a good idea.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2005/12/12/GR2005121200286.html

I used to work for an Indian affairs lawfirm which competed with Abramoff's firm, and among other things I was involved in discussions of who and how much to give to "Indian-friendly" legislators. I got a chuckle when I first saw that list in the graphic above, because the Democrats on the list named most of the people my own firm considered supporting. Here's a quick explanation for the top Dem recipients of Abramoff-tainted money.

Patrick Kennedy: One of the most strident pro-Indian Members of Congress; Vice-Chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus. Here's an old list of CNAC members, courtesy of one of Abramoff's former clients.

Patty Murray: Another mostly pro-Indian Dem, from Washington state, which has a huge number of tribes within its borders; Murray has testified on behalf of tribal constituents numerous times before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Harry Reid: Former Member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, then-Senate Majority Whip; hails from the state most likely to oppose Indian gaming--you gotta have Harry on your side.

Byron Dorgan: Member, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Ranking Member of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, the Subcommittee which oversees the majority of funding which goes to Indian tribal governments.

Tom Daschle: Senate Majority/Minority Leader, from a high-Indian population state.

Dick Gephardt: CNAC member; former Minority leader and highly influential.

In fairness to the Republican recipients, which will never be reciprocated, most of those evil SOBs on that list have pretty decent reasons to be getting money from Indians, too. There is only one who sticks out like a sore thumb. That's Bob Ney, who as far as I can tell has no business whatsoever receiving Indian money beyond his corrupt relationship with Abramoff.

American Indians are (or were at the time; I haven't checked lately) not constrained by campaign finance laws in the same way that other groups are, so they have plenty of leeway to spread plenty of money around to any campaign they want. Getting money from one of Jack Abramoff's clients isn't a crime and, aside from the appearance of impropriety to the uninformed public, shouldn't be considered a bad thing by itself.

Unless, that is, the donations can be linked to some form of below-the-table gameplay, which of course was Jack's stock in trade. Since Jack was as partisan as they come, I think it's pretty unlikely that such details will emerge for the Democratic recipients. And if some Democrat was playing footsie with Jack, the jerk should be dropped by the Party like a hot brick, anyway.

[DemoTex]

38. I saw this on K.O. tonight.

Delay is going to prison. I can smell his fear. Sweet Schadenfreude!


Too late, Tom-boy. Should have played this card sooner. You will soon be wishing that a swift kick was the worst thing your ass was getting.

[scab_picker]

39. Mud Flaps, the perfect gift for those loved ones doing hard time.

I wonder if Ken Boy has a pair?

[DUBYASCREWEDUS]

41. Remember

his smug ass initial appearance in Court and his smiling face on his mug shot? Wonder how smug and smiley he is feeling today!

[stop the bleeding]

42. When is Delay gonna give up???

:spank::spank:

[cain_7777]

43. Slippery Pigs

Delay will role out of bed coat himself in grease and go to work. He'll spin this off with a smile as the media neglects the story and the people forget about it, like babies - out of sight, out of mind.