[IP] Washington diary: Simmering scandal
-----Original Message-----
From: Brian Randell [mailto:Brian.Randell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 5:36 AM
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Washington diary: Simmering scandal
Hi Dave:
Here is how Matt Frei, the well-respected Washington correspondent of
the BBC, is reporting the Lobbying scandal to us:
>Washington diary: Simmering scandal
>
>By Matt Frei
>BBC News, Washington
>
>18 January
>
>On Washington's map of power no address is currently attracting more
>mirth and malice than K Street, the seat of the capital's most
>lucrative and crowded profession.
...
>Their swollen ranks - they outnumber the 4,500 registered
>journalists on Capitol Hill by almost six to one - are a reflection
>of the size of government and the size of the economy.
>
>Some of them represent Big Tobacco and Big Food. Others are in the
>pay of small furry animals.
>
>Whether they hand out expensive golfing trips or T-shirts, they have
>all been given a bad name by one very bad apple: Jack Abramoff, the
>now-disgraced super lobbyist, who pleaded guilty to charges of
>corruption and who is in desperate need of an image consultant.
>
>His decision to appear at his first court hearing wearing a baseball
>cap and his second wearing a black trilby and a black trench-coat
>have been gifts to cartoonists.
>
>One explanation is that, being an orthodox Jew, this father of five
>needs to cover his head. So what is wrong with an old fashioned
>yarmulke, I ask you?
>
>Rush to charity
>
>The deal with the prosecutor is of course that Abramoff will name
>names. According to one estimate, at least 60 lawmakers could be
>"touched" by this scandal.
>
>If this scandal festers on into the swampy Washington summer, it
>will become a Republican problem with possible consequences for the
>mid-term elections
>
>The golfing holidays at St Andrew's in Scotland or the five-course
>meals at his own restaurant, the aptly named "Signatures" - now
>closed and looking for new owners as well as a new name - were not
>the crime.
>
>But the reluctance of some lawmakers to disclose them as gifts on
>the Congressional register was.
>
>Most important is the question if and how these "gifts" managed to
>influence their actions.
>
>In an almost unprecedented outburst of post-Christmas charity,
>senators, representatives and even the administration donated
>lavishly.
>
>There was a breathless rush to return all the campaign donations
>that had once come from Jack Abramoff.
>
>Even the White House handed over $6,000 of the $100,000 raised by
>Abramoff for the presidential campaign to the American Heart
>Association.
>
>"Very clever!" One late night comedian quipped: "So it goes straight
>back to Dick Cheney!"
. . .
>Such is the cloying nature of Washington politics that they tend to
>follow US leaders around the globe like a lingering odour
>
>Weber also told me that this scandal - the biggest in 10 years he
>predicted - was one of those very rare truly bipartisan affairs.
>Both sides of the aisle were bought.
>
>But the party that dominates Capitol Hill, also becomes the
>principal object of the lobbyists' affections. And nowadays that
>means the Grand Old Party.
>
>So guess what? This week Rick Santorum, the rather earnest, some
>might say "sanctimonious" senator from Pennsylvania who is facing
>re-election and is trailing his Democrat rival in the polls, joined
>forces with the Yoda of the Grand Old Party, Senator John McCain, to
>initiate new legislation to curb the power of the lobby and the
>appetite of lawmakers.
>
>"We need full disclosure and more transparency," he intoned.
>
>Too right! Outside the Beltway the great electorate already holds
>its elected officials in very low esteem, according to the polls.
>
>The Abramoff scandal will only make them more cynical.
. . .
Full story at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4622372.stm
cheers
Brian
--
School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 7RU, UK
EMAIL = Brian.Randell@xxxxxxxxx PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/
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