-----Original Message----- From: Brian Randell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 5:36 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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 = [EMAIL PROTECTED] PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/~brian.randell/ ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as [email protected] To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
