Washington diary: Simmering scandal

["David Farber" <dave () farber net>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian Randell [mailto:Brian.Randell () newcastle ac uk] 
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 5:36 AM
To: dave () farber net
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 () ncl ac uk   PHONE = +44 191 222 7923
FAX = +44 191 222 8232  URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/


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